Deportation Defense class trains community members how to protect undocumented immigrants 

Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights (GLAHR) and The People’s Campaign to Stop Cop City held an event at The Murph in Atlanta on Wednesday, Dec. 18, to educate immigrant communities and their allies about how to defend themselves and protect their rights ahead of the threat posed by the incoming Trump administration. 

GLAHR is a non-profit, grassroots organization based in Atlanta that informs undocumented immigrants about their rights and equips them to organize and mobilize their communities. Dalia Perez, an organizer with GLAHR, says that Deportation Defense classes like the one held Wednesday help inform undocumented immigrant communities how they can take action if they encounter local police or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“A lot of undocumented immigrants think they don’t have rights, but they do have rights,” Perez said. “We want them to know that they can protect themselves and feel empowered by knowing what to do in case something goes wrong. It’s also for our allies and other organizations to know how to help these communities, what they can do, and what resources they can offer.” 

Trump’s first administration enforced a heightened threat against immigrant communities, and these communities are preparing to protect themselves for his second term in office. 

During Wednesday’s training, GLAHR organizers shared several tips to help immigrant communities protect themselves from ICE and other law enforcement agencies. They strongly advise individuals not to open their doors to ICE agents unless the agents have a signed warrant. Business owners are reminded that they have the right to ask ICE to leave their premises. In situations where a group of people is questioned about their citizenship status, it is recommended that citizens refrain from answering in order to protect the entire group.

Organizers urged individuals to call the GLAHR hotline for assistance when necessary. There have been multiple instances where undocumented immigrants have contacted the hotline while ICE was knocking on their door. The hotline enables GLAHR staffers to speak with community members, advise them not to open their doors, and remind them of their rights. “We want to be a resource to people,” Perez said. “The hotline is open five days a week, from 9-5PM every day. We have people there answering the phones if anyone has any questions or wants to know what their rights are under the law.”

Deportations By The Numbers

Since the creation ICE in 2003, there have been 116,562 deportations of undocumented immigrants in the state of Georgia. The Trump administration deported around 27,000 people in Georgia during the first administration, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse. The Biden administration deported about a quarter of that number, around 7,000 people, through February 2024.

There were a total 1.5 million people deported nationally under the previous Trump administration, according to the Migration Policy Institute. The Biden administration is expected to match that number, as 1.1 million undocumented immigrants have been deported between October 2021 and February 2024. This figure does not include the three million migrants expelled while irregularly crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.

While federal policies will impact immigrant communities across the United States, new state policies will also influence the enforcement of these laws at the local level, severely affecting undocumented communities.

House Bill (HB) 1105, known officially as the Georgia Criminal Alien Track and Report Act, was signed by Gov. Brian Kemp on May 1, 2024. The law mandates law enforcement agencies collaborate with ICE, requiring them to notify ICE when they arrest someone they suspect is undocumented, or else be subject to penalties. It also requires jails to submit quarterly reports detailing how many undocumented individuals are held in their facilities, as well as other information. This report by the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, for example, tracks the offenses that undocumented people are arrested for and the countries they are from. HB1105 has has been decried as enabling, and even mandating, racial profiling.

Trump’s New Immigration Policy

President-elect Donald Trump will retake office on Jan. 20, 2025, and is expected to make immediate changes to U.S. immigration policy. During his campaign, he promised to close the U.S.-Mexico border and begin mass deportations across the country. His plan includes hiring more border agents, building large detention camps, and increasing military spending for enhanced border security. Trump has also announced he intends to reinstate the “Remain in Mexico” policy, which was terminated under the Biden administration due to reports of “severe human rights violations.”

GLAHR is helping to prepare affected immigrant communities for Trump’s upcoming second administration.

The “ICE Free Zone” campaign, launched by GLAHR after the first Trump administration, educates undocumented communities about their rights and reminds immigrants not to give in to intimidation tactics, such as threats of arresting entire families. GLAHR distributes signs that mark homes, businesses, or organizations as ICE-free zones. The signs also inform immigration and other law enforcement that occupants know their rights and can refuse entry without a signed arrest or search warrant. 

GLAHR also runs a campaign called ICE Chasers, which tracks ICE activity in the metro area. Launched in response to Trump’s 2019 announcement of massive ICE raids, the volunteer-based program monitors and reports ICE presence, using community calls to stay informed and help keep the area safe.

Wednesday’s deportation defense class stressed the importance of getting to know one’s neighbors and adopting more of the communal lifestyle found in countries outside of the U.S. While organizers acknowledged that their resources may not be able to completely stop deportations, engaged communities can significantly slow them down and continue to resist. 

Shabnam Bashiri, an organizer with the People’s Campaign to Stop Cop City, emphasized the importance of community support ahead of the opening of the ‘Cop City’ training center in Atlanta and the heightened threat to immigrant communities posed by a second Trump administration.

“The most simple thing that we can do is arm people with knowledge and skills to resist,” Bashiri said Wednesday. “We may not be able to stop the deportation machine, but we can slow it down or throw something in the mix to where there can then be an intervention.”