Incarceration Without �Due Process

LWVMpls Women Defending Democracy:

Unite & Rise 8.5 Initiative

July 30 & September 10, 2025

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Alicia Gibson & Debby Magnuson, Presenters

14^th Amendment to the US Constitution, Section 1

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

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Current Situation

• The Federal Government is using foreign and domestic detention facilities to remove immigrants from the country without legal due process.
• These tactics are spreading to authoritarian actions in certain cities to establish Federal control over those cities.

Current Situation: what’s different now

• Changes in how ICE works—masked with no visible ID�
• Homeland Security is ignoring federal law and the courts�
• The Administration has a goal of arresting 3,000 immigrants per day and expediting their deportation from the US. The number of detention beds is more than doubling from 40k to 100k�
• 85% of those detained are in private prisons with a profit motive�
• The administration is using foreign prisons for “3^rd country” detention of immigrants in El Salvador, Eswatani (formerly Swaziland), and South Sudan. Additional agreements are pending with Liberia, Guatemala, Libya, Honduras, and Mexico

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Legal Ground keeps Shifting

Supreme Court ruling on Sept. 8^th cleared the way for ICE raids to continue in Los Angeles.

“Expedited Removal”

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A new policy is quickly eroding due process--expansion of expedited removal. Expedited removal was historically used for immigrants who were within 100 miles of an international border and who had been in the country a short amount of time.

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Expedited removal allows the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to deport people quickly without going through formal hearings.

Those placed under expedited removal are detained while awaiting deportation.

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Deport Immigrants to Reduce Crime?

• The Trump Administration’s stated goal for their new “Catch and Deport” immigration policies are to reduce crime in the US.
• Statistics on immigrant crime tell a different story.

Source: NIJ study of Texas criminal records that include the immigration

status of everyone arrested in the state from 2012 to 2018.

A Few Facts

• Overstaying your visa does NOT make you a criminal.�
• Undocumented arrival IS a criminal offense. The law requires undocumented people to check in at an immigration office upon arrival in the country. �
• The US has not had a well-functioning immigration system for decades. Proposed legislation to create a workable system for both immigrants and the US has failed repeatedly in favor of harsher restrictions.

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• The privatized Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton, MN, could become a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center. The owner is seeking a contract with the Federal government.

What Can We All Do?

• Speak out against what is happening—write letters to the editor to raise awareness and write to your legislators—your voice counts!

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• Support legislation that puts our country on a better path
• Locally, contact your City Council and State Legislators to prohibit indiscriminate use of masking in law enforcement.
• Bipartisan legislation has been reintroduced as the Dignity Act of 2025. �
• Educate yourself on the issues and realities of current situation
• Immigrant Law Center of MN has a great website https://www.ilcm.org/immigration-resources/know-your-rights/immigrants-refugees/

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• Learn what to do if you find yourself in an ICE action
• In your workplace--in public--in a private home

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• Humanize this issue whenever you can—these are real people with real families whose lives are being destroyed—sometimes irrevocably—right now!

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General Know Your Rights Information

• You have the right to remain silent. You do not have to answer any questions from ICE or other law enforcement.
• You have the right to an attorney. You may have a lawyer with you if ICE or other law enforcement questions you. Do not sign anything without a lawyer.
• You have the right to decline a search. Do not open your door. ICE is not legally allowed to enter your home without a proper judicial warrant.

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Source: Immigrant Law Center of MN, Feb. 2025

Immigrants: If you encounter ICE in public:*

• Ask, “Am I free to go?” If the officer says yes, walk away. If the officer says no, do not walk away.�
• You have the right to remain silent. You do not need to answer questions about your immigration status, where you are going, or what you are doing.�
• You have the right to refuse a search of yourself or your belongings. The officer may legally pat down your clothing if they suspect a weapon. Otherwise, you may say, “I do not consent to being searched.”�
• You have the right to an attorney. You may say, “I will not answer any questions without my attorney.” Memorize the phone number of an attorney you can call if you are detained.

*Additional instructions for encounters in your home, at work, at school, and more are available at https://www.ilcm.org/immigration-resources/know-your-rights/immigrants-refugees/

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Source: Immigrant Law Center of MN, Feb. 2025

Observers: What Can You Do—What Should You Say?

1. Stay calm and do NOT get physically involved. Stay back.
• If you touch an agent, even if they are pushing you, you could be charged with assaulting an officer.�
2. Start filming and keep filming the agents.
• If challenged, state clearly that you have a legal right to film the interaction. Remember, film the agents, NOT the person being arrested.�
3. If the person being arrested seems not to know what to say, or says too much, you can quietly remind them that:
• they have the right to remain silent,
• the right to an attorney,
• the right to refuse a search of their belongings. Tell them, “Say you do not consent to this search.”�
4. Make a copy of your film and get the copy to a trusted source
• Send to a legal support organization or to local media channels�
5. DO NOT POST YOUR VIDEO on SOCIAL MEDIA!!!!
• Could be altered/distorted by AI
• Could violate privacy rights for victims

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Additional resource ACLU videos - https://www.wehaverights.us/

Source: National Immigration Law Center

Practice: choose 1 of the following scenarios to practice and discuss

Scenario #1

You work in a professional services office. Suddenly a landscaper who has been working for your building runs into the office, trying to get away from 4 masked people who have ICE sweatshirts on. Your colleagues rush forward, but they aren’t saying anything except “Stop!”

• What would you do? What would you say? �

Scenario #2

You are walking into a home improvement store when you see 2 masked people stop a Latin-looking person and immediately put handcuffs on them. The detainee is struggling and shouting, “I’m legal, I’m legal!”

• What would you do? What would you say?

Practice: choose 1 of the following scenarios to practice and discuss

Scenario #3

You are out for dinner with friends, walking down a sidewalk. A car pulls up to the curb a half block ahead of you and several people in masks and sweatshirts that say ICE jump out. They grab hold of a person who was walking a little ahead of you and immediately handcuff them and drag them toward their car. The detained person appears to speak little English.

• What would you do? What would you say? �

Scenario #4

An elderly man accompanied by a young woman is walking toward their car in a parking lot. A car in the aisle behind them stops and 2 masked people get out and pull the elderly man away from the woman. She screams, “Leave my father alone! He has lived here for 40 years!”

• What would you do? What would you say?

Incarceration Without Due Process Action Sheet

Please see LWVMpls Women Defending Democracy Action Sheet and Action Tracker for additional resources & scripts you can use to make your voice count!

Take Action & Make Your Voice Count!

See our WDD Resources Page

Thank you for joining us for this Women Defending Democracy Initiative!