Immigration advocates vigilant about changes, prepared for the worst

By Adam Candee and Camalot Todd

Friday, Nov. 11, 2016 | 1:45 p.m.

Just how much of Donald Trump’s divisive vitriol and rhetoric on immigration translates to action against Nevada families remains to be seen, but the potential for major changes in policy forces attorneys and advocates to prepare people for the worst.

“With this unexpected result, practitioners like myself are faced with telling families that we don’t know what options they will have for keeping their families together,” said Rex Velasquez, a local immigration attorney and radio host.

Michael Kagan, director of the Immigration Clinic at the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law, said that Southern Nevada does not have enough resources to help immigrants who will be affected by a Trump presidency.

Before the election, Kagan saw a surge in citizenship and green card applications, but he said it “would be wise for eligible immigrants” to apply prior to the change in presidents. Citizenship applications, however, are far from the only potential target of a Trump administration.

Trump’s immigration policy features the oft-stated wall across the Mexican border, the tripling of current Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) staff and a promise to overturn executive actions taken by President Barack Obama that softened the country’s stance on deportation.

Velasquez pointed to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program as most at risk of being immediately eliminated by Trump. More than 700,000 minors have come to the U.S. under the initiative enacted by Obama. Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for certain countries also could be at risk.

“For my people, I definitely had a spike in the number of people asking about their cases,” Velasquez said. “They have been curious about what the current landscape is for immigration opportunities.”

Both Kagan and Velasquez advised those concerned about potential changes in immigration policy to avoid attracting unwanted attention by practicing model citizenship with regard to the law.

“In Nevada, undocumented immigrants are likely to live in fear until it becomes clear what will happen under a Trump presidency,” Kagan said. “Keep your head down and don’t have any interaction with law.”

Velasquez emphasized that they should avoid immigration officials in addition to local law enforcement.

“The last thing they want to do is put themselves into the crosshairs of immigration enforcement, to bring themselves in the front of the eyes of law enforcement,” Velasquez said.

To become a naturalized citizen in the United States, you must have been a permanent resident here for at least five years (three if you are married to a U.S. citizen,) and be at least 18 years old, while meeting other eligibility requirements including English and civics tests.

Both the Immigration Clinic at Boyd Law School and Legal Aid of Southern Nevada provide assistance for those trying to determine whether they have an available path to legal status in the country, as well as those attempting to make application for that status. Legal Aid offers classes to help undocumented workers understand the various paths to legal immigration, such as family petitions, VAWA petitions, U visas (for victims of crimes and their immediate family members who are willing to assist law enforcement), T visas (for victims of human trafficking who are willing to assist law enforcement), asylum and DACA.

Some of these could change instantly under Trump, while others would require congressional action that also could be relatively swift under Republican control of both houses. What actually will happen became the center of discussion on Velasquez’s weekly half-hour radio appearance on 90.1 FM the day after the election.

“Despite how sunny it was, there was definitely a feeling of doom and gloom heading into the station,” Velasquez said. “It’s deafening, the shock the immigration community is experiencing. It’s hard to listen to these stories, and I don’t think it’s going to get any easier.”