These are uncertain times for many immigrants in the U.S.
There have been several reports of visa and green card holders being detained and deported. However, the Trump administration does not seem to be targeting legal immigrants who have permission to be in the U.S. on a large scale and indiscriminately.
Some have been targeted based on their political activism. A professor and doctor from Brown University who holds a green card was deported after authorities found photos of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Iran’s supreme leader on her phone. Immigration authorities also invoked a Trump executive order prohibiting antisemitism to detain a former Columbia student and green card holder who helped lead campus protests against the war in Gaza.
In other cases, the Trump administration has not clarified its justification for detaining legal immigrants. A German citizen with a green card was interrogated by border agents in Boston and detained without access to his anxiety medication. It is still unclear if the government accuses him of any crime. Similarly, the government did not offer an official explanation for detaining a Turkish student last Tuesday (25).
And it’s not just immigrants who are affected. An American citizen reported that he was walking the streets of Chicago when he was arrested by immigration agents, who confiscated his ID and kept him in custody for 10 hours before releasing him.
Although limited in number, these cases have gone viral — and are understandably causing fear in immigrant communities.
According to immigration lawyers, it is difficult to say how worried immigrants who are legally living and working in the U.S. need to be.
So far, cases of individuals with visas and green cards being detained or deported seem rare. Even so, lawyers have advised these immigrants, as well as U.S. citizens, to consider certain precautions in such an uncertain environment.
Consider carrying identification documents
Legal non-citizen immigrants have long been legally required to carry their immigration documents at all times. However, the penalties for failing to do so are becoming greater under the Trump administration.
In April, the Trump administration is expected to increase fines for this infraction from $100 to $5,000. Not having documentation is a misdemeanor. This can now lead an immigrant to detention and deportation proceedings; Trump revoked the immigration enforcement priorities of the Biden administration so that even people accused of minor, non-violent crimes can now be deported.
Next month, the Trump administration will also begin requiring all non-citizens to register with the federal government. Those who do not will become a priority for immigration enforcement. Many non-citizens who have had prior contact with the federal government — whether because they applied for certain immigration benefits or received a notice to appear in immigration court — are already considered registered under the new policy.
The government suggests that U.S. citizens also consider carrying their passport or birth certificate as proof of their nationality, given reports of Americans being involved in Trump’s immigration enforcement activities.
Reconsider international travel
Immigration lawyers are urging immigrants to exercise caution when traveling abroad now.
After the deportation of one of its professors, Brown University advised “out of an abundance of caution” that even green card holders postpone any personal travel outside the U.S. The university stated that changes in re-entry requirements and the drafting of a proposal for a travel ban on citizens from 43 countries could impact its students and staff.
Immigrants should consider whether their country of origin or where they plan to travel may be on the list of countries that could become subject to travel bans. They should also weigh their own history of activism and whether this could make them a target upon re-entry to the U.S.
Protect your privacy on social media
If you must travel, consider leaving your personal electronic devices at home. Border agents may (and have recently) requested access to immigrants’ devices, including their cell phones.
Refusing to grant them access may give them grounds to deny entry based on the fact that they do not have enough information to determine if an immigrant is “admissible” to the U.S.
Based on reports from lawyers who are members of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, authorities are now looking through people’s social media feeds on their phones for reasons to deny them admission to the U.S.
Source: Vox