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Transcript

Know Your Rights: What Immigrants Need To Do in Today's Political Climate · The Lawtino™

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to the Latino podcast where we discuss the intersection of law and our Latino communities with legal, political, and community leaders and visionaries.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_01: Let's get started.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_02: Hey everyone, welcome to this episode of the La Tino, where we discuss the intersection of law in our Latino communities.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_02: We feature Latino lawyers, leaders, judges, uh community activists, and uh those that make a difference in the community.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_02: This program is brought to you as always by your sponsor, Gomez Trial Attorneys, a national law firm that represents consumers that have suffered personal injury, employment wrongs, civil rights violations.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_02: We are a firm that offers legal services of the very highest quality in Spanish language and in a culturally sensitive way.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_02: We pride ourselves on our representation of our Latino clients.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_02: Today we have with us first a co-host who joins us for the first time, who is Ariel Sarin, who is a recent graduate of the University of California, Berkeley.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_02: She's been working with us over the summer as a law clerk, is off to uh continue her career at Santa Clara University School of Law, where it's my understanding that you uh qualified for and received some awards for your academic prowess.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_02: So uh welcome to the show.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_02: Tell us a little bit about you growing up and how you got to where you are, Ario.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, thank you very much, John, for the intro.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_03: So I'm born and raised here in uh sunny San Diego, California, and I graduated from Caleb in 2022.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_03: My first job out of college was right here at Gomez Trial Attorneys, and I've had the privilege of serving a predominantly Latino clientele.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_03: Um I'm really happy to be here with John.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_03: We do a lot of work in the community, and for me, it's mostly affirming core beliefs I've had since I was a child.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_03: Um, I grew up in a system-impacted family, and I carry their story with me as a first-generation college student.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_02: Love it.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_02: So I think you're a perfect person to help me interview our guest, uh, who is Adam Faña, who's an immigration lawyer practicing right here in San Diego, who really has achieved some notoriety and fame as a person who themselves received a letter from the Department of Homeland Security, which started with, it is time for you to leave the United States.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_02: And so um, welcome to our show, uh Adam.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you very much for having me, uh Mr.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: Gomez.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Ariel, thank you for for joining in.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um good afternoon.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: It's good to be here.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I'm still here, Mr.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: Gomez.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_02: I'm glad you beat the system.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, beat the wrap.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_02: And so, Ariel, like you know, you you uh told me you have these core values.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_02: Uh do you have feelings about what's happening uh to our community right now with these ice raids and enforcement actions?
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_03: Absolutely, I do.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_03: And I've actually through the law firm, I've had an incredible opportunity to participate and ice out protests.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_03: Um, you know, here we're we're coming together as a community to say enough is enough.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_03: And in any way that I can make an impact, and even if that's a small impact, you know, going on a march, connecting with someone who has a different status than I do, and listening to their story, checking in on my neighbors.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_03: Um, those have been all kind of my day-to-day life since this administration.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_02: Well, you know, as we get into it, Adam, maybe you can give us some tips for how we can help.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_02: But, you know, we always start with, you know, tell us a little bit about you growing up and uh where you're from and um how you ended up being a lawyer.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_02: So uh take it from the beginning.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: Uh thank you very much again for having me here, uh, Mr.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: Gomez.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I appreciate it.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: So uh as you already mentioned, I'm Adam Pena.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I'm originally from uh El Paso, Texas.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: Uh it's the second largest uh uh port of entry uh into the United States, the first being, as we all know, San Diego Tijuana or San Isidro uh Tijuana.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um in El Paso, we're right across uh Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: And uh I was uh born there, um born to uh a single mother.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: Uh she uh is a retired public school teacher, and uh she uh taught in a uh predominantly Latino um community, uh low socioeconomic uh neighborhood, um very similar to communities out here, uh whether it's City Heights or uh Barrio Logan, National City, for example.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um and uh I had the option of uh I guess attending uh another school, uh uh you know, schools that were closer to to where we lived, um, which was north the freeway.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: Uh El Paso, and like many cities across the country, you have the freeway that divides communities, income levels, and stuff.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: So uh, but my mom uh made the conscious decision of sending me to school uh uh in um El Paso's uh what they call the Lower Valley.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: And uh again, it's predominantly uh Latino um uh lower income folks.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um and uh I attended uh Riverside High School and graduated from there.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: I was a valedictorian.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: There you go.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: I appreciate it.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um same high school as uh one of your previous uh guests, uh the honorable uh judge uh Silas Mendoza.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: Uh she's a Riverside High graduate.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, yes, yes.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: And so um I decided um, you know, when when when I was in high school that I wanted to uh leave my hometown um and go to a university um, you know, outside of my hometown.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um my whole family um is all in El Paso, um, and so I would be the first one uh to leave.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I was really uh and I still am interested in cinema.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: And so I I was like, I I want to go to film school.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I um went on to attend uh film school, uh the uh the uh School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California in LA.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, yes, and uh you know I had other options to go to other schools uh you know in California.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_02: But that's like the top program, right?
