North Las Vegas forum teaches immigrant rights in case of raid

Felicia Anorve knows firsthand how terribly a deportation can affect a family; just 10 months ago her 14-year-old son jumped into traffic days after his father was arrested and placed on an immigration hold.

Anorve didn’t want to make Saturday about her, she said as people filed into First African Methodist Episcopal Church in North Las Vegas. She just wanted to know how to prevent other families from going through what she did.

The Nevada Immigration Coalition, a group of organizations that advocate for immigrants and refugees, held a “Know Your Rights” forum on Saturday to tell people what they can do if they encounter an immigration raid.

The forum was held in response to planned Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in 10 major cities on Sunday.

President Donald Trump announced Saturday that the raids to deport people living in the country illegally, including families, would be delayed for at least two weeks in order to see if Congress can work out a solution.

The raids were not scheduled for Las Vegas — although nearby Los Angeles was on the list — but organizers on Saturday held the forum even after the delay was announced to answer Las Vegas residents’ questions.

“A lot of the same rights that we, as American citizens, enjoy also apply to the undocumented community,” said Ariel Guevara, the state coordinator for Mi Familia Vota, one organization in the coalition. “You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to keep your door locked in case someone comes knocking; if they don’t have a warrant then they have no right to search your home.”

Three immigration lawyers addressed the group in Spanish and English during the forum, answering questions about traffic stops, being detained and if local police are working with ICE. Portions of the forum that were in Spanish were translated into English through headsets.

One lawyer told the crowd that if you are arrested on suspicion of a criminal offense and have an immigration warrant, or if you tell a corrections officer you were born in another country, Metro may alert ICE that you were arrested.

“We have heard reports that Metro will not be cooperating with ICE with regards to any raids conducted here in Las Vegas,” Guevara said. “There has been some (ICE) presence here.”

Anorve said she got involved with immigrant organizations after her son, Silas Anorve, died on Aug. 20. Silas was killed when he was hit by a car on U.S. Highway 95 between Decatur and Jones boulevards, and the Clark County coroner’s office has ruled his death a suicide.

“My 14-year-old died on the 95, Aug. 20,” Anorve said. “Aug. 17 we found out his dad was going to be on an immigration hold. (Silas) took it the hardest.”

Anorve has since been reunited with her husband, Ezequiel Anorve-Serrano, who was arrested Aug. 17 on suspicion of battery and pleaded guilty in September to a misdemeanor battery charge, district court records show. In February, he was released from ICE detention and is now allowed to stay in the U.S. due to “hardship,” Anorve said.

She said she attended the event Saturday to pass on information to other families with someone who is undocumented. She added that she doesn’t want other people to be afraid or to think being reunited is impossible if a loved one is detained by ICE.

“It breaks my heart to think that more kids are going to have to see their parents taken away in front of them,” she said. “I don’t want to see another kid have to cry the way my son did.”

Throughout the forum, immigration lawyers and volunteers emphasized that people do not have to open their door to ICE agents unless agents have a warrant signed by a judge with their name on it.

“Don’t open the door and know your rights,” said Maria, a volunteer with Mi Familia Vota, who asked not to give her last name because she is undocumented.

Maria moved to Las Vegas from Mexico before her second birthday. She’s never had an interaction with ICE agents, but the possibility of raids is stressful, she said.

“It was kind of like, ‘Oh, crap; it might happen now for real,’ ” she said.

Guevara said a growing population of Latino and undocumented communities in Las Vegas would be affected by future raids, and that undocumented people and their loved ones should be as “prepared as possible.”

“No one wants to live every day going down the street wondering if it’s the last day they’re going to be able to come home,” he said. “There’s a reason why we have this crowd here today.”

For Maria, even the announcement Saturday that the raids will be delayed hasn’t put her mind at rest.

“You’re just playing with emotions at this point, and you’re playing with the immigrant community,” she said.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.