I met a highly ranked ICE official today and

and he gave me a brief update on what it's really happening on their end and also some tips for people living under these circumstances. He is Hispanic, speaks both English and Spanish really well, and was brought up in humble conditions so he empathizes with undocumented immigrants of good moral character.

Dream Act
-The dream act just won't happen, why partially fix something when you can fix the whole thing? He knows that some sort of pathway for undocumented immigrants (free of a criminal charges) to become legal residents will be established and put to action towards the end of 2011. It will not be called an immigration amnesty.

General
-If you have been here for over ten years and you are being deported for no apparent reason other than being undocumented whether you speak English or not you can appeal your deportation.
-Racial profiling is still going strong as twenty years ago. Love your race, your accent, learn to be happy with who you are and don't limit yourself by playing it safe and sticking to your "own" people beacuse of your prejudices, generalizations as a result of bad experiences, and misconceptions. Prove everyone else wrong.
-If you are pulled over by a police officer for x reason, regardless of 287(g), if you speak English and have commited no crimes the chances of being deported are extremely slim. [I was pulled over last December for a bad brake light in Houston and I have no criminal history, I was let go with a warning.]
-If you have been petitioned by a relative (I-130) and the form is approved, and have no criminal history, if you are pulled over without a social you are basically invulnerable to being deported.
-It's still possible to obtain a license and a social not valid for work in Texas, you just have to find the people who can point you to the right place :/ [I know, not many details.]
-If you are from Latin America or Asia and are trying to ease your way into becoming a legal resident of this country by becoming a Canadian first, you will still be considered whatever your natal nationality is.
-Undocumented immigrants have the same rights as a legal resident minus the advantages that come with having a SS#.
-Undocumented immigrants aren't considered criminals but rather targets of an administrative institution. ICE doesn't behave like the regular police force. The great majority of the people that are deported have previous criminal charges.
-If ICE or any cop shows up at your house without a reasonable cause requesting to talk to you tell them to leave if they don't have a warrant. [I was literally told to tell them to go fuck themselves LOL] If they force their way in and you have no criminal records you can appeal.
-If some authority wants to record you on tape to get whatever information from you tell them that you are also going to record them using your phone, they'll change their minds and leave you alone.
-As a resident you still can get deported if you commit any crimes, try to get your citizen ASAP.
-NEVER claim you are a US citzen.
-NEVER sign anything.


Work
-It's ok to work illegally using a fake social. If the gender of the actual ss# holder matches yours, you probably will never be questioned or asked to submit your correct social and this is because most details about a person besides his/her name are trivial, this has to do with being a male or a female. If later on you are told that you need to update your ss# because they have received a notice from the IRS telling them that their records do not match your ss# then just give them a new number and hope you get many more months of work at that place, give them a new number until they realize you are an illegal immigrant and force you to quit.
-You can get a job anywhere that does not require background checks, blue collar, white collar, it doesn't matter.
-The only way for a raid to take place at your job is when some sort of criminal activity is going on or if the working conditions are despicable. If the whole thing turns into a legal case you could be asked to testify against your employer for hiring illegal immigrants and be given a temporary residency/work permit until the case is over, if you don't testify or once your case is over and you have no criminal history you are usually let go.
-You are worse off working with Hispanics than any other race or ethnic group. According to him Mexicans make terrible co-workers since a lot of the uneducated/miserable ones will not want to see you succeed, which is the opposite of what happens between Indians, Jews, Chinese, Italians, etc [I agree on this from personal experience.] If you work in a predominantly white environment you'll be less likely to be suspected of being undocumented.
-NEVER, ever carry fake documents with you (federal crime). Always hide them really well.
-NEVER try to cash a tax refund check.
-You can file your taxes, when you become a legal resident it is possible to transfer your credit history. [yes, even taxation affects your credit score LOL].


Military
You can no longer join any military branch without a social, you can no longer establish a deal with them and get a ss#.

Travel
-The main reason why a lot of undocumented immigrants are deported is because when a regular cop pulls them over the majority of them don't speak English so in order for the police to understand what they are saying they need an ICE interpreter [LOL and well you know the rest. I'd encourage you to teach your parents a lil bit of English every day, if they become legal at some point they are going to need it in order to get a better job anyway.]
-Plane: You can only travel within the continental US without a problem (No Alaska either :/).A legal form of identification is needed, state id, any kind of passport, tourist visa (B-2).
-Motor vehicle: Avoid checkpoints.
-Read your state's drivers handbook.
-Always have car insurance, get it through anyone you thrust who has a license. Always have your vehicle documents and registration in order, once in a while check your car lights and other components that could fail that could get you pulled over.
-Cops don't care if you are undocumented or not, all they want to find out is if you are a criminal to give ICE a call. The best excuses for telling the cop why you don't have a license and avoiding getting into talking about your legal status are playing dumb, being extremely polite, and avoiding giving out unnecessary information. They will never ask you for a SS# so don't over complicate things by hinting that you are illegal.