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: It it is, it is not too uh not to flex, but uh I yeah, I I was like I want to go to the best film school, and so uh I it was such a great experience um you know making making films, student films uh at USC.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_00: We we had to fund those all on our own, surprisingly.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, I was there um uh with scholarships and grants and uh generous amount of financial aid that they provided me.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: And so um, yeah, I I I graduated from USC um and I was like, okay, I'm gonna I'm gonna go work in the industry.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: And uh lo and behold, uh you know, um it's at the end of the day, uh making films, uh it's an art form, right?
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: And so I, you know, I was being supported after I graduated.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: You know, obviously financial aid had already run out at that time.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: So my family, my mom, and my brother uh were supporting me um as much as they could.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_02: And so you kept telling them, don't worry, I have the next Star Wars is gonna be next month.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, yes, and so it's extremely, extremely competitive.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, everybody around the world wants to go to Hollywood and make something of themselves, right?
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_02: And so um most of them are from El Paso, they they have like an uncle there, and like it's all connections, right?
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: Relationships, yeah, yeah.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: And uh I was there for six months trying to make it, and the thing about LA, it's a whole other beast.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um the um, you know, uh filmmaking business, Hollywood is a whole other beast, and um most of the time it may have changed now, but back then, you know, um you're expected to intern uh for free um for not just months, but for a year or several years.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, I I don't know if this is gonna be sustainable.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: So I I went, so you know, I had six months, and I'm like, you know what?
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: I know I don't I this is not sustainable long term.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, more power to the people that you know um are in it and trying to, you know, make movies and stuff, but you know, being uh a Latino, uh coming from a single parent household, you know, um, I I had to reevaluate my situation.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_00: And so I went back home um to El Paso and uh there I got involved in my community and I uh actually uh El Paso is basically like a it's a park desert.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um if you've heard of food deserts, basically the same thing.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: There's not a lot of parks, there's not a lot of green space, public recreation space.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: So I advocated for uh a park uh in a lower income community.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um and uh I got the uh I got all the stakeholders involved and uh I was able to get that park built.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_00: It's about a five million dollar park.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and so uh so I did that.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: If we if we go to Banyan Park in uh El Paso, we know I wish I I guess low-key, I kind of wish it was named uh after me, but no, they actually named it after the um I I believe it was like the um uh the owner of the land or something.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, of course.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: And so uh and so yeah, I got the park built, and then uh the city councilman uh liked my work and my advocacy, and he's like, hey, uh I'm gonna run for mayor.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: Do you want to run my campaign?
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, okay, sure.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_00: Uh why not?
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: And uh I was the youngest uh mayoral campaign manager uh in the city's history, and at that time it was the 19th largest city in America, so I was like, okay, let's do this.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: And uh he was uh progressive, uh educated lawyer, um uh, you know, put in a lot of work and uh uh came in second, uh, lost to a uh car salesman.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_00: Oh and uh salesman.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I I uh that probably sounds familiar, right?
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: Uh when it comes to uh political campaigns, losing to salesmen.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_00: So uh um yeah, and I always like, okay, well, I gotta I gotta figure out what to do next.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, I loved advocating, I loved canvassing, I loved speaking to people, I loved taking on issues in the community, um, recognizing where there were problems and trying to find solutions.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_00: And I said, you know what, um, there's no better place than becoming a lawyer and going to law school.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: And so I decided to go to law school.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I went to the University of Colorado, uh law school in Boulder.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, never been to Colorado, but I said, you know what, I'm gonna try something different.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna I'm gonna go to a state I've never been to before.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: And so yeah, I did my three years there, and um, I did a summer.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_00: So, what brought me to San Diego?
