Hundreds gather for an immigration forum in Salinas.
When the office of newly-elected Congressman Jimmy Panetta, D-Carmel Valley, planned a Feb. 12 town hall meeting in Salinas about immigration, it was before news reports of raids and mass arrests of undocumented immigrants over the weekend.
When the town hall meeting came on Sunday, an estimated 500 members of the public crowded into the Hartnell College student center, seeking answers.
Panetta didn't have a lot of answers, but he reassured the standing-room-only crowd.
"We are here for you," Panetta said, urging community members to call his office with questions and concerns. "We are fighting, we are resisting."
Panetta said he and his staff would meet with officials from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which conducted raids in recent days in Florida, Kansas, Texas and Virginia, according to news reports. To his knowledge, Panetta said, there are no raids planned for the Central Coast.
Panetta, U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose, Salinas Police Chief Adele Fresé, immigration lawyer Michael Mehr and Hartnell College President Willard Lewallen all answered questions from the public.
Those questions reflected tangible fears. What paperwork should parents prepare regarding the care of their children in case they are deported? Are you obligated to open the door of your home to ICE officers and let them in? Should Dream Act students file renewal paperwork?
Mehr offered the most comprehensive know-your-rights-101, with these basic guidelines:
- For Dream Act students: "We don't recommend new applications, but we recommend renewal applications."
- "If you're a permanent resident, see an attorney to become a U.S. citizen, so you can vote."
- "If you're undocumented and have been the victim of a violent crime or your wife has been the victim of a violent crime, see a community organization to apply for a U-visa."
- "If ICE comes to your door, you don't have to let them in unless they have a warrant signed by a judge with your name on it."
- "Stay calm, don't resist in any way; if you are arrested, whether its on the street, at home, or in the jail, you should not sign anything without talking to a lawyer."
- "Avoid doing anything that will cause your arrest. If you go to county jail, ICE is there, if you're removable, undocumented, ICE is going to try to remove you."
The final point, about the jail, is a reference to the Monterey County Jail's agreement to provide an ICE officer with a desk, and access to jail records.
Mehr and others urged undocumented immigrants to feel free to report crimes if they are witnesses to or victims of a crime, following remarks by Chief Fresé assuring the public that the Salinas Police Department is not working with ICE.
Lewallen praised the Hartnell board of trustees for passing a resolution last week that explicitly protects the rights of undocumented students, and goes a step further protecting the privacy of student records—including the college's estimated 800 undocumented immigrant students.
The community group Community for Unity is urging multiple jurisdictions within Monterey County to pass similar resolutions, designating themselves as sanctuary cities for undocumented immigrants, but has been met in cities like Salinas with concern about the federal government withholding federal funds.
Panetta assured the public those concerns were based on false assumptions.
"I realize that a threat was put forward, as far as holding back federal funds," he said. "It's a lot easier to say things like that than actually do it.
"The courts have decided you cannot leverage federal funding to get states and cities to do what you want them to do," he said, citing the 10th Amendment and U.S. Supreme Court case law.
Lofgren urged people to protest and speak out. Even if most key points are eventually decided by courts on interpretations of specific pieces of the law, she said, judges are still watching and listening to the public.
"What you need to do is organize yourselves," Mehr said. "That's how we can fight back."