SANTA ANA – A crowd of nearly 700 — predominantly Latino parents — filled the Santa Ana High School auditorium Thursday evening to get the details of President Donald Trump’s new immigration policy and learn what to do if they are arrested.
The town hall, hosted by Rep. Lou Correa, D-Santa Ana, was a sharp contrast to Republican congressional districts in the county, where anti-Trump activists have clamored largely in vain for their representatives to hold town hall meetings so they can air their grievances.
The Santa Ana event featured few complaints, the atmosphere heavy with concern about the possibility of deportation in central Orange County, which has one of the nation’s densest concentrations of Latino immigrants.
“Some say you can hide or you can run,” immigration attorney Lisa Ramirez told the crowd. “I say, ‘Have a plan.’”
Many Trump supporters have cheered the president’s promise to increase the number of deportations. But that same promise brought fear and alarm to many at the Thursday meeting.
Ramirez explained how Trump’s executive order issued Jan. 25 expanded the pool of unauthorized immigrants targeted for deportation.
Previously, those convicted of felonies were the most vulnerable but Trump’s order has expanded that pool to include those charged with crimes and those who have received deportation notices in the past, among others, she said.
“Have emergency phone numbers of someone who can get your kids from school,” she said. “Give someone you trust power of attorney, someone who can sell your car and take care of your kids.”
She also told those at risk of deportation to get a reputable lawyer or at least establish a good contact with an organization that helps immigrants.
She warned against volunteering one’s immigration status to officials, as well as telling the audience not to give false information to officials or carry phony documents.
“It’s important to know your rights and responsibilities, especially in this very stressful time,” she said.
Also speaking at the event were Correa, Orange County Mexican Consul Mario Antonio Fraire, attorney Alfredo Amezcua, Catholic Charities’ Susan Kadota and Hermandad Mexicana’s Sergio Trujillo. The bilingual meeting was roughly two-thirds in Spanish.
Luis Gonzalez of the Corbin Family Resource Center in Santa Ana said he attended so he could better help his clients.
“We have kids as young as 7 or 8 asking if their parents are going to be going back” to their home countries, he said. “They’re asking if they are going to be safe in school.”
He said such questions never arose until about a month ago.
Correa held a similar immigration town hall on Tuesday and will hold another one at 5 p.m. Friday at the Rancho Santiago Community College District Building.
Contact the writer: mwisckol@ocregister.com