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: You you probably uh are asking.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um my I did a summer uh during law school at the Public Defender and the San Diego County Public Defender uh up in North County in Vista.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_00: And uh that was my um first uh long-term experience uh you know living in San Diego for for a few months.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, you know what?
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I know I know Vista's not San Diego, but it's it's North County, it's San Diego County.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: And I said, you know what?
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: I uh I love the San Diego area.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_00: I could see myself, you know, living and practicing here once I graduate.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_00: So that's why I'm here.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um and I graduated from law school.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: All my professors in Colorado, all my classmates, friends, why do you want to go to California?
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, the market is so saturated with attorneys.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_00: Also, you're gonna have to uh uh take the hardest bar exam in the country.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: You're gonna have to learn all these California-specific subjects for the bar exam.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, you know what?
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_00: Why not?
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I I'm up for the challenge, but really um my heart has always been with California.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_00: I I think I've outgrown um uh my home state, Texas.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um I've also felt like I've aligned myself more with uh California, and uh I'm a big believer in California's uh progressive policies that you know just you know um when we look at a lot of the laws that get made um or that get taken national, basically they come from California, right?
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: And there's a saying here in California um as California goes, so goes the nation, right?
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm like California's my place.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_00: I also um you know, my great-grandmother lived in East LA in Boyle Heights for over 75 years, so I spent my spring breaks and summers uh visiting my great grandma in in Boyle Heights.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_00: And so I'm yeah, I just I just I I've been here already for six years straight um after passing the bar exam and uh and I love it.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I I don't I don't think I would live anywhere else.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_02: Well, welcome.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_02: I'm glad you're here.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_02: Um if you look around at our mural here, that was painted by Jessica Luhan's dad, who was from El Paso.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_02: Yep.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_02: Um and like one of the that priest right there is a priest that um I don't know his name, but that uh had some influence on uh Jessica going to law school.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_02: So um, you know, we're we're glad you're here with us in California, but we wanted to give you like a little a little taste of home.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_02: Um and so what'd you what'd your mom think when you say, hey mom, I want to go to law school?
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, my mom has always been supportive of me.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_00: And she's always told me, Nijo, anything you want to do, you know, I support you, we support you.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um and I think that's I think that tends to be very symbolic and emblematic of uh Latino parents.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um I think the fact that uh you know you're uh if you know as a Latino parent your child wants to do something, they want to do something greater.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, uh a lot of them tend to support that.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_00: And so, you know, my mom, she was like, uh I you know, she probably also saw it.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_00: Like the fact that I, you know, I love to to speak, I love to help people, you know, um, I like to um, you know, um take on an issue or a cause and find a solution um to it.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_00: And uh so she supported it.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um and you know, uh I know it's it's it it sounds kind of like a weird jump from going to film school or wanting to make movies to you know uh being a lawyer, but you know, and I got asked that question a lot, like, oh, like because usually people that are you know your classmates in law school, like they did economics, they did psychology, they you know, they did poli sci um or even mathematics or something, but you know, it's sometimes it's kind of rare when you hear somebody from the arts, especially you know, uh, you know, going to film school.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_00: For me, it was the fact that, you know, when we look at some of the greatest movies that are made, right?
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um you have an underdog and you want that underdog to succeed, right?
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_00: And a good movie or a good story is when you can get the audience to root for that underdog, right?
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_00: You persuade them, you you you strike something in the audience that you know they in turn um empathize with this individual, right?
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes this individual isn't perfect, you know.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_00: They're they're they're human, they have flaws, right?
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_00: But uh you you humanize this person.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_00: And in many ways, being a lawyer is the same thing, right?
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_00: You're you're telling the story of your client, and you're going to bat for that client, and you want the audience, it could be a jury, um, to empathize with your client.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe if they don't empathize with your client, you can at least get them to question, like, hey, is this client or is this person that's being tried, for example, are they really guilty?
