Warning of Imminent Immigration Raids: Innovative and Provocative Methods Being Employed by Wary Citizens
In the United States, immigrant communities are turning to social media and user-driven services to stay informed about potential immigration enforcement actions. This decentralized network, founded on platforms like Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp groups, and community-driven apps, enables individuals to share live alerts, locations, and details of enforcement activity, helping others avoid detection or prepare for potential impacts.
The increased focus on immigration enforcement, such as arrests at immigration hearings and USCIS appointments, has significantly affected immigrant communities and their trust in official processes. Activists credit these communication efforts with helping reduce arrests in some cases by enabling individuals to avoid enforcement actions or seek help promptly.
One such activist is Francisco Aguirre, an undocumented immigrant in the US since the mid-90s, who hosts a radio show from a church basement in Portland, Oregon. Aguirre, who once sought shelter there, is not opposed to all the work of ICE, but believes the current focus on mass deportations is unjust, with less than 10% of immigrants taken into ICE custody since October having serious criminal convictions (as reported by CNN).
Aguirre, along with others, monitors his radio, social media, community-driven apps, and other methods for immigration-related information. He heads to locations of raids or detentions to broadcast, despite the potential risk to his own status.
User-driven services like Waze, Ring camera alerts, Facebook, and WhatsApp groups are being used across the US to warn of government agent activity. However, Waze's policy states that intentionally submitting false reports is against their policies, and they remove such reports from the map when identified.
The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and the National Immigrant Justice Center are preparing funds and lawyers for legal battles. LULAC sees platforms like Waze and social media as digital lifelines for real-time information.
A CNN poll found a majority of Americans (55%) believe President Trump has gone too far with deporting immigrants living in the US illegally, up 10 points since February. Brenda Bastian, LULAC's chief content officer, views this digital organizing as an act of survival and a modern expression of the right to community defense.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem considers these app-based warnings as potential obstruction of justice. However, there is a body of legal precedent saying that warning people of potential arrest is First Amendment-protected speech.
In Palm Beach County, Florida, home to Mar-a-Lago, efforts are being made to ensure warnings focus on factual events and avoid fueling hysteria. Despite the challenges, grassroots networks continue to play a crucial role in keeping immigrant communities informed and safe.
[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/13/us/politics/ice-raids-immigrant-communities.html [2] https://www.vox.com/2018/7/12/17578748/ice-raids-immigrant-community-fear-trump-family-separation
- Immigrant activists in the United States utilize technology, including social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook, user-driven services such as WhatsApp groups, and community-driven apps, to keep informed about potential immigration enforcement actions and provide live alerts, locations, and details of enforcement activity to others.
- In response to the increased focus on immigration enforcement, such as arrests at immigration hearings and USCIS appointments, grassroots networks across the US now use user-driven services such as Waze, Ring camera alerts, and social media to warn of government agent activity, while platforms like Waze have policies against intentionally submitting false reports.
- Amid the current political climate and continued efforts by immigration authorities, activists like Francisco Aguirre and organizations like the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) view digital organizing through social media and community-driven apps as essential tools for survival and the modern expression of the right to community defense, with a majority of Americans (55%) considering President Trump's deportation policies to have gone too far.
