The new administration has enacted unprecedented measures to raid communities, detain, and deport undocumented immigrants through the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency since taking office in January. This swift change in policy has raised difficult questions and new concerns regarding the rights, safety, and due process of these targeted community members. What can the frontline of community, health, and social care providers do to protect the individuals being targeted by ICE? How can they continue to offer person-centered care in an environment of fear and distrust?

The Camden Coalition hosted a webinar, “Meeting the moment: Sustaining and supporting person-centered care in immigrant communities,” on March 20, to share how providers and community leaders can ensure their patients and program participants can continue to access the services they need.

Moderated by Renee Murray, Director of Education and Training at the Camden Coalition, our panel included:

• Stephen W. Manning, Executive Director, Innovation Law Lab
• Victoria Martinez, CEO, Spanish Community Center
• Gabily Gonzalez, Founder, Cerrando La Brecha
• Toc Soneoulay-Gillespie, Adjunct Instructor, School of Social Work at Portland State University

From our expert panel, here are four things community health leaders should do about the recent immigration sweeps in the U.S.

Understand that this time is different — but rights still apply

Previously, there was a limitation to the rate by which the federal government could deport illegal immigrants over a period, Stephen explained. Combined border and interior enforcement agencies had deported 50,000 or more immigrants in a month on only a handful of occasions from October 2013 – March 2020 — a time that spans from Obama’s second term to Trump’s first term. This “red line” limitation was due to laws protecting certain immigrant statuses and requiring processing of detained persons — measures that were eventually curbed through Title 42 expulsions used during the COVID-19 pandemic, when monthly deportations consistently exceeded 50,000 individuals in the U.S.

“We’re entering into a space where there is no red line,” Stephen said.

Trump’s second administration has expressed a goal to deport 15 – 20 million immigrants from the U.S. during their time in office. Their tactics to accomplish this total include incendiary stigmatization of immigrants; use of the military, National Guard, and private contractors to support ICE; legal attacks on attorneys and immigrants’ rights organizations; and “shadow deportations,” Stephen said.

In explaining these strategies, Stephen shared two recent stories from his work in Oregon. The first was regarding a man who was stopped by ICE while driving. After he unable to comply with their order to roll down his car window, he asked the agents for a warrant. They eventually smashed the window, pepper sprayed his face, and pulled him out of the car. He was taken to a hospital by the agents to treat injuries from the altercation. Rapid-response lawyers from Stephen’s team were sent to the hospital to provide legal aid to the man before he was discharged and detained.

“The thing that struck me…was that when (the hospital care providers) were engaging in their natural, normal protocols to provide care to this individual, that they got threatened by ICE for doing their actual work,” Stephen said. “And that shook them up.”

The other story was a conversation with a school bus driver for a local elementary school, who simply asked Stephen for advice on what to do when ICE boarded his bus to detain a student. In his 30 years of work in immigration law, he never had to consider such a scenario before.

“I get why you’re asking me this question — but it was fundamentally challenging to even conceptualize what it means to engage in enforcement against, I don’t know, third graders,” he said.

Stephen emphasized that it is critical to remember during these instances of “shock and awe” that the rule of law is not determined solely by the Executive branch’s decisions. Laws regarding healthcare, privacy, asylum, due process, remedies, families, and those protected by the Constitution are each pertinent in every deportation case. Community leaders and care providers should ensure their response to ICE interactions is informed by a knowledge of an individual’s rights, and what remedies and responses are immediately available to any such individual whose rights are being violated.

This knowledge can provide the confidence to separate intimidation tactics from legal detention and deportation enforcement. Stephen called this “separating the thunder from lightning.”

“They want to overwhelm us so that providers recede from the space [of proactively protecting their patients],” he said. “You’ve got to know your rights, and you’ve got to know what fight you’re going to pick at that particular time. And when things don’t go the right way — when this gentleman ended up in the hospital — what’s the remedy?”

