Know Your Rights – what does that mean?   Do you know that immigrants who have not yet received a final status have legal rights? They do.  So, Know Your Rights workshops are being conducted all over the country to inform immigrants of their legal rights when confronted by an ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) officer. For instance, if an ICE officer comes to their workplace, they don’t have to answer any question other than their name. They have the right to remain silent and to call an attorney, or a spouse or a friend.  

In conjunction with with Re:Source Cleveland, Nueva Luz and Refine Church, AMIS sponsored our first Know Your Rights workshop on December 17 for Spanish and English speaking immigrants. A second workshop for French and English speaking immigrants was held on January 11. Attorneys from Catholic Charities Migration and Legal Services presented the material and answered questions at both workshops which were very well attended.

The Trump administration has accelerated the number of arrests and deportations, made possible by the huge budget Congress gave the Department of Homeland Security in the latest budget bill. The budget funds more ICE agents, paying them $50,000 signing bonuses, more detention centers, and more deportation flights.  

The Trump administration has also put enormous pressure on local governments to cooperate with ICE by signing 287(g) agreements. These agreements allow local law enforcement to work with ICE to arrest and jail immigrants. There are now over 900 such agreements around the country with Texas and Florida leading the way. In Ohio, there are nine 287(g) agreements as of August, 2025.