As the debate on immigration reform continues in Congress, the hunt for undocumented immigrants intensifies. Every day that passes without a law is one more day of risk and uncertainty for those who have no papers. So become informed so you'll know how to defend your rights if you find yourself face to face with an immigration officer, because even though you are here “without permission,” the law protects you.
Immigration responsibilities are divided within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) within the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). USCIS provides immigrants with benefits such as permanent residency and citizenship. ICE's job is to apply the law that determines who is deportable and who has documents, in order to carry out the removal of individuals from the country. For Latinos, there is no irony that ICE enforcement is hard and cold.
Immigration agents' actions are ruled by law – Congress has determines how they must proceed. The U.S. Constitution is the supreme law of the land and guarantees our rights. Now that the number of raids and round-ups is increasing, it is very important to know your rights in order to defend yourself.
Look at the immigration process as a game of chess: movement of any piece can determine whether you win or lose the game. Generally speaking, the goals of the undocumented are similar; checkmate is to achieve permanent residency. The question is, how can you keep immigration from checkmating you and forcing you to leave the country? Fish get caught by opening their mouths. The majority of deportations are made easy for immigration officials because people admit first to the accusations before getting legal advice.
Know your rights. If immigration authorities come to your work place, continue doing your job, don't run, stay calm, and most important of all, keep your mouth shut. Say nothing. Do not acknowledge any accusations. The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution protects every person in the country, citizen or not. And it is precisely this amendment, which guarantees the right not to incriminate yourself, which allows you to remain silent. If an immigration agent insists on interrogating you and becomes aggressive, tell him: “I know I have the right to remain silent, and I wish to exercise that right,” or “I intend to remain silent until I can speak with a lawyer.” That is all you are required to say. And definitely do not sign any document until you have had a chance to get legal advice.
The right to remain silent until you speak with a lawyer is the same right anyone has when confronted with the authorities. That is why we have the Miranda Rights, which requires police officers must inform a suspect that he may remain silent, since anything he does say may be used against him.
The Miranda Rights was instituted because police used to take advantage of people not knowing their rights and so making self-incriminating statements. Do not wait for immigration agents to tell you your rights, since their goal is to get to a deportation or a voluntary repatriation as quickly and easily as possible.
We are living in times when there is a stigma to being undocumented. If you visit the Immigration website: www.uscis.gov, where you can find information on how to fill out immigration forms, you can observe that every time you enter the page, the graphic messages change. There is one in particular that contains the photograph of a blond little girl dressed in red, white and blue and holding up a U.S. flag. Behind her is a wall, or better said a rampart, with the legend “Protecting America.”
Protecting her from whom? Are they perhaps insinuating that immigrants are criminals? Pay attention; by means of insinuations the collective unconscious is affected. It all depends on the lens through which you're looking. Therefore, since we live in times that are hostile to immigrants, the best thing is not to let your guard down and to exercise your constitutional right not to incriminate yourself.
Rosalba Piña is an immigration and naturalization lawyer.