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe not.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe I don't want to put them away.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_00: I don't feel comfortable doing that, you know?
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_00: So I I I think there's a lot of overlap.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_00: You're telling at the at its very core, you're telling the story of your client.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_02: And so, you know, when you were in law school, did you ever as part of your curriculum or did you ever dabble in in a little you know documentary or short film or as part of like a law school project, anything like that?
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_00: You know, uh, Mr.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_00: Gomez, um I'll be honest with you.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_00: I uh w you know I went to law school in Colorado uh at the University of Colorado in Boulder, and I don't know if you've ever been to Boulder, it's it's it's a beautiful town.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um they they call it the like the it's it's basically like the uh the Portland of the Rockies, right?
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_00: Because Denver's kind of considered the Seattle uh of the Rockies.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_00: And so there was just so much to do, so much to do the quality of life is amazing.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_00: It was voted uh, you know, continuously, you know, the most or one of the most livable cities.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_00: And so um I never went out.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_00: I was I was in the library after class.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_00: I I went straight to the library.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_00: I was in the library for probably anywhere from four to like six hours um every day, pretty much.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um maybe I took like a Saturday or Sunday off.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so I I really wish you know hindsight is 2020, I know, but if I could go back and change something about law school, it probably would have been uh maybe uh going on a few ski trips or uh snowboarding trips or camping trips with uh my friends and my classmates.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_00: But um, but no, uh to answer your question, uh I I wish I would have had the time to make to make films while I was in law school.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_00: But you know, um as a first generation uh lawyer uh in my family, um it was you know it was a different experience for me, and it was it was quite difficult for me because it was a new way of reading uh cases, understanding cases, and just thinking uh in general um in that way.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_00: So I I wish I would have had time to to make movies, but I still want to make movies.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_02: Well, you got yeah, I had the similar experience.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_02: I was so terrified when I was in law school.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_02: Like we um at my school we didn't have grades first semester, and um, but we have finals after uh Christmas.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, and so all the kids, everybody goes home for Christmas.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_02: I'd stayed, I was in New Haven, Connecticut at the time.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_02: I stayed there because I was so terrified that even though we had no grades, I was somehow gonna get kicked out.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_02: So I I was the same.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_02: All I ever did was study when I was in law school.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_02: So I get it.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_03: Well, I do have one question, um, just based on everything you've shared, and you know, your perspective, especially within the last six months.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_03: Um how concerned should all Latinos in this country be right now about what we're seeing unfold, especially at the speed of which we're seeing everything unfold.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_00: So it's it's unfortunate, but I think we all need to be concerned and vigilant about what's going on.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um here's the deal.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_00: When you look at the folks that are getting um Detained and the people that are getting deported.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_00: Most of those folks, I think studies have come out, reports have come out that some fifty-five to sixty-five percent of those individuals, if not more, have no criminal history.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_00: And when you look at those that are going through that, most of them are Latinos.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_00: And so I mean I I do feel that this government is racially profiling folks.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_00: Because I will tell you, I have I have friends that are white, and they tell me, you know, there's there's undocumented white folks here, whether they're Italian, you know, Ukrainian, you know, um other white folks here that are undocumented, they're not being harassed, they're not getting looked at, or anything like that.
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_00: And so um I I I would say in terms of you know what Latinos can do, I obviously if you're a US citizen, you want to make sure that you carry your birth certificate, a copy of it at least, um, and your passport with you in case you were to be questioned.
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um yeah, you can get into the whole back and forth with the agent, like, you know, like, oh, I have the right to remain silent.
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not asking your, you know, I'm not answering your questions.
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_00: Is this a lawful stop?
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_00: You can get into all that legality, but I mean, if they're already like, if they don't care about that, and that's what we're seeing, right?
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_00: They're just literally going up to people and um they're you know arresting them, then you want to have that information to show them, like, hey, hey, hey, hey, like, look, I'm I'm a US citizen.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um, for folks that um are looking to adjust their status, right?
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_00: Because they qualified, I would recommend that, you know, obviously they already submitted their applications, whether it's for a green card, um, or maybe this person is applying for citizenship.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, I would suggest that they sh they show proof that they submitted those immigration applications and that their immigration case is pending with USCIS.
