{"id":1167,"date":"2017-04-24T21:10:59","date_gmt":"2017-04-25T01:10:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/walkingrichmond\/?p=1167"},"modified":"2017-04-27T15:52:54","modified_gmt":"2017-04-27T19:52:54","slug":"conozca-sus-derechos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/walkingrichmond\/2017\/04\/24\/conozca-sus-derechos\/","title":{"rendered":"Conozca sus Derechos"},"content":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Brooke Warner<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

CONOZCA SUS DERECHOS, reads the title\u00a0of the flyer. Know your rights. Know what to do if the police stop your vehicle, if they ask about your immigration status, if they put you into the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), if they separate you from your children.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
\n

In 2017, this legal knowledge is a matter of survival for Hispanic communities across the U.S., including Richmond. And in Jeff Davis Corridor, it’s all people are talking about at dinner tables, on the streets, and in the confines of churches and community centers, as volunteers and officials work to support\u00a0Hispanic\u00a0residents\u00a0who otherwise would be\u00a0vulnerable and\u00a0uninformed about their status in the U.S.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The City of Richmond Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA)\u00a0tries to help\u00a0all residents, especially immigrants, said Karla Ramos, manager of the OMA.\u00a0Her office provides\u00a0assistance\u00a0with job applications, taxes or other paperwork; a Spanish news and lifestyle radio show; family reunification services and therapy; and\u00a0classes in\u00a0English\u00a0as\u00a0a\u00a0second\u00a0language.<\/span><\/p>\n

In all this, OMA’s\u00a0goal is to empower people and teach them how to live on their own, in a very strange and confusing environment in which language is just the first of many barriers.\u00a0\u201cThey may understand the words, but often they don\u2019t\u00a0get\u00a0it,\u201d Ramos said.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of\u00a0OMA’s\u00a0main\u00a0challenges\u00a0is to reassure\u00a0people\u00a0that the government is unlikely to come after them, Ramos said. City of Richmond police are respectful of the Hispanic community,\u00a0she said,\u00a0more\u00a0nuanced in approach\u00a0than\u00a0their counterparts in\u00a0Chesterfield\u00a0County.\u00a0After the White House announced changes in immigration policy in February,\u00a0Richmond mayor Levar Stoney released a public statement\u00a0to clarify\u00a0that Richmond would not cooperate with ICE agents in any capacity.\u00a0Leaders in Chesterfield have not\u00a0commented\u00a0on the subject.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople were freaked after the election,\u201d said Father Jack Podsiadlo, a priest at the Sacred Heart Center\u00a0whose ministry is\u00a0devoted to helping the Hispanic community.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For days\u00a0after November\u00a08, many Hispanic students did not go to school because their parents were\u00a0afraid\u00a0of legal and social repercussions, he said. Many adults\u00a0are skipping\u00a0evening classes in language and legal assistance\u00a0because they are scared to drive undocumented at night.\u00a0Even a minor traffic violation could mean deportation, they fear.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Across the street from Father Jack’s office, the Sacred Heart Center\u00a0shares\u00a0information about\u00a0preventing\u00a0deportation, and what to do if this nightmare comes true and you or a family member are detained. There are also workshops, taught by legal professionals,\u00a0devoted to\u00a0laws on power of attorney, to ensure that children are cared for if their parents are deported.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cWe\u2019re just not educated about the best decisions” in such situations,\u00a0explained Maria G., an immigrant from Mexico.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
<\/a>

Examples of the legal information that the Sacred Heart Center provides for Spanish-speaking visitors.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n

Until now, the Hispanic community in Jefferson Davis has flourished because immigrants, when faced with the vastness and uncertainty of the U.S., move to where they have a family member or\u00a0a\u00a0person they know\u00a0from back home in El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico or other countries.\u00a0Once there, they stick together.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When\u00a0such\u00a0bonds\u00a0are formed,\u00a0it’s very difficult for the newcomer to assimilate to American culture.\u00a0Most\u00a0immigrants\u00a0plan to go back to their home countries someday and are reluctant to give up any part of their culture in the adjustment to American life. Yet this separates them fundamentally from the surrounding city.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cUnless you really commit to the U.S., you can\u2019t take full advantage of its opportunities,\u201d\u00a0Karla\u00a0Ramos explained.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
<\/a>

Karla Ramos (far right) poses with staff of the Office of Multicultural Affairs.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
\n

One of these opportunities is finding a job. Facebook groups exist in which members can\u00a0advertise\u00a0jobs that don\u2019t require a Social Security number. The OMA cannot officially place immigrants in these informal jobs due to legal issues, but it may refer people to such pages and\u00a0resources\u00a0that can help.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many men work construction and landscaping industries, and women work in house cleaning or in factories, said Podsiadlo. Many women have started successful house-cleaning businesses.<\/span><\/p>\n

Resources exist to aid immigrant families in Jefferson Davis, but language and legal issues still stand as a huge barrier that can only slowly be broken down. For now, the dream of a welcoming, equitable Richmond is still a work\u00a0in\u00a0progress.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Brooke Warner\u00a0 CONOZCA SUS DERECHOS, reads the title\u00a0of the flyer. Know your rights. Know what to do if the police stop your vehicle, if they ask about your immigration status, if they put you into the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), if they separate you from your children. In 2017, this legal knowledge Read more about Conozca sus Derechos<\/span>[…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2637,"featured_media":1283,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[53786],"tags":[86,53805],"class_list":["post-1167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-jeff-davis-corridor","tag-immigration","tag-legal"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/walkingrichmond\/files\/2017\/04\/IMG_3422-1.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7o53H-iP","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/walkingrichmond\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1167","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/walkingrichmond\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/walkingrichmond\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/walkingrichmond\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2637"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/walkingrichmond\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1167"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/walkingrichmond\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1167\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/walkingrichmond\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1283"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/walkingrichmond\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/walkingrichmond\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1167"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/walkingrichmond\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}