Advocacy Groups Reach Out to Immigrant Communities Fearful of Trump Mass Deportations

Interview with Fatima Rojas, leader with the immigrant advocacy group, Unidad Latina en Accion in New Haven, CT, conducted by Melinda Tuhus

Of all the many opponents of the Trump administration agenda, perhaps the most urgent and vocal is that of immigrants and their allies who protest against Trump’s promise to build a wall and deport most or all of the 11 million immigrants here without papers. The recent arrest of a young man in Washington state with legal status under DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, sent a chill through the nation’s undocumented immigrant community – as did the Homeland Security announcement of new orders for stricter Department of Immigration enforcement.

In Connecticut, dozens of rallies, marches, prayer vigils and other actions have taken place in the month since Trump took office. Supporters have assisted immigrants to write testimony against legislation that would roll back their rights, and more than 300 recently attended a meeting in New Haven to learn how to accompany immigrants to their deportation hearings.

Immigrants and their advocates are also reaching out to threatened communities to inform them of possible actions by the federal office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, and how they can protect themselves. On Feb. 18, volunteers fanned out around Fair Haven, a New Haven neighborhood with a large immigrant population. They spoke with more than 100 residents and business owners about the current threat. Between The Lines’ Melinda Tuhus spoke with Fatima Rojas, a leader of the pro-immigrant group Unidad Latina en Accion, who talks about her group’s neighbor-to-neighbor outreach efforts.

For more information, visit Unidad Latina en Acción at ulanewhaven.org.

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