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_00: On the other side, if this is somebody that's in removal proceedings, um I would show that you know this the the agent, this person is, you know, submitted their asylum application, they're in court, it's being processed, it's going through the court process.
• 24:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and for those that are undocumented, um I would suggest um, you know, consulting with an immigration attorney to see if maybe you qualified for some immigration benefit, right?
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_00: There's immigration benefits out there that or forms of relief that you could potentially qualify for, right?
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you were a victim of a crime, and so you can look into a U visa, right?
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_00: And see if that you know um pertains to you.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_00: Um and also maybe you might have an asylum case, right?
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um, or other other forms of immigration.
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_00: There's the VAWA, the Violence Against Women Act, that visa, you know, if you were abused, for example, um, that's something that you could look into.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_00: But obviously you want to look um or speak to an immigration attorney about that.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_00: Now, in terms of, you know, if if you feel like you don't qualify for anything, I think you should still go speak to an immigration attorney.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, if the immigration attorney tells you you don't qualify for anything, then unfortunately, I would just say, you know, keep a low profile.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, know your rights, right?
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_00: So, um, and I'm I'm so glad that there's so many organizations and so many individuals out there that are putting out these know your rights.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um, whether, you know, they're they're they're giving these presentations or they're they're putting these door hangers um on you know uh on people's um doors.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_00: Um or you know, you've I don't know if you I'm sure you guys have heard of the uh the red cards, um, which basically cover your your basic uh rights, um, particularly your Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights.
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_00: One side is in English, the other side is in Spanish.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_00: It's small enough to fit in your your wallet.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_00: And so, you know, if you're in that position where you get approached by law enforcement, then obviously you just let them know, you know, like, am I being detained?
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, if they do detain you, um, then you just, you know, you reserve your right to remain silent and you demand to speak to an attorney.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, if these individuals are appearing at your home, uh, if ICE is appearing at your home, um, then you want to make sure that, you know, they have a valid warrant um if they want to come in.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_00: And that needs to be a warrant that's signed by a judge uh or uh a magistrate.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_00: Um but if the warrant is is not signed by a judge or a magistrate, and it's you know signed by like a supervisor within the department um or within ICE, then that's an administrative warrant, and that doesn't give them the right to enter your home, for example.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_00: So little things like that, you know, also just to you know um just informing people of of what's going on and you know, knowing their rights.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're at a restaurant, you know, uh agents come in, you know, if you're in a public space in that restaurant, then you know, they're allowed to to be in there.
• 28:15
  SPEAKER_00: But if you know you're looking at a private space, so for example, the kitchen, the restaurant manager's office, right?
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_00: Then um, unless they're given permission by somebody with authority or perceived author that they or somebody that they can uh perceive as having authority, um, then they would need a warrant to, you know, to search those areas, right?
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_00: So little things like that um I think are helpful for Latinos to know.
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um and you know, and also there's an app out there called um, I believe it's called Ice Block.
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_00: Let me let me let me double check just so I can it's the new app, right?
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, it's called Ice Block.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_00: It's called Ice Block, and that's an app you can have on your phone, and it will tell you of like areas where you know ice agents are present.
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_00: So you know you can avoid those areas.
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_02: That's a good app.
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_02: And so are we all allowed to if we um download that app, we're allowed to provide information if we it's kind of like a real-time monitoring thing.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I I believe um I think it was on CNN they interviewed the developer of the app.
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_00: And I think I I haven't read the article, but I saw an article, was it today or yesterday?
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_00: I don't recall, but basically uh the Trump administration is is fuming over this app.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 29:49
  SPEAKER_02: I'm sure that they're gonna thread they're gonna either gonna sue that person or arrest that person or threaten to do both.
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like they're gonna intimidate him um at the very least in some way.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, Mr.
• 30:05
  SPEAKER_00: Gomez, I I think you're I think this is a good point um to raise, and um I I wanna thank you um for your you know for your outspokenness, for your advocacy that you're doing um for the community, for Latinos and and and immigrants and just you know um the the most vulnerable uh folks uh in in in our society.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_00: I I know you participated recently uh uh in uh at the uh uh uh it was like the ice out uh uh uh parade or event in El Cajun.
