24 hour hotline launched to help immigrant families

Local immigration activists are launching a 24-hour rapid response hotline for immigrant families in the Coachella Valley in need of assistance for deportation-related emergencies.

The hotline was announced at a news conference at the Mizell Senior Center in Palm Springs Wednesday. The service is designed to give people an avenue of support and clarity if they feel threatened by immigration authorities. People can report immigration enforcement activity like checkpoints, raids, arrests, deportation or harassment.

Erick Lemus, the immigration activist behind the hotline, says volunteer dispatchers use a three pillar approach; prevention, intervention, and follow up.

“Our job is really the intervention part. We have folks who fear they may face some uncertainty, so they call, we verify the situation, and asses it. From there we either provide a support service or access to a legal network,” Lemus said.

People who attended the conference were excited to see the service available to locals. One woman explained she knows firsthand the fear some people are dealing with.

“There’s families that say, ‘if I get picked up, will you be responsible for my children who are U.S citizens?'”

It’s a promise Amalia Deaztlan has made to several fearful parents living locally.

“And I think it’s also important for families to report what’s going on, because a lot of times we don’t feel the connection until we hear their stories and their stories are really sad, of people who are just trying to live a better life,” Deaztlan said.

People in the audience participated in a mass tweet to House Speaker Paul Ryan.

“I want you to pull out your phone and I want you to tweet this,” said one of the speakers at the podium. “.@speakerryan, do your job now”.

The group operating the hotline are all volunteers. They are asking more people to come forward as volunteers. The hotline number is 1-800-515-1935.