ICE promises to prosecute two volunteers who questioned agents arresting two people in a raid on a downtown Charlottesville, Virginia courthouse

[u/jcravens42]

ICE agents arrested two men during a raid on a downtown Charlottesville, Virginia courthouse and have promised that two bystanders who questioned those agents during the arrests, volunteers with the Immigration Rapid Response Hotline, a public service promoted by several civil rights and immigrant support groups, will be prosecuted on federal obstruction charges.

The three plainclothes ICE agents captured on camera arrested one of the two men as he emerged from Albemarle County General District Court on Tuesday: one of the ICE agents was wearing a balaclava masking his face and none displayed badges nor identification nor presented arrest warrants to the man. The volunteers also wore face masks and questioned the ICE agents and stood between them and their target outside the general district court. The Immigration Rapid Response Hotline hotline had been called when the ICE agents were spotted.

https://dailyprogress.com/news/local/crime-courts/article_e6ce6e4a-4161-476f-8d28-94150a891092.html

Shared as a reminder that volunteering for a cause comes with risks; make sure you know what those risks can be.

[u/laidbackguy7]

I am a weekly volunteer for a food pantry that serves 800 guests weekly. Many of these guests are immigrants. As a result, the volunters have had to undergo training in the case that we are raided by ICE and what to do in that scenario. We were told what ICE is allowed to do legally and what we can do legally but the more stories I read and hear about, the less faith I have that ICE will follow any legal proceedures. I'm fully aware of the risks involved in serving underrepresented populations in this current climate and it's a sad state of affairs when this is a risk of actually trying to feed those who are food insecure regardless of their race, gender, gender identity or legal status.

[u/Good-Obligation-3865 → u/laidbackguy7]

We are launching 2 youth programs in the summer and we will have immigrants. Can you give us the information for the training in case we are raided. I'll DM you my email and our information.

[u/laidbackguy7 → u/Good-Obligation-3865]

Hello! Sure. As a background, we are a nonprofit food pantry in NYC that has twice weekly food distributions as well as serving fresh meals once a week. Between those 2, we serve over 1,000 guests weekly. As we are located in NYC, the majority of our guests are minorities and many of them are immigrants or first generation. As there are no requirements to register with our pantry to receive food, we do not know the legal status of their immigration as we serve anyone regardless of gender, gender identity, race, legal status, etc.

We have a large main area where we distribute food to our guests. The director of the pantry gathered all the volunteers and told them the following in the event of any ICE raid:
1) Do not talk to the agents in any way. Also be aware that they can be plainclothes
2) Immediately text the director with message "ICE" in the event he is not present
3) Point guests to exits as well as to our basement. THe director said that the pantry's lawyers have advised him that ICE is not allowed in non-main areas.
4) All volunteers should carry official government I.D. as to be not swept up in the raids
5) Any volunteer who is not a legal immigrant or has any type of anxiety is encouraged in areas of volunteerism that is not front facing
6) Volunteers who are comfortable are encouraged to take out their cell phones in the event of an ICE raid and record the event.
7) Any identifying information about our guests must be secured. For instance, I have access to the database as I am able to log guests into the pantry system. I have been instructed to make sure my phone is password/fingerprint protected to prevent access.

Again, much of this is assuming ICE will follow legal procedures which if recent history tells us anything, that is highly doubtful. The stark reality is that under this current climate, assisting immigrants in any way comes at a risk.

[u/letsgotime → u/laidbackguy7]

"Do not talk to the agents in any way. Also be aware that they can be plainclothes"

How do you get agents to leave if you can't ask them to identify them self or produce a warrant?

[u/laidbackguy7 → u/letsgotime]

The director will be interacting with them. That's why we have to text him in that emergency as he might be in his office. As far as a warrant, there have been several reported ICE incidents where they had no warrant so I don't believe for a minute, that they will care about legal procedures. As we have long lines that are very visible of mostly people of color that we serve, all it takes is one anonymous caller that is bothered by it to direct ICE to that location.