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_00: I I appreciate that.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I believe you're also your firm is also involved with the uh with some of the pride events that are taking place.
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um but it you know I I I also realize that you're putting a lot on the line.
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_00: And what's alarming to me is we're seeing this administration um basically use like authoritarian style tactics to get to intimidate not only judges in the judiciary but also attorneys and law firms.
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm sure you're well aware of some of those firms, uh those huge um, you know, big law firms that um basically um made a deal with the administration and and they said we're gonna provide you with millions of hours of pro bono.
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_00: And I feel like it was a little bit of a quick pro quo because it was like if you, you know, if you um just you know leave us alone, but we'll provide pro bono for for for you all, for for the government or for the administration, or something like that.
• 32:03
  SPEAKER_00: And so, but I also know there's other firms that have also taken the other path and said, you know what, no, like we're not gonna, you know, it's we're we're not gonna only represent clients that are in the best interests of of this administration, like, you know, like and so I I appreciate the fact that you know, you being the the CEO and the leader of, you know, um Gomez trial attorneys.
• 32:37
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I mean I think at the end of the day, you know, history will judge us all.
• 32:41
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, whatever we we have our first core value here is we always do the right thing.
• 32:48
  SPEAKER_02: And so, you know, for us, um you know sticking up for our friends and neighbors um who have lived a decent, hardworking, family-based life is the right thing, um, regardless of where they may have been born or not born.
• 33:06
  SPEAKER_02: I and you know, the irony, of course, is that we're here on indigenous land that it was historically then, you know, uh Mexican land, you know, to to pretend like we have some superior right to, you know, stand alone on this land, you know, to me at least, is you know, not right.
• 33:26
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_02: But speaking of intimidation, wait, what is this, Ariel?
• 33:33
  SPEAKER_03: This is the notice of term termination of parole from Homeland Security.
• 33:40
  SPEAKER_03: And you know, just reviewing it, even if it is some kind of administrative error, like the administration has claimed.
• 33:49
  SPEAKER_03: I think even if I was a licensed attorney and I and I had something like this in front of me, I would feel definitely thrown for a loop.
• 33:58
  SPEAKER_03: I would feel vulnerable.
• 33:59
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and I think it's really admirable that you know you after getting this sort of letter continue.
• 34:06
  SPEAKER_03: And I mean, really, that's that's the only option, is we have to keep going.
• 34:11
  SPEAKER_03: And we can't be intimidated by you know people who come in here and as John said, think they have a right to you know oppress others who quite frankly were were here on this land first.
• 34:26
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 34:27
  SPEAKER_02: So what did you do when you got this?
• 34:30
  SPEAKER_00: I I appreciate what you said, Ariel.
• 34:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um and uh I'm still here, obviously.
• 34:36
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I I have not uh self-deported, um, as as the letter uh or the notice uh says.
• 34:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um so I received this uh letter to self-deport uh in my email.
• 34:55
  SPEAKER_00: It was in my inbox uh on the night of Thursday, April 11th.
• 35:02
  SPEAKER_00: And it was effective.
• 35:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it went into effect uh the following day.
• 35:09
  SPEAKER_00: No, I'm sorry, uh Thursday, April 10th.
• 35:11
  SPEAKER_00: Uh apologies.
• 35:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um uh you can see you can see it in uh in the uh in the in the top part.
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um so I received it the night of Thursday, April 10th.
• 35:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then I go to the office Friday, uh April 11th, and I, you know, I log in and uh first thing I do, like a lot of us, we open our our emails, we open Outlook.
• 35:38
  SPEAKER_00: And uh I saw it there and I read it and I'm like, hmm, this is weird.
• 35:43
  SPEAKER_00: And uh I noticed though that it's addressed that you know it's it's it says, you know, to Adam Pena, and it's my my work email.
• 35:54
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, this isn't uh an email that was forwarded to me from a client.
• 36:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um and so I said, wow, okay, uh, so it's addressed to me, and it's telling me that uh, and as you said, um I think uh prior to this, uh, you know, when we were talking right now, Mr.
• 36:19
  SPEAKER_00: Gomez, it it starts off with this very uh ominous uh sentence that says, it is time for you to leave the United States.
