President-elect Donald Trump is moving forward with the planning of mass deportations with the appointment of Tom Homan as “border czar,” in addition to advancing the implementation of a national emergency to use army resources.
Homan has indicated that entire families could be deported to prevent family separation, in the case of those with children born in the United States.
The details of what the deportation strategy will be like have not been revealed, but in the campaign, the now vice president-elect JD Vance said that people with protections, such as Temporary Protected Status (TPS), would also be expelled from the country.
In an interview with this newspaper, lawyer Eduardo Herrera, co-founder of Brigante Law Group Inc., a law firm that operates in Mexico and California, explains the scope that the strategy of President-elect Trump, who takes office on the 20th, could have. January 2025.
During the electoral campaigns there were several promises from Republicans on immigration issues. In general terms, how would you summarize, let’s say, those guidelines that they would be implementing?
What I have heard a lot from my clients is mass deportations. But what I want to tell our community is that this is not the first time that President Trump has made enormous promises and failed to deliver. For example, what happened to the wall? He never finished it and Mexico never paid for the wall […]but anyway, it is something very worrying. Second, the fact that Homan is going to be the tsar [para] ensuring that the border is secure is very worrying for our community, because it will have the green light to implement all the policies, […] He was the person who started the family separations. […] It is causing a lot of fear in our communities, but it is not the first time we have faced these obstacles. During the eight years of President Barack Obama’s Presidency there were more deportations than in any presidency in the history of our country and we are still here.
Many Latinos are, let’s say, pointing out that these deportations are not going to happen, that it is just fear that is affecting the population. Is this vision realistic or is it, shall we say, removed from reality?
It’s not realistic […] there are going to be deportations. The Republicans have the House of Representatives, the Senate. President Trump has named people to his cabinet who will support him with these policies. Additionally, he feels that he has the country’s permission, because he won the popular vote. So we are going to see what deportations are going to happen.
JD Vance the vice president [electo] He said in a podcast interview that he was simply asked what the plan really is to deport the 25 million. Well, the truth is, we are not going to be able to meet the 25 million deportations in four years, but it is like eating a Subway sandwich, you eat it one bite at a time. We are going to focus first on people who have criminal convictions, who have deportations [previas]people who are a risk to the American community and, once we finish them all, then we are going to focus on other priorities.
The reality is that ICE officers have a quota of how many arrests they have to make each day and if unfortunately they are going to arrest the immigrant with a drug trafficking conviction and they also find the cousin who has a clean record, unfortunately they are going to take the cousin along with the person they were looking for. […] The Government does not have the resources to deport the entire community without documentation in the United States.
The Biden Administration implemented an expanded monitoring system for immigrants, that is, they are not people who have legal status in the United States. Some were given, well, these so-called GPS devices, but many others were integrated through a SMARTLink system, which is a system with smartphones, so that they could be in constant communication and report exactly where they are. ICE right now could access that database directly and go to these people and be able to deport them. Then we have those who benefited from the so-called humanitarian ‘parole’, who, if they do not leave the country because there is no longer an extension, then they are in the system too, and could be an element of monitoring whether or not they really left. of the country. This would facilitate, in some way, the actions of the immigration agencies.
One hundred percent yes, Jesus, immigration has the right to use that information however they want, right? […] ICE has several departments, the ERO, they are the police. They are the ones who are going to detain people who are present in the country without documentation. And President Trump in an interview said that he wants to start with […] people who entered under the CBP One program. […] Let’s see if they are really going to focus on people with a criminal record or people who are a danger to the American community or if they are going to arrest whoever they can locate.
A piece of advice that has been given to many of my clients […] It’s just that, look, they know where you currently live. It is very possible that they will go to the address that you entered in your SMARTLink, in your CBP One application, but if they go to look for you at that address and do not find you, […] I doubt they are going to do a deep investigation to locate you, unless you have a criminal record. […] So if they don’t locate where immigration thinks you live, well, it’s a way in which the community can be protected.
What are the main tips for a person who could be at risk of deportation proceedings? Because there are different steps they would have to face, which is why they have to be planned.
