CITY COLLEGE–As the threat of deportation of undocumented immigrants looms large, students in the City College community are learning how to protect themselves and their families from potential worst-case scenarios.
During a recent Thursday club hour session, about twenty students gathered in a Colin Powell School conference room around a Zoom screen for a “Know Your Rights” workshop. Make the Road NY, an immigrant rights advocacy group, led the talk.
They provided up-to-date information about legislation, executive orders, legal advice about how to act if stopped by an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Officer, and gave students a booklet called a Deportation Defense Manual.
Dr. Deborah Cheng, the Director of Fellowships Programs and the Office of Student Success at the Colin Powell School, organized the event in conjunction with the Immigrant Student Center and Leadership for Democracy and Social Justice. She said that she responded to the uncertainty about students’ status under the Trump administration. “There was a request from our student advisory committee for more information and a space for students to talk to each other,” she explained.
