Civil rights and immigrant advocacy groups led a town hall in south St. Louis on Monday to teach people how to defend and care for neighborhoods that are at risk of facing immigration enforcement raids and deportations.
About 200 people filled a gym to hear what leaders from the Migrant and Immigrant Community Action Project, Action St. Louis, ArchCity Defenders, Manos Unidas STL, Migrantes Unidos and LifeWise STL had to say about immigration enforcement in St. Louis. The groups’ unified goal for the event was to prepare residents for an uptick in enforcement, which could occur in the next few weeks.
Some advocacy groups say Gov. Mike Kehoe’s activation of the state’s National Guard funnels more resources to immigration enforcement and frees up agents to conduct that enforcement more aggressively.
Residents who attended the meeting say they are terrified by the prospect.
“I feel like there is not any rhyme or reason anymore for why people are being taken off the streets,” said Kellyn Danehey-Macon. “We have a lot of different communities that are vulnerable in St. Louis, and I am just really nervous for them.”
Danehey-Macon came to the town hall to learn more about what to do if she encounters immigration agents detaining people and to brainstorm with others about steps she can take to help prepare herself and her neighbors if they may need to step in and help.
She is nervous that the city government does not have a plan to help residents if violent raids and anti-ICE protests break out. Danehey-Macon said even though she has not personally seen any ICE agents in the area, she knows that does not mean federal agents are not detaining people.
“We have notoriety for being high crime, and even though our governor is very chummy with Trump, I feel like they might make us an example, so we need to know what to do to fight back,” Danehey-Macon said.
Groups that work with the St. Louis Rapid Response Coalition told community members that they have received thousands of calls since it launched an immigration hotline in February, and most of them were about a loved one in detention. They also made people aware of where residents have spotted immigration agents.
Advocacy groups said the influx of federal agents in Chicago pushed them to help community members draft a plan to support those at risk. They suggest making a list of resources and support groups in the community, leveraging relationships that already exist in neighborhoods and connecting them to other trustworthy people and identity spaces in the community that need added levels of protection. Those can include encampments, public transit hubs and gathering spaces for laborers or sex workers. Groups also suggest connecting with people who have lived through militarized regimes to learn how to better support those in need.
Leaders say people need to start thinking about an emergency strategy now and that should include rapid response, information sharing, communication planning and funding and care sources.
Jaiden Booth of Overland said the social videos of federal agents arresting children and families in Chicago motivated him to find out what more he can do to protect his community, which has a heavy Hispanic population.
“I have some friends out in Chicago, and I have been seeing what has been going on out there, and so naturally it matters a lot to me that I’m prepared for whenever they [federal agents] try to come out here to be able to resist in the right way,” Booth said.
He said he has seen federal agents in north St. Louis County over the past few months and pulled over to just watch their process because he did not know what else to do. He came to the town hall to learn how to monitor ICE operations.
Also, during the breakout sessions for people to get to know their neighbors, he said he learned what to look for on a warrant to make sure it is proper and how to work with others to effectively make change.
Booth believes President Donald Trump’s push to deploy National Guard, ICE agents and other federal agents to Democratic-led cities does not reduce crime. He said organizing communities to police themselves helps minimize it.
“It is really important for us to organize in communities our own rapid response and our own systems of accountability to ensure that the community can account for itself,” he said. “When it's your brother, your cousin or your neighbor who is the one holding you accountable, you're a lot more likely to listen to them.”
