April 14 Updates
National
The game right now from Trump 2.0 is to try to get people to self-deport!
On Friday, we became aware that hundreds of thousands of people who came to the U.S. through types of parole, most often through CBPOne, are now receiving notices that their parole has been terminated and that they have 7 days to leave the country. These notices are also being sent to attorneys and U.S. citizen family members. Over 985,000 people are affected by these notices.
From Fred Tsao (ICIRR): We are advising people who received these notices to seek legal counsel with an immigration lawyer or authorized nonprofit organization. People can get referrals through our Family Support Hotline, 855-435-7693.
The National Partnership for New Americans has put together this toolkit regarding parole terminations that I hope you will find helpful.
We are also encouraging people who got these notices to complete this form put together by our national allies who are trying to document who is getting these notices.
You can also access materials for social media that are available in Spanish here.
ICIRR’s list of organizations providing low/no cost help with immigration matters can be found here.
DHS finalized an agreement with the IRS to share data on April 8th. If you have been paying taxes for years and have not moved, there is very low risk. If you are new to paying US taxes, and/or if you have moved recently, you may be at higher risk.
Read more from NPR here.
The Trump administration’s Immigrant Registration Requirement went into effect on Friday, April 11th. Anyone who already has paperwork in the USCIS system does not need to re-register. Read more about what you need to know about this new requirement here.
The Social Security Administration is listing thousands of migrants with lawfully obtained SSNs as “dead” in order to prompt them to self-deport. “By placing migrants in Social Security’s ‘death master file,’ the Trump administration is seeking to cut off their access to credit cards, bank accounts and other financial services.” The rest of the gifted NYT article can be read here.
The Church World Service has sent out an updated Pledge for Accompaniment and Sanctuary.
“We, people of faith and conscience, pledge to stand in solidarity with all, regardless of someone’s immigration status. We will continue to make our houses of worship welcoming places for all people. We will feed, clothe, and provide shelter to our neighbors, regardless of immigration status. We will open our houses of worship as sanctuary spaces of refuge and support in organizing, accompanying, responding, and demonstrating our solidarity with immigrants in opposition to mass deportation before, during, or after raids or enforcement actions.
In the face of mass deportations and policies of discrimination, we commit our houses of worship to the work of hope — sheltering those targeted by hate and working alongside communities, friends, families, and neighbors, to uphold the dignity and human rights of all.”
Illinois
Find your representatives in IL here
Read more about how to file a Witness Slip for IL State Legislature HERE from the ACLU of IL
Bills coming up in the state legislature need our support:
SB1857 / HB3400 - restoration of the VTTC program to its original eligibility criteria.
Sent to the rules committee after reading!
See fact sheet here
This bill has been sent to the rules committee after a successful second reading/debate!
SB 2033 - Immigration Safe Zones Act
Presented by State Senator Villanueva (of Little Village) and Cristina Castro (of Elgin). Graciela Guzmán (of Chicago) has been officially added as a co-sponsor.
Chicago
REAL ID Explainer for Immigrants from Borderless Magazine can be found here.
As of April 10th, DHS has revoked the student visas of 7 University of Chicago Students, 8 SIU students, and 19 U of I students. Read more from the U of Chicago here and from the Tribune here.
Sheila Bedi of NWU, is one of many faculty and legal representatives who have been targeted by the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and Workforce. Read the NLG statement of support here.
Confirmed ICE activity in Little Village and Cicero/Berwyn on Wednesday, April 9th.