NAMPA, Idaho — “You know, there is a lot of fear, nervousness, [and] anxiety just because there's a lot of information out there, and it's not always the most accurate information,” says Mari Ramos, Executive Director of the Idaho Hispanic Foundation. The non-profit foundation has been helping families and the Hispanic community in Idaho since 2018.
Reports of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sweeps in large U.S. cities are growing, spurred by President Donald Trump's executive order to deport immigrants who are in the country without legal authorization.
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Ramos, who fields questions daily at the Idaho Hispanic Foundation in Nampa, says concern about such raids taking place in Southern Idaho is coming to the forefront of her day-to-day.
"It seems to be people don't know what to believe [and] don’t know what is true, what is accurate, [and] what is not," she explains. "There's footage that may not even be from here, but it is portrayed like it's from here. So there's a lot of nervousness and fear of what could be happening."
Ramos says that lack of clarity is causing nervousness throughout Treasure Valley. "And this isn't just our undocumented community. We have people who have residences who are asking people who are citizens [because] they were born here but maybe their parents weren't."
These concerns come after President Trump passed another executive order to end birthright citizenship, a move that's already being met with legal challenges from multiple states attorneys general.
To help clarify the situation, the Idaho Hispanic Foundation provides interested individuals with a list of Spanish-speaking lawyers. In addition to that, they are constantly seeking input from immigration consultants to ensure the latest information is accurate.
"We have these red cards. They are the 'Know Your Rights" cards and they are available [to] anybody."
The cards in question include info in both Spanish and English that provides people with their constitutional rights if someone is questioned by ICE.
The Center will also be hosting events to help people in need if their family members are detained. In the meantime, the foundation is collecting contributions to help anyone with immigration issues.
"What we are doing is raising funds to be able to help anybody who needs [it]. When we get to those kinds of things [like when a] husband is deported— now the wife is having to figure [everything] out, that's where we are gonna come in wrap our services around whoever it is that needs it," concluded Ramos.