Leverage court resources when you can

Many immigrants are unaware that smaller issues like unpaid traffic tickets can progress to bench warrants that result in their detention and deportation. Avoiding unnecessary legal complications is key to avoiding attention from ICE; Victoria stressed the need for leaders to educate their immigrant community members on promptly and safely navigating the courts.

She advised that her peers consider building a working relationship with local court outreach staff. These teams could help clients with warrant recalls and expungements, ensuring they “stay off the radar.” But for some community members, that may not be enough assurance of their safety. Victoria suggested community leaders and advocates proactively requests court sessions over Zoom, an available practice since COVID-19.

“What I’ve seen with my clients is they’re afraid to go to work, they’re afraid to just send their kids to school, and they’re afraid to go to court. So, by providing access to a computer or helping them navigate that technology on their phone, they’re able to attend court, get these situations remedied, and they don’t have to worry about that,” she said.

Empower parents to help their children

As Victoria alluded to in her presentation, a byproduct of the increased actions taken by ICE has been a fear of parents sending their children to school. This can affect not only the development of young students and the stability of their families, but the community as well. Gabily noted that more impacted regions like Camden may receive less funding in the coming school year if attendance is poor enough, exacerbating existing inequities.

Gabily encouraged community leaders to connect with school administration staff and advocate for more virtual options for students during this situation. Her team has been working with local superintendents to survey parents on their interest and ability to provide virtual classes to children. She also manages community outreach for Parents Invincible, a Camden-based non-profit that consults with the city’s school system on behalf of parents. Parents and community members can request case management care through them on their website.

Also, while much rhetoric has focused on the repercussions of the presidential election, Gabily said this is a vital moment to stress to parents the importance of local and school board appointments. The capability and priority of school districts to adapt to the circumstances being caused by ICE begins with more informed elections.

“People don’t really understand how important that is. And I think a lot of people now are getting like a little taste of what it means to vote for something or someone — and you don’t know really what you’re voting for,” she said.

Lastly, community leaders should emphasize the need for emergency plans shared among family members and loved ones in the event that someone is detained without warning. Rutgers Law School additionally provides a combined emergency planning plus power of attorney and delegation of authority document for at-risk parents with minor children.

A downloadable and printable emergency care plan document is available in both English and Spanish at the bottom of this article.

Seek out state support systems

Support systems do exist at the national, state, and local levels. Toc advised community leaders to connect with the Office of New Americans (ONA) network, a nationwide state network that provides immigrant integration and supports. ONA is supported and co-convened by the American Immigration Council and World Education Services, the two organizations supporting centralized convening site and resource hubs for national immigration matters. These organizations provide many useful resources for communities, including a list of rights afforded to organizations and businesses during immigration raids. There are more than 20 states participating in the ONA network.

The Office of Refugee Resettlement can also provide a list of state refugee coordinators, as well as state refugee health coordinators.

“They work with federal agencies and local organizations to coordinate system level services and supports. Many state refugee offices expand their scope to include assistance for immigrants and migrants residing in each of your states,” Toc said.

Many states, including Toc’s home state Oregon, had made efforts to streamline their immigration resources and services in the years prior to the current administration. Her community members have resources like the Equity Corps of Oregon, a state-wide, state-funded, centralized immigration legal services program, as well as Oregon for All, a coalition for immigrant rights and advocacy comprised of community-based organizations, unions, and other community leaders.

“They’ve been doing a lot of the heavy lifting. And we can really rely on them and use a lot their knowledge and expertise. But I’m sure there are other states who are doing all sorts of incredible integration and wisdom sharing,” Toc said.

Meeting the moment in complex care

This webinar is the first in a series leading up to our Putting Care at the Center 2025 conference in October. The conference theme is “Complex care: Meeting the moment,” and through this series we will explore how the complex care field can meet the moment to protect and support people with complex health and social needs and their care communities who are most impacted by federal policy changes.

Learn more about the conference and apply to present at camdenhealth.org/annual-conference.