Dialog:
Cop: License and insurance please.
You: *Gives out insurance only*
Cop: Can I see your license please?
You: {"I don't have one", "I have never had one"}
Cop: Where are you from?
You: Hometown (He is asking where you live, not where you were born. You don't want to hint that you are undocumented)
Cop: Can I see some form of identification?
You: *Gives him matricula or passport* (Never carry your tourist visa with you, for those who entered legally and overstayed)
Cop: *Asks you some details* How long have you lived here? Who do you live with? What do you do? (Used for checking the veracity of your claims)
You: *Be honest* X years, I live by myself/parents, I study xyz at uvw.
Cop: Are you a legal resident of the US? (they probably won't ask you this)
You: {"I don't know Sir, my parents brought me here at a very young age. I have lived here for x years and gone to school/college/univeristy just like anyone else","I would say yes since I have lived here since I can remember"}
Cop: *Gives you ticket for whatever offense and for having no license*/*Gives you a warning*
You: Thank you Sir, have a nice day.

-If you have a family member legally residing in the US, preferably a parent or a sibling you can travel back and forth between the US and you country of origin regardless of if you study or have a job back in your country (common I-94 requirements). The reasoning behind this is that the relative(s) usually work and can financially support you during your stay. ICE doesn't want people coming over, overstaying, and taking advantage of food stamps, welfare, etc.
-Thousands of people cross the border every day so it would unrealistic for them to check if you lived illegally in the US before, the only way to find out if you lived here illegally is by pressuring you to give away any details or by finding out you have committed crimes in the US when you didn't even have a visa or an I-94. [An acquaintance recently was given a ten year ban for having her phone checked by one of the officers at the border, checking her contact list, and calling a random contact and asking about her life in the US, she studied here for over a year under a tourist visa].
-They don't access personal records like bank statements, university or school records, utility bills, etc.
-Re-entering the country will void your whole previous history as an illegal immigrant highly reducing your chances of becoming a legal resident through some sort of reform.
-Tickets, fines, DUIs, or DWIs by themselves won't get you deported nor impair your chances of becoming a resident and later a citizen. Usually other serious motives that accompany those offenses are the reasons that get you deported. eg. Vehicular manslaughter, running over a woman with a stroller, etc.

Personal life
-If someone you have history with (friend, gb/bf, neighbor, employer) calls ICE on you for being undocumented and you have no criminal history that individual can be charged with numerous offenses and a possible felony for concealing the relationship/illegal individual for x time.
-If you entered legally, marrying and obtaining a SS# all within the US is easy. The other way takes more time and it is more expensive but still feasible.

Now take a deep breath, hold it, release it and repeat with me, "Paranoid no more".

tl;dr: Don't do things that could get you in trouble and give them an excuse to deport you.

did you just say mexicans make horrible co workers cause the miserable ones dont want you to succeed?????? wtf not even mexican and im offended.

thanks for posting this banished.

I'd also like to add that according to this video (http://www.chirla.org/knowyourrights#preview), you can exercise your right to remail silent. It is probably the safest way to deal with cops when you get pulled over. The less you say, the less follow-up questions they'll ask.

Its better to be out and aout, accept your status.

Its safer that way =D ::no joke on this statement, trust me::

Thanks for posting this , Banished.

great post, Banished!

cheers

"The dream act just won't happen, why partially fix something when you can fix the whole thing? He knows that some sort of pathway for undocumented immigrants (free of a criminal charges) to become legal residents will be established and put to action towards the end of 2011. It will not be called an immigration amnesty"...

I don't care what they call it. After they supposedly implent this pathway, it will take months to apply, get security clearance, those who have pending cases will need to appeal, then apply, pay thousands of dollars; etc. All in all, we woudl be looking at another year, year and half before the first applicants receive their status: 2012 or 2013. That's a whole 3 YEARS AWAY. Look how things have changed in just the last six months! The things that seemed to be right on course, tanked.

And in January 2009 we were told to wait until summer 2009, and on and on it goes. Bullshit. This administration keeps contacts with insiders in the activists organizations and "Hispanic" media to quiet down any revolt, and avoid bad press, but this only does a disservice to immigrants and their families because time and opportunity slip away. They have 'open' lines of communication so this goverment can keep everyone hooked on the 'hope' that SOMEDAY we may get legal status and dangle the 'bait' of future citizenship to avoid having to actually do something.
This hope is what keeps me going every day; however, it's not exclusive to the injustice of it all.

This highly ranked ICE official seems to be right on with most the stuff mentioned. Thank you for providing helpful suggestions. Most of the information is stuff we know, but it is good to hear someone in that field inform us.

His thoughts on the Dream Act are likely, although I want to disagree with them. I thought about it for a moment and if the Dream Act passed, two years later, the individuals affected could vote for representatives in favor of reform. Why the hassle though? I understand the route is possible, but it just seems like the issue of immigration would stick around for a very long time. Time on immigration is difficult to get as it is.

I just thought it was interesting, because here we are fighting for a piece of pie when those above us want to enjoy the whole pie in one day.

Wud u pls, exlpain in a bit more detail, on whether possible / not possible to travel to Alaska, with state driver's license, becus am planning a trip to there.

What is wrong with cashing a tax refund check? After all you're paying your taxes. Isn't that what they want you to do?