'Calm' Advised at Pottstown Immigration Forum

Photo by Evan Brandt

From left, Audrey L. Allen, head of Audrey L. Allen Immigration Law LLC in Conshohocken, Lance M. Malcolm, an attorney with Prince Law Office in Bechtelsville, and Gonzolo Peralta, also of Allen's law firm, discussed immigration law and the current political climate during a forum organized by Centro Cultural Latinos Unidos in the basement of First Baptist Church in Pottstown Wednesday.

Rita Paez is talking to a lot of worried people these days.

A borough councilwoman and member of the Pottstown Human Relations Commission, Paez is also the founder and head of Centro Cultural Latinos Unidos or CCLU as it is more commonly known.

An Hispanic cultural organization, CCLU is also frequently a voice for Pottstown's Hispanics, who comprise about 18 percent of the borough's population according to 2015 Census estimates.

But perhaps Paez is best known in Pottstown as a person who helps Spanish speakers in the community connect to the services they need and lately, she has been directing a lot of them to Audrey Allen, whose Conshohocken law firm specializes in immigration law.

The sign hung outside CCLU's offices in the basement of 

First Baptist Church.

"People are coming to me much more worried," said Paez. "One poor lady she had to go to the hospital she was so worried. A lot of people are telling me they want to go to Canada."

What they are worried about is the emphasis newly elected President Donald Trump has put on stopping illegal immigration, deporting those who are here illegally and the executive orders he has implemented to accomplish those goals.

So Paez decided it was time to share some expertise and invited Allen, her colleague Gonzolo Peralta and Lance Malcolm, who is an associated with Prince Law Offices in Bechtelsville, to a forum on the latest issues in Immigration.

Their advice Wednesday night to the approximately 30 people who showed up at the CCLU offices in the basement of First Baptist Church?

"Keep calm."

"These are uncertain times that have been made more uncertain by the new administration," said Malcolm. "It's important not to respond in fear. We can't respond to the politics of fear by being fearful ourselves."

"I recognize that these are tough times for a lot of people and they may have become disheartened in the last few months," Allen said.

"The vast majority of immigrants are not being affected right now. Even if you are undocumented, here in America, all human beings have rights," she said. "Keep calm."

Allen reminded the audience that among those rights, is the right to keep silent.

"Remember, you do not need to answer questions. You should say clearly that you invoke your right to remain silent and to make your phone call," she said, adding that rather than rely on their phones, a card with the attorney's number should be "carried in your pocket."

The card Paez handed out has the same text in Spanish
on the other side.

In fact, to emphasize the point, Paez handed out cards immigrants should carry in their pockets to hand out, English on one side and Spanish on the other.

Allen further emphasized "do not sign anything without talking to a lawyer first. Don't sign your rights away."

She also advised immigrants not to answer the door when the government comes knocking. "Ask them to slip the warrant under the door," she said. "If you open the door and there are undocumented immigrants inside, they can be detained."

In terms of police involvement, Malcolm informed the group that there is no formal cooperation agreement between any police agency in Pennsylvania and the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau, often referred to as ICE.

So without a warrant, local or even state police cannot be compelled to cooperate with an ICE raid or, more importantly, pick up a suspect and detain them for ICE.

Also at the forum, although he did not intend to be a speaker, was Pottstown Police Sgt. Ed Kropp Jr., who was asked by Paez to say a few words.

He said the borough department has no written policy regarding immigration enforcement. "It's not our job to go door to door unless there is a warrant," said Kropp, who added that there has been no change in that condition since Trump took office.

There has also been no perceptible change in the level of cooperation police are receiving from Hispanic residents or in their behavior from a police standpoint, he said.

"In fact, obviously I watch the news and I know what's going on in the country, but if I lived in a vacuum and just came to work every day and did what I always do, I wouldn't be able to tell anything had changed," Kropp said.

"The police in the have been very good about this," said Paez, noting that they

Rita Paez inside the CCLU offices.

often call her when they need to get into contact with Spanish speaking residents.

Allen advised undocumented drivers to be particularly careful "and not do anything that will get you pulled over."

But sometimes, being detained is unavoidable and when it it is, it is best to be prepared, the lawyers said.

And while Allen said schools are generally considered off-limits as places for ICE agents to conduct raids, Malcolm said it is a good idea to have custody papers drawn up for children as a precaution if parents detained.

"A lot of people are trying to use power of attorney and that won't work in Pennsylvania," he said.

He said that immigrants who are a victim of a crime, or who can show they have been abused by a spouse, often have some leverage in immigration matters. "It does not have to be physical, it can be emotional abuse, like a spouse restricting or controlling access to a green card."

"If you have been here more than 10 years and have children who were born here, there might be a way to get you a green card," said Allen.

As far as what may change under Trump's executive orders, which Malcolm described as "a parade of horribles," he noted that the impact they will have is unclear.

"They are so badly written, perhaps intentionally, they give no specific direction and are vague and ambiguous," which may make them difficult to enforce," Malcolm said. "We're just going to have to wait and see. In the meantime, people should continue to live their lives."

One thing that is recently evident, said Peralta, is the number of phone calls his office is receiving from people asking about detentions.

