How Immigrants Can Deal with ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement, “La Migra”)
ICE (“La Migra”) has very long lists of people to go after. But you don’t want to STAND OUT on this list. Being aggressive with ICE or getting in trouble with the local police is what will make you stand out.
Non-criminal undocumented immigrants: Heed this video’s advice on dealing with ICE – it is effective, and can buy you time until immigration reform finally (and necessarily) passes:
One exception to the techniques shown in this video regards the scene in which the family tells ICE to go away using reverse-racial slurs. You don’t want to aggravate ICE officers. Remember: You’re dealing with the Federal Government and they can come back with a warrant to enter your house. Officers must have a judge-signed warrant to enter your house. Unless you’re a hard-core criminal or a threat to the U.S., it is unlikely ICE will have the proper warrant.
It’s a fact that most immigrants (even undocumented) are much less likely to be trouble-makes (i.e., criminals) than Citizens. That said, keep yourself extra clean (i.e., stay out of trouble so local law enforcement agencies can’t hold you, and check your status).
ICE is an expensive program, and their very-long list of people to go after will not decrease significantly because new people are added to it every day. It’s a Catch-22 for the taxpayer (but job security for ICE and private prison contractors): aggressive enforcement will uncover more of the 12 to 20 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. This means more deportation hearings, more detention centers (jails), and transportation cost. None of this is cheap.
ICE’s tactics defy all economic logic, including the fact that cost-effective migrant labor drives the U.S.’s still-robust economy. It’s only a matter of time before the government realizes racism is way more expensive than immigration reform.
Remember, hard-working migrant, YOU are the unappreciated, often-scapegoatted economic backbone of the U.S. And this is why immigration reform is coming: the next Administration will likely correct what the Bush Administration lost control of.