In the waiting room at attorney Heather Hadi Lexington office, a brochure holder with the words "Be Prepared, No Scared" full of free single-sheet forms spelling out immigrants' rights sits in the center of a coffee table. The TV is tuned to CNN, where reporters are discussing the Trump administration's immigration moves in real time.
"Let's also talk about the border. Thousands of active duty troops are being deployed there. What more do we know?" an anchor asks.
In her office, Hadi says she's fielding calls she describes as "frantic" and "concerned."
"We weren't that surprised at some of the executive orders coming out on day one. We were surprised at how quickly they were being enforced," she says.
But right now, Hadi's message is one of calm and preparation. She says with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, agents having access to schools, churches, and stores, it's important for immigrants, undocumented or in mixed-status families, to have a plan and know their rights.
To that end, she hopes immigrants — especially those who speak little or no English — carry cards or inserts with them similar to those forms in her waiting room.
"And it basically says, in English, you write your name on it and you just hand it to an officer or an or maybe an ICE agent," Hadi explains. "It says, 'I know what my rights are. I am remaining silent. I do not speak English. I have a right to speak to an attorney. I have a right to a phone call, and I am aware of my rights.'"
Without knowing their rights, Hadi says immigrants can sometimes forfeit them unknowingly when confronted.
She urges anyone concerned to put the larger issue into perspective and note that Trump's promises of mass deportations did not materialize in his first term, and his flurry of executive orders will take time to be litigated.
Read the full interview below.
FULL INTERVIEW (edited for clarity):
What are you hearing from people, heading into this new administration?
Hadi: Yeah, so we weren't that surprised as some of the executive orders coming out on day one. We were surprised at how quickly they were being enforced essentially. So we are hearing a lot of frantic concerns. "Is ICE here?"
There are people who are concerned, especially about their children. We have a lot of people here who are undocumented, but they have children that have status, that are U.S. citizens, and they have to drive them to school. They drive them to church or to whatever religious organization that they attend. They take them to Kroger and to Walmart, and these are places that, unfortunately, now ICE is able to go to... schools and churches and and even medical facilities. So that is something that is different from the last Trump administration, which has really caused people to be very concerned.
What is your biggest worry?
Hadi: My biggest worry, honestly, is people not educating themselves and then not knowing what their rights are and giving them up freely.
So if somebody comes to their door, whether it's law enforcement or ICE, if they are not aware that they don't have to open the door unless there is a signed warrant with their name on it, they may open the door. And then now everyone in their household who's undocumented may get picked up or put in removal proceedings or just detained generally. So that is something that's concerning, and that's why we're trying to get the the the message out. You have rights. Even if you are undocumented, you're still a human being on US soil.
And so far, the Constitution hasn't changed as far as I'm aware. There is an executive order out there trying to end the birthright citizenship, but that has been very quickly challenged by the ACLU and I believe over a dozen Democratic states. And I don't foresee that being adjudicated anytime soon.
(Note: The birthright citizenship order was temporarily blocked by a federal district court judge on Thursday.)
To that point about education, what are your recommendations — both for those in this situation and those advocating for them?
Hadi: Those who may be undocumented or in a mixed-status family, make sure that, again, you know what your rights are, make sure you have a safety plan in place, and remind yourself you're not helpless. You still have the power to protect yourself and your family, as long as you know what the next steps are, if they're detained, if you come into contact with law enforcement or ICE.
As far as people who are advocates or maybe teachers at schools that have a high immigrant population or people who might work in medical facilities and they're dealing with those who may be undocumented or don't put a social down when they are doing the intake forms, be kind. Have empathy. These are human beings, and I truly don't believe any human being is illegal. And I I don't like using that word.
So what I tell people is make sure that you're doing it in a respectful way, but advocate — especially if you're bilingual, if you speak English and Spanish, if you speak English and French for the African community, English and Arabic — if you're able to assist them in understanding maybe what some documents are or what they say. Unfortunately, a lot of people, they get nervous, and they'll just sign anything handed to them. So if you're there and you have a friend or a family member that might be affected by this, try to assist them the best that you can.
What are the forms in your waiting room and how do those work?
Hadi: There are so many really great... cards or inserts that you can put in your purse, in your car, in your wallet. And it basically says, in English, you write your name on it and you just hand it to an officer or maybe an ICE agent. It says: "I know what my rights are. I am remaining silent. I do not speak English. I would I have a right to speak to an attorney. I have a right to a phone call, and I'm aware of my rights."
So when you have an officer possibly yelling in your face, you may be very nervous to say anything, and a lot of times they don't have translators. And a lot of times they purposely don't have translators. So make sure you have something on you that you can hand to an officer that that will give them the understanding that you're prepared and you know what your rights are.
We have it in Spanish so people can read it in Spanish and understand what they're putting in their in their pocket. For our clients, we have a little insert saying that "I am represented by this attorney. I have a immigration process going on. Please contact my attorney, etc." These are things that you can even go on our Facebook page, for the general insert search to put in your wallet in case you get in an interaction with ICE.
There are also so many great nonprofits, great immigration advocates and advocacy groups online. You can go on there, print out these sheets, cut it out, and give it to each one of your family members or friends.
What are your thoughts on the larger picture over the next four years, for those possibly feeling overwhelmed?
Hadi: We wanna put everything in perspective.
Under the first Trump administration, he promised to deport 3-4 million people in the first year. And in his entire term under the first administration, he deported 1.5 million. So (Trump) makes a lot of big promises for his voters, for his base. But what we have to also do is take it with a grain of salt. Right? You know, there are some things that are just not feasible because there's just not enough manpower. There's not enough resources or funding, for some of these mass deportations that he's claiming he's going to do.
I believe in the state of Kentucky, we have barely 200 ICE officers, so I don't think it's going to be as groundbreaking as he's making it out to be. But I will say he sure is putting on a show for the first week.