"There has been a marked increase," he said, noting that the increase is no larger than some of the raids conducted under the Obama administration.

"President Obama deported more people than any other president in history, and they came in waves and troughs," he said. "We're just waiting to see if it will be the same under Trump."

Immigration Forum Set for Wednesday

The Pottstown Human Relations Commission and Centro Cultural Latinos Unidos will conduct a forum on immigration issues on Wednesday, March 22 at First Baptist Church, 391 King St.

CCLU has offices in the basement of the church, located on the northeast corner of King and Charlotte streets.

Borough Councilwoman Rita Paez announced the forum at the last council meeting.

She said it will address the impact changes in immigration policies proposed by President Donald Trump will have on local immigrants.

Irish Need Not Apply

St. Patrick died in 461 A.D.

So does your head hurt?

Chances are, that if you celebrated St. Patrick’s Day yesterday in what has become the traditional American method, you’re a little hung over as you read this.

Sorry about that.

I’ll try not to make your head hurt any more.

It seems that St. Patrick’s Day is not a terribly religious holiday.

It is less about a Roman Catholic missionary who died in 461 A.D. than it is about Irish culture.

It is, in essence, Americans celebrating the culture of un-wanted immigrants to our shores.

Make no mistake, when the Irish – fleeing the potato blight that made life in the Emerald Isle all but impossible – began to arrive in Boston, New York City and Philadelphia, they were welcomed with anything but open arms.

In many cases, the hardships they endured to get to their destination are beyond anything to which “regular folks” would subject themselves.

Like many immigrant groups, they stuck with their own, living in near-homogenous communities rarely considered to be valuable real estate.

In New York, some formed famous gangs, such as 40 Thieves, the Dead Rabbits and, later, the Westies.

(Any of this starting to sound analogous yet to the immigrant experience of today?)

“No Irish Need Apply” was a sign hung in more than one shop window.

Like immigrants before and since, those unable to find desirable jobs that paid a living wage, did the work no one else wanted to do in order to support their families.

The 1st Regular Irish Brigade in battle

They built the nation’s railroads, cleaned the city streets and fought in the Army during the Civil War.

Eventually, as is the case with nearly all immigrant groups over generations, they blended with American society, becoming part of its fabric.

For example, without the Irish we might not have country music. For as the Irish and Scottish immigrants who came before the potato blight arrived in the American colonies, they headed into the mountains of Appalachia.

It is not hard to find the roots of Appalachian mountain music in Irish and Scottish tunes, and that mountain music eventually evolved into Bluegrass and, finally, today’s country music, which was also influenced by southern Blues, which has its roots in African music.

Never a fan of country music, I nevertheless became a convert to Celtic music (as it’s now called) on that fateful evening when my then-girlfriend (now wife) took me to a Chieftain’s concert in Englewood, N.J.

The Chieftains

A fan ever since, I appreciate them particularly because of their willingness to collaborate with non-Celtic performers, including many of the rock artists I listened to as a rebellious teenager.

(I tried to included a few of those collaborations here for your listening enjoyment, but technology, ever my wresting opponent, defeated me).

Perhaps what’s so surprising about the Irish immigrant experience is that it’s not so surprising. They followed the path of so many others, Italian, Polish, Jewish, you name it.

Fasnacht Anyone?

We need look no further than our own Pennsylvania “Dutch” to see the influence of another group of immigrants on our lives and culture. (Fasnacht any one?)

And don’t even get me started on how the true natives of this continent might comment on the cultural influences of the newcomers.

So on a day (or the day after) we celebrate the culture of ethnic immigrants and how they enriched the American experience, it seems relevant to ask: “why do we hate immigrants so much?”

These people come to America because, in many ways, if offers them the best chance to improve their lives and, if we let them, our own as well.

The often epitomize the self-help, pull-your-self-up-by-your-own-boot-straps-not-afraid-of-a-hard-day’s-work ethic that we all claim to admire.

Apparently, the lesson offered by Alabama's inability to get its crops in after passing the nation's toughest anti-immigration law is a lesson lost on the party that is all about business and jobs. Where were all the out of work Americans flocking to take those jobs those immigrants had stolen right out from under them?

The border fence literally goes into the sea.

But nevertheless, it seems like anyone running for the GOP presidential nomination can advocate nothing less than a “great wall of China” along the Rio Grande if they hope to secure their name on the ballot.

(Or, as Rick Santorum recently did, tell Puerto Rico it should adopt English as its official language if it wants to become the 51st state.)

In Arizona, the state that allows police to seek identification from anyone who looks like they might be an alien, it is now against state law for public schools to teach anything that might "advocate ethnic solidarity.”

If you have any question about who that’s aimed at, ask yourself how many Arizona school children were likely dressed in green and coloring in shamrocks for St. Patrick’s Day.

But I take comfort from the example of the Irish. Within a generation or two, they moved up into society, becoming business leaders and elected officials.

By the next Census, projects are that Hispanics will be the largest minority and may even constitute a majority in this country.

Maybe then we will finally recognize that this is their country too.

Hope I didn't make your head hurt more.