Migrant advocates say ICE enforcement stirring up fear and misinformation online

With U.S. troops arriving at the southern border this week, community leaders and those at the state level are gearing up for President Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration.

"We don't know how far they're going to go. We don't know how much they're going to be willing to do in terms of their policing of our communities all over California. And so people need to start creating plans," Pedro Trujillo with the Coalition of Humane Immigrant Rights said.

California's Attorney General, Rob Bonta, also visited the southern border Friday to discuss the state's preparations for President Trump's heightened enforcement.

Bonta reaffirmed that with the help of California's SB 54, a bill limiting local law enforcement’s involvement in deportations, that state authorities would have no part in the operations.

"We cannot be enlisted. We cannot be forced to or we cannot be commandeered or conscripted or pressed into service to do the job of ICE for them, but they may do their job if they do it lawfully," Bonta said.

The state’s opposition hasn’t quelled fears among migrant communities and it’s why one nonprofit is channeling that anxiety into a coalition of volunteers tracking the movements of ICE officials in Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles Rapid Response Network's immigration assistance hotline asks for residents to report suspected ICE sightings to their hotline, which they then verify with a team of organizers placed around LA.

"We have people who have been trained on how to spot immigration agents, what to document, what to look for, how to give people information that they may need. Like new rights information when immigration agents are doing operations or questioning people in public spaces," Trujillo said.

While the group relies on the public for the tips, they are also warning against misinformed social media posts.

"It's important that people educate themselves on what's the best way to report immigration activity in the community with timestamps, pictures, videos. When it's either debunked that it's not immigration or that it's something that that they're no longer there, to make sure to bring those posts down in social media so that it doesn't create additional unnecessary fear for the community."

To reach the national immigration assistance hotline, call (888) 624-4752.

For more information on the Coalition for Immigrant Humane Rights and LA Rapid Response Network, visit: https://www.chirla.org/