‘The fear is very real’: Mexican consul general in Atlanta talks about recent ICE arrests

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Díaz de León said the use in the news media and on social media of the word “redadas,” which means raids in Spanish, has contributed to this increased fear. He made it clear that’s not what they are seeing in Georgia and throughout the country, but that might change.

“(Redadas) depicts operations coming into a place, officers coming into a certain place whether is a residence or it’s a public area and they go there and pick up indiscriminately everyone they find. That has not happened, according to the information that we have heard so far,” he said, adding the operations have so far targeted specific people.

The Mexican Consulate in Atlanta has not received notification of any arrests of Mexican nationals by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as the agency launched a series of arrests throughout Georgia, he said, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t any.

“We can tell you, in terms of coming back to the operation that has taken place in the past few weeks, the fact that we have received no consular notifications up until today at all, tells us that the number of Mexican nationalists that may have been detained is probably very small,” Díaz de León said.

An immigration attorney told the AJC this week that two of her clients, including a Mexican mother of five, were arrested by ICE. The consulate said the Mexican detainees might have declined to notify them but the consulate is aware of their arrests.

Officials in the Mexican Consulate in Atlanta, which also serves Mexican nationals in Alabama and parts of Tennessee, said they haven’t been notified of any arrests by ICE of Mexican nationals in those states either.

Process of detention

When someone is arrested, ICE or any agency must give them an opportunity to contact their local consulate. If the person declines, Díaz de León’s office won’t be informed of the arrest, but if they accept, the consulate can step in to advocate on their national’s behalf, he said.

Díaz de León said it doesn’t matter what the immigration or legal status is of the Mexican national detained, they still have the right of due process under U.S. law.

“Our role is not to stop the government or any authority from doing their job, that’s not what we do. What we do is try to make sure that our community is strong because they know their rights,” he said.

According to the State Department, foreign nationals that are arrested or detained “must be advised of the option to have the closest consulate or the embassy notified.” There are 58 countries, not including Mexico, that require the closest consulate or the embassy to be notified, whether or not the foreign national declined to do so.

The State Department also says agencies that arrest foreign nationals should keep a written record of the information provided to the detainee and when, any requests they make, whether consular offices were notified — including date and time and means used to notify them — and any other relevant actions. The steps must be followed regardless of the foreign nationals immigration status.

The AJC reached out to ICE for comment on whether detainees were asked if they wanted to contact their consulate but has not heard back from them.

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

One thing Mexicans and other immigrants in the U.S. should know is that the amount of time they’ve been in the country impacts the deportation process. Díaz de León said that people may have seen several flights out of the U.S. loaded with immigration detainees being sent back to their home country, but those flights were probably populated with people who are more recent arrivals or were already in custody.

“We know from the profile that we have heard from media and Latino leaders and community members, the profile of most of the people who were detained, were people with recent arrival in the United States and many of them people who had (an) ankle monitor, which basically means people of recent arrival, people who requested asylum and were liberated after an entry process into the United States,” Díaz de León said.

If someone has been in the U.S. for more than two years, they are entitled, under current law, to go through an immigration judge who will review the case and determine whether deportation is warranted, he said.

If they have been here for less than two years, they face expedited deportation.

Díaz de León said his office is trying to tell as many people as possible to make sure they have proper documentation, either a bill or medical record, anything that can prove they’ve been in the U.S. longer than two years, which would then trigger a different legal process that could help them avoid immediate deportation.

Help at the touch of a finger

Before Trump began his second term, the Mexican government launched an app, CounsulApp Contigo, to provide their citizens with information and direct contact with consulates in the U.S. ahead of an expected immigration crackdown.

One of the most important components of the app is a button that immediately connects Mexican nationals who might be detained to the Centro de Información y Asistencia a Personas Mexicanas, CIAM, a 24/7 call center which transfers calls from people in need of legal immigration assistance to their consulate.

The app, available for only Mexicans, sends all their information to CIAM and the consulate closest to them. Mexican nationals can also call CIAM directly at 520-623-7874 or the Mexican Consulate in Atlanta at 404-736-4141.

“At this moment, we have not received any requests, we have not received any consular notification from ICE and we have not received any referral from the CIAM of somebody pressing this button so far,” Díaz de León said.

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

In addition to the button, the app includes information in Spanish about rights immigrants have in the U.S. and a map that shows where all 53 Mexican consulates are in the U.S.

“Only thing that matters to us is whether they’re Mexican. Any person who is a Mexican person who is in the United States and need assistance of a Mexican consulate for a legal situation, whether it’s immigration, family law and anything, they have resources that come from a Mexican consulate,” he said.