As fear of ICE deportations stalks the West Indian community in Queens and other New York boroughs, a Guyanese district leader and prominent attorney is urging residents not to squeal on others, not to allow the federal agency to ride roughshod over them and not to open doors if and when and the feds come knocking.
Guyana-born Albert Baldeo took time out in recent days to make special social media postings, offering free advice to people in the US who fear they may be targeted by ICE agents now that the Trump administration plans to commence mass deportations, urging them to lawyer up and not succumb to fear and paranoia.
His postings come as thousands in the West Indian community who are yet to complete the legal immigration process fear they will be victims of imminent arrests and immediate deportations, including being ‘given away’ by fellow Caribbean nationals or by others, aware of their status or holding family and other grudges.
“Do not squeal on others. Do not report folks,” Baldeo said. “These people are not coming there to bring a Christmas gift for you or to welcome you. They are coming to deport you so you don’t have to open your door. Your home is your sanctuary and this is a sanctuary city, state. You can refuse to open your door. In that way they would have to go,” said Baldeo, a former 1980s magistrate in his native Guyana.
Baldeo says he fears that mass deportations linked to people snitching on each other could devastate the local economy in Richmond Hill and related areas if agents are allowed to engage in mass deportation exercises “so do not make false reports or tell folks who you think is legal or illegal in this country. That will only start to have a snowball effect on this community and the whole of Liberty Avenue. That is going to kill this economy in Richmond Hill, commonly referred to as Little Guyana. These people have come for a good purpose.”
Turning attention to places like restaurants where illegals are likely to find employment, Baldeo said ICE would be restricted by law from rummaging through such facilities and hauling workers away for deportation. Staffers should be aware of this and their legal rights in general.
“If ICE comes to the restaurant they can only come to the front area. They can’t come to the back and say we are going to deport the cooks and the folks who prepare the food and things like that. These are all rights that employers must enforce. And make sure they come within the law. You just cannot be picked up by ICE and deported. Tell them you want to have a lawyer,” he said. “Don’t run helter, skelter.”
He even suggested that if and when a person is picked up, a demand must be made to see an immigration judge as documents have to be signed by a judge. If successful, this process can take up to four years to litigate and by then, the Trump era would be over.But he did say that gangsters and others engaged in illegal activity making citizens unsafe should be shown a departing aircraft door.
Baldeo also urged West Indians not to fear an end to birthright citizenship as this is protected by the constitution and would be fiercely challenged in court as he urged people to ensure they have photographic identification on their person just in case of an encounter.
