When unconfirmed rumors of immigration enforcement activity in Scranton’s Hill Section and elsewhere spread online last week, some social media feeds popped with red.
“Red cards,” or “tarjetas rojas” in Spanish — business-card-size images named for the color — give advice on constitutional legal rights when approached by immigration officials, for noncitizens as well as citizens.
The standard red version is put out by the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, a national nonprofit. The American Civil Liberties Union offers the same basic advice, and its logo often shows up in posts.
Supplies of red cards, or their equivalent, have been available at some branches of the Luzerne County library system, the University of Scranton Weinberg Memorial Library and the Needle Law Firm in Scranton.
Rose Randazzo of Scranton posted the Immigrant Legal Resource Center red card on her Facebook page Tuesday after hearing the Hill Section rumors. She’s an attorney, mostly retired, so she stresses that she’s not offering legal advice. She’s not in favor of open borders. But many people here illegally are long-term good neighbors, Randazzo said.
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A Spanish language red card on the website of the Partnerships to Uplift Communities charter school network in the Los Angeles area. (PUC Schools)
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Advice for interactions with ICE on “red cards.” (Immigrant Legal Resource Center)
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Advice for interactions with ICE on “red cards.” (Immigrant Legal Resource Center)
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Advice for interactions with ICE on “red cards.” (Immigrant Legal Resource Center)
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Rose Randazzo of Scranton is one of many who have posted red card advice on social media as ICE enforcement increases. (Rose Randazzo)
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A Spanish language red card on the website of the Partnerships to Uplift Communities charter school network in the Los Angeles area. (PUC Schools)
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“Irrespective of legal status, they do have a right to due process and certain rights under the fourth and fifth amendments, and a lot of these individuals do not understand that,” Randazzo said.
The Hazleton Integration Project printed about 100 of its own version of advice for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement encounters a few months ago. They were gone within a day or so, said Franchesca Aquino, education director at the community center. HIP will print it on request.
About 75% of Hazleton residents are Latino, many with roots in the Dominican Republic. It is estimated that a lot are in the country illegally, Aquino said. “They are a little afraid,” she said.
Aquino advises people in the country illegally to stay away from parties, stick close to family and not answer the door if ICE knocks.
Generally, the red cards and their equivalent recommend not opening a door to ICE, not answering questions, not consenting to searches and avoiding signing anything without a lawyer.
Detentions by ICE are spiking nationwide under the administration of President Donald Trump.
With that in mind, Michele Kushmeder, executive director of the Hazleton Public Library, added stacks of a bookmark to the North Church Street library’s display of immigration materials a few months ago. It has a QR code that leads to a long list of resources, including red cards.
In Lackawanna County, no public libraries currently have red cards on their information tables, said Sandy Longo, executive director of the county library system. Two member libraries have plans. The Carbondale Public Library and the Valley Community Library, in Blakely, will be adding them to the various community resources on their information tables. The Scranton Public Library does not have any plans to have them available, she said.
Action Together NEPA, a regional progressive group, is considering ways to assist people who may be approached by ICE, said Communications Director Jessica Brittain.
Nationally, ICE does not always announce all detentions, and its officers do not always wear uniforms. Social media rumors of ICE activity in the Hill Section and other areas could not be confirmed. ICE did not respond to a request for comment.
Social media posts often use puns, such as “icy in the Hill Section tonight.”
Also on social media have been a few calls for ICE to visit specific Northeast Pennsylvania stores and posts celebrating local ICE enforcement actions.
The Immigrant Legal Resource Center gives instructions for printing and ordering red cards at ilrc.org. They can be printed, or ordered in bulk, with English on one side and any of more than 30 other languages on the other.
This week, the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce website posted a guide to ICE interactions for businesses in its member news section. It includes an overview of different documents ICE might use. Stevens & Lee, a large East Coast law firm that has offices in Northeast Pennsylvania, offered the materials, said Bob Durkin, president and CEO of the Chamber.
The Chamber of Commerce wants businesses to be well informed on issues but has no policy or comment on immigration, Durkin said. The link to the fact sheet is scrantonchamber.com/stevens-lee-fact-sheets-information-on-ice.