It is very important that our community members understand that the Government cannot simply detain you and deport you from the United States without your permission. We all have the right to appear in front of a judge. We can apply for political asylum, cancellation of removal or ‘cancellation of removal’ in front of an immigration judge; You can apply for residency, but what ICE agents often do is pressure people to sign their own voluntary departure, not to fight the case, they tell them things, for example, you can fight your case, But I don’t know how long you will be detained in a detention center, it could be six days, it could be six months and people get scared, so they must fight their case.
Additionally, if they are detained they have the right to request what is called a hearing to be released on bail. […] and they must do it. I’m going to this tip, Jesus is that they must have a responsible person, who is the point of contact. Normally they will only give you one chance to make the call. [y esa persona] It should be, for example, maybe an older child who is American, or a husband or wife, or a brother, someone who can contact a lawyer to see if we can get them out of detention.
Number two, don’t wait for immigration to stop you. They should have an in-depth consultation with a competent attorney who is dedicated to immigration cases. […] It is important for them to know if they have a viable option and also if they do not have a viable option. […]. Many people, Jesus, are going to be afraid to submit an application because they are going to say no, Trump is going to reject it or it is going to be very difficult to get it approved and maybe yes, it is true, but many of these processes are going to take longer. three years old and President Trump is only four years older.
There are certain immigration benefits, such as certain humanitarian visas that automatically under the immigration policy give you protection or protection against deportation, such as the T visa, the VAWA visa and the U visa. Donald Trump can come and change this policy, that Yes, I understand, but anyway, it’s better that they already have a procedure in process.
Now there is a risk that people who are detained and who file a case in court and there is no immediate decision, will not even have the right to a hearing to obtain bail. What message is this sending to people?
Yes, they will have the right to appear in front of a judge to request bail. There are certain exceptions under the immigration code or the INA […] If you have certain criminal convictions or certain violations of the immigration code, you have no right to request bail.
How much more or less should a family that has an undocumented immigrant be saving?
Excellent question Jesus and my answers, based on my experience working at the Tacoma, Washington detention center, […] I had a client with a clean record. He had no criminal record, just one entry and the judge gave him a bond of $25,000 dollars and I have had clients who have had several DUIs (penalties for driving under the influence of alcohol) give them a bond of five to $7,000 dollars. […] The average that I have seen is $7,500 dollars.
If people don’t have that money, should they borrow a deposit from a bank?
[Hay compañías] that they are going to give you a loan, but the rate or interest is going to be very, very high and it really does not suit the community. So I would say, if you have the ability to do so, try to save between seven to $10,000 dollars, just for the bail.
That would imply, obviously, having additional expenses for legal representation, transportation, family maintenance, etc. That is, the economic impact on families can be greater, right?
One hundred percent yes, most of the lawyers I know are not going to ask you to pay for the entire case. They will allow you to make payments. [Las personas deben considerar] the expenses of maintaining the home and I don’t know what other responsibilities they have, maybe they have mortgages that they have to pay at home or they have a son or daughter in college. So it would be a very good idea to save as much as you can. At the end of the day, if they don’t need it, perfect. They already have their savings account and can invest it however they want.
Now it is important here that immigrants approach qualified lawyers, registered with the bars. What advice do you offer immigrants to find a lawyer with those qualifications, who can be verified?
For example, I have my license in Oregon, my partner has it in California, we have attorneys who have it in Texas and New Mexico, it doesn’t matter, we can take cases from all 50 States of the United States. But when you are talking to a lawyer, ask them for their license number, any reputable lawyer will give it to you. I have nothing to hide, so I gladly give them to my clients and we even put them on our social networks. That is, if a lawyer says he is a lawyer and does not want to give you his license number, you must look for this information open to the public. You can literally Google the Orange State bar or Oregon State bar. Eduardo Herrera and my profile will appear there.
Since Trump’s victory and in the face of threats of mass deportations, have messages about legal advice increased?
Donald Trump has made several promises, because we haven’t even talked about wanting to eliminate the DACA program. […] So the number or volume of calls we have received and messages has increased. They have increased because people finally want to fix, they want a permanent solution to their immigration status.
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