Immigrants, federal workers get crash courses on rights
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Jessica Acosta, a local entrepreneur, speaks during a Spanish-language know-your-rights class in Denver. Photo: Esteban L. Hernandez/Axios
Inside a coworking space near a freeway underpass in Denver last week, local immigration attorney Maria Monclova detailed what people can do if U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement shows up at their door.
Zoom in: Monclova was a featured speaker at a know-your-rights class organized by Jessica Acosta, a local entrepreneur and founder of Edifice2120, where the training took place.
- The event was organized for Spanish-speaking residents.
- Don't open your door to law enforcement unless a warrant signed by a judge is shown, Monclova told an audience of roughly 80 people in person and online. If it's not signed, you can refuse entry, Monclova added.
Why it matters: These trainings attempt to alleviate concerns from people across the socioeconomic spectrum about their livelihoods under President Trump's swift and sweeping policies.
Context: Metro Denver's immigrant communities are on high alert after federal authorities conducted their first major raids since the start of Trump's second term earlier this month.
- "Right now, our community unfortunately is in panic," Monclova said in Spanish last week.
Between the lines: Not all these trainings involve a formal setting — some happen on the fly.
- Activists used bullhorns to advise people of their rights outside apartment complexes targeted by federal authorities during early February's raids in metro Denver.
Catch up quick: Denver City Councilmember Flor Alvidrez said during last week's training at Edifice2120 that no city employee, including police officers, should be asking any individual about their legal status.
- The event also included a panel with consulate representatives from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico, who shared resources in case of deportation.
The intrigue: Local know-your-rights trainings are not solely focused on immigrant communities. Denver City Councilmember Sarah Parady recently hosted one for federal employees.
- The online training, led by local attorney Holly Franson, drew more than 700 people earlier this month, Franson told us.
- Federal government staff in Colorado were targeted by two Trump administration directives, including the deferred resignation program and the return-to-office mandate. The class included details about potential exemptions for federal workers.
What they're saying: "They call it, 'Know your rights,' I call [it], 'How to escape arrest,'" Trump border czar Tom Homan told CNN last month, criticizing efforts to educate the public about their civil liberties.
Our thought bubble: The trainings are part of a larger effort by immigrant rights and civic liberties groups to do whatever they can to slow mass deportations, Axios' Russell Contreras writes.
- Immigrants notifying lawyers and reporting unlawful entries by law enforcement offices in deportation operations will help build cases for lawsuits later.