Neighbor-to-Neighbor Protect and Defend Plan

Neighbor-to-Neighbor Protect and Defend Plan

In the upcoming political climate where people who are our neighbors may be targeted by immigration enforcement raids for deportation due to their immigration status, or targeted by other law-enforcement agencies, the first line of protection and defense will be our community members, families and neighbors. The following is a draft for a ward-wide plan, spearheaded by the 35th Ward office, to provide the training and resources necessary to defend and protect our undocumented brothers and sisters.

The plan is composed of three phases:

1. Prevention: Educate people in the community who are at risk of being law-enforcement targets about their rights through “Know Your Rights” training, door to door outreach focused on providing information, “Know Your Rights” posters and recruitment.
2. Protection: Creating emergency response mechanisms, including a phone tree for responding quickly to emergencies, and documenting raids or other law-enforcement activities. This phase is not about intervening in the raids, but only documenting potential civil rights violations, information about those targeted and providing community resources and support to others affected.
3. Intervention: As we gauge the political climate and the actual needs of the community members to be protected, a third phase would propose alternative means of intervening to prevent the apprehension or targeting of our neighbors. This may include creating sanctuary spaces out of community spaces (churches, organizational buildings, specific homes, etc) for protection; direct action; rapid responses to raids.

UN35 hopes to work with the Alderman’s office to host a “Know Your Rights” Training sometime soon after Trump get inaugurated. Stay tuned for more information.