Editor's note: This story is an interview with the author's of the guide. Find the guide at ChicoSol and the Chico News & Review. (Lee esta nota en español aqui.)
ICE raids have caused panic across California. In the North State, there have been several false, and some real, ICE sightings.
While questions continue to circulate online about deportation raids, a new guide from the Chico News & Review and ChicoSol provides some clarity. They recently cross-published the manual to help people navigate ICE encounters and confusion.
“I had a friend texting me this past weekend who had heard rumors about ICE up here. I called NorCal Resist Chico, and they had not verified it,” said Leslie Layton, the editor for ChicoSol and a co-author of the guide.
“Most parts of California now have these rapid response networks that make sure everything is verified, and we're not just constantly creating panic in immigrant communities with rumors.”— Leslie Layton, ChicoSol, editor
Part of the guide explains how to find accurate information about ICE presence. That includes connecting with local organizations that share alerts about sightings, like rapid response networks and NorCal Resist Chico.
“Most parts of California now have these rapid response networks that make sure everything is verified, and we're not just constantly creating panic in immigrant communities with rumors,” said Layton.
But there have also been real ICE sightings in the North State.
Ken Magri, a freelance journalist with Chico News & Review and co-author of the guide, has reported on a person detained in Orland last February.
“Paulo [Frutos-Perez] was a 56-year-old farmworker who'd been in Butte County for several decades,” said Magri. “We don't know that [ICE agents] were masked, but they were parked just outside of his residence and waiting for him to come out to work. Once he came out to get into his truck, that's when they confronted him and took him away.”
NorCal Resist Chico told NSPR there has also been at least one targeted arrest in Chico, as well as one in Yuba City and Hamilton City.
“ICE personnel do not have to show their badges, even if they're brandishing a gun. They simply have to have a badge in their possession, and they are allowed to mask themselves for the reasons of their own protection."— Ken Magri, Chico News & Review freelance journalist
The guide also notes how people can recognize ICE agents, which Magri said can be difficult.
“ICE personnel do not have to show their badges, even if they're brandishing a gun. They simply have to have a badge in their possession, and they are allowed to mask themselves for the reasons of their own protection," he said.
California lawmakers introduced a bill last month to stop law enforcement, including federal ICE agents, from wearing masks. It hasn’t been passed yet.
Other topics the guide covers include:
- How ICE agents will respond in deportation sweeps
- How individuals can react and protect their rights
- Where ICE agents are allowed to be
- How bystanders can help on the scene.
The guide is published in both English and Spanish. Layton said it was designed to be easily shared.
“It's just a very frightening time for so many people,” Layton said. “I hope people will take the resource guide and send it out to their friends.”
