University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School student groups hosted a training about rights in the face of immigration enforcement on Tuesday.
The Feb. 17 Immigration Know Your Rights Training aimed to give attendees a plan of action should they encounter United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in Philadelphia. The event was hosted by the Penn Law Immigrant Rights’ Project, Immigration and Asylum Law Club, and International Refugee Assistance Project.
Anu Thomas, Penn Carey Law co-lecturer and Esperanza Immigration Legal Services executive director, led the presentation to provide the audience with an “action plan.”
She expressed that “there is a role for everybody to play in response to immigration enforcement” during the event.
Thomas described Philadelphia as a “welcoming city,” where policies and practices can lead to “equity within how the city executes itself” given its role as a sanctuary city — meaning that local law enforcement limits its cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
She also referenced “ICE OUT” legislation introduced into the Philadelphia City Council last month that outlined these policies.
During the event, Thomas explained how people should “be prepared” to do in a case where “actual ICE action is happening.” She also addressed constitutional protections in immigration enforcement.
While the Constitution is not “stopping people from being deported,” the document’s “protections” apply to those who are “physically present” in the United States, Thomas explained.
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IALC President Mahera Muquith, a second-year student at Penn Carey Law, expressed how “important” it was to have the event “not just for the law school, but for everybody,” in an interview with The Daily Pennsylvanian.
It is “important to genuinely know: ‘what do you do when you encounter a situation like this?’” Muquith added. “Whether it’s you, your loved ones, or really anyone in the community … you don’t need to be a lawyer or a law student to get involved in something like this.”
Jazmin Trenco, PLIRP 1L representative and Penn Carey Law student, helped organize the event to “help others navigate immigration systems and feel empowered.”
“It's a system that really preys on fear and just making you feel so defeated,” Trenco said. “I hope to do my small part in helping families.”
Muquith said that the event was a “great place to start to get activism going” as “people at Penn are leaders and activists, and they’re always looking for ways to get involved to make the world a better place.”
After the event, organizers distributed Immigration Know Your Rights cards which outlined the constitutional rights of citizens and noncitizens, and contained information about what to do in the case of an interaction with an ICE agent.
