Organizations remind residents of rights amid immigration raids
U.S. residents, regardless of their immigration status, retain the right to remain silent, due process, and legal representation, among others.
UPDATED 1/30/25: As of Thursday, Jan. 30, the Morrisey administration says 72 individuals are being detained under suspicion of being “illegal immigrants.”
CHARLESTON – During a press conference Tuesday, Jan. 29, Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced 58 “suspected illegal immigrants” were being detained within the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. This comes as Morrisey orders local entities to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, agents.
Reports from across the state allege ICE agents are active in various communities. Huntington Police Chief Phil Watkins confirmed to WOWK that his office assisted federal law enforcement immigration enforcement operations in his city on Sunday, Jan. 26 “as a courtesy.”
Many of the detained individuals have not been charged with a crime, and their immigration statuses have yet to be determined. Still, Morrisey lauded the efforts he says are in collaboration with President Donald Trump.
“I will say this, I believe that what President Trump has done is absolutely correct,” Morrisey said Tuesday. “I’ve always talked about the problems of immigration and how it affects West Virginia.” In a later statement, Morrisey said, “We will take all appropriate steps to protect our citizens and work with the Trump Administration to crack down on illegal immigration.”
Trump campaigned on mass deportations in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election.
“On day one, I will launch the largest deportation program of criminals in the history of America,” Trump said in October. The president moved quickly on his first day in office signing a flurry of executive orders to fulfill his promises. The orders include directing the Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, to expand its detention infrastructure and begin detaining anyone arrested by DHS, limiting the use of parole or ICE bonds while people navigate their immigration cases, expanding the application of expedited removals, and permitting ICE raids at schools and churches.
In response to the increased threat of immigration raids, activists and organizations, like the American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia, or ACLU-WV, are reminding residents of their rights when interacting with law enforcement officers.
In a social media post, ACLU-WV reaffirmed individual’s constitutional rights to due process, remain silent, refuse consent to a search, request to see a search warrant signed by a judge, and request an attorney. The Constitution of the United States protects all individuals residing in the country regardless of their immigration status.
Other organizations are providing resources for undocumented immigrants, too.
The Immigration Legal Resource Center offers printable “know your rights” cards, or red cards, detailing a person’s constitutional rights. The cards are intended to help individuals assert their rights when confronted by ICE or other law enforcement officers.
The American Immigration Lawyers Association, or AILA, offers a database of immigration attorneys throughout the country who provide counsel to immigrants, undocumented or otherwise, who are facing legal challenges in immigration courts.
In a separate post, and in response to Trump’s orders permitting ICE raids at schools, ACLU-WV advised that schools “must uphold and protect” student’s right to an education. The Supreme Court of the United States upheld this right in Plyer v. Doe, a case established the right to a free public education regardless of immigration status.
In a memo to staff and reported by West Virginia Watch, Kanawha County Schools Superintendent Tom Williams advised staff that, “If a situation arises where an undocumented student, who is not otherwise causing a safety concern, becomes the target of ICE based on their immigration status alone, it is still your job to protect that student’s rights for as long as you can.”
The state Department of Education advised school districts to devise plans on how to respond to immigration enforcement requests on their property. Officers must provide a warrant signed by a judge before entering the school.
Fiction vs. Facts: Who’s smuggling opioids into America?
During his Tuesday press conference, the governor claimed undocumented immigrants were flooding the state with opioids. In October, Morrisey told Mountain State Spotlight, “A large portion of the fentanyl that ends up in West Virginia comes through illegal trafficking routes.”
Trump has made similar assertions about immigrants smuggling fentanyl across the southern border. During his first term, his efforts to secure the southern border did little to stop the flow of fentanyl. In fact, Trump’s restriction on nonessential travel across the border during the COVID-19 pandemic likely increased the amount of fentanyl smuggled into the country due to the drug’s higher potency, thereby reducing the number of trips needed for similar outcomes.
An August 2023 NPR-Ipsos poll shows 39% of Americans and 60% of Republicans agreed with the statement, “Most of the fentanyl entering the U.S. is smuggled in by unauthorized migrants crossing the border illegally,” echoed by Trump and Morrisey.
Despite these claims, studies show fentanyl and other drugs are most commonly smuggled into the United States at legal points of entry by American citizens.
According to a 2022 Cato Institute report, 86.3 percent of convicted fentanyl traffickers were U.S. citizens, “ten times greater than convictions of illegal immigrants for the same offense.” Just 0.02 percent of people arrested for illegally crossing the border possessed fentanyl. A report from the U.S. Sentencing Commission reports that U.S. citizens comprised 88 percent of convicted fentanyl traffickers in fiscal year 2022.
Health and addiction experts argue the most effective ways to combat the opioid epidemic include treatment for substance use disorders, safe-use sites, and drug testing kits.