• 36:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um and then it goes on to say that apparently I'm currently here because I was paroled in for a limited period, um, and that DHS is now exercising its discretion to terminate my parole.
• 36:43
  SPEAKER_00: And then it says, unless it expires sooner, your parole will terminate seven days from the date of this notice.
• 36:50
  SPEAKER_00: If you do not depart the United States immediately, you will be subject to potential law enforcement actions that will result in your removal from the U.S.
• 36:58
  SPEAKER_00: unless you have uh otherwise obtained a lawful basis to remain here.
• 37:03
  SPEAKER_00: Any benefits you receive in the U.S.
• 37:05
  SPEAKER_00: connected to your parole, such as a work authorization, are also terminated.
• 37:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um and then it goes on to say that I will be subject to potential criminal prosecutions, civil uh fines and penalties, and any other lawful options available to the federal government.
• 37:23
  SPEAKER_00: Basically, being deported is an option.
• 37:27
  SPEAKER_00: Um and then again it says DHS encourages you to leave immediately on your own.
• 37:33
  SPEAKER_00: They tell me if I need more information on how to leave, I can use their CBP home mobile app.
• 37:39
  SPEAKER_00: And then it ends with again, DHS is terminating your parole, do not attempt to remain in the United States.
• 37:45
  SPEAKER_00: The federal the federal government will find you.
• 37:47
  SPEAKER_00: Please depart the United States immediately.
• 37:50
  SPEAKER_00: So if you if you picked up on on some of those, um, you know, some some of the um sentences that were used, and you know, very ominously saying, you know, you need to leave, we will find you.
• 38:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um it's it's the same message that is being aired right now in um the commercials with uh DHS Secretary Gnome.
• 38:20
  SPEAKER_00: And I think there's about two or three of them out already.
• 38:23
  SPEAKER_00: And so she basically says the same thing.
• 38:27
  SPEAKER_00: And uh yeah, so when I got it, I was like, okay, this is this is weird.
• 38:32
  SPEAKER_00: What, you know, what do I do?
• 38:36
  SPEAKER_00: And so I wasn't the only one that received it.
• 38:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um, a co-worker of mine received it.
• 38:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um, he's not an attorney.
• 38:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um, he's uh an accredited representative, basically.
• 38:49
  SPEAKER_00: He's allowed to represent clients uh in immigration court um as a you know as a non-licensed attorney, but they he you you get accredited through the Department of Justice.
• 39:01
  SPEAKER_00: And uh so he got it too.
• 39:04
  SPEAKER_00: He's also US born.
• 39:05
  SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm US born as well.
• 39:08
  SPEAKER_00: And uh yeah, it was just it was it was alarming.
• 39:12
  SPEAKER_00: And but it was it also wasn't surprising considering the fact that you know this administration is using very aggressive uh tactics, not only to detain folks, but also to intimidate um people, whether they're intimidating immigrants or they're intimidating lawyers and law firms.
• 39:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um and you know, the American Bar Association and even the California Bar Association, actually, the Cal Bar in response to this um put out a statement, and I believe it was who was it?
• 39:57
  SPEAKER_00: I think it was um the local Telemundo uh and NBC affiliate here in San Diego.
• 40:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um that reporter uh reached out to the um Cal Bar and the Cal Bar put out a statement, and this was the reporter that had interviewed me for this.
• 40:19
  SPEAKER_00: And uh the Cal Bar came out and said that they, you know, um this is um, you know, uh they don't they don't stand for their attorneys being, you know, intimidated by the federal government.
• 40:38
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm just paraphrasing here, um, and they said this this can interfere with uh the practice of uh law for the attorneys.
• 40:51
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, that basically they said that can't be happening.
• 40:54
  SPEAKER_00: Like we're not gonna allow that to happen on our watch.
• 40:57
  SPEAKER_00: So I appreciated that by the by the Kel Bar.
• 41:00
  SPEAKER_00: And so um I I I think it's you know, the the Department of Homeland Security put out a statement, you know, fairly quickly once other attorneys across the country came forward and they said they received the same notice.
• 41:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um they said, you know, that I may have been the unintended recipient, may have been uh being in quotes, unintended recipient being in quotes, um, and that it was um it could have been um because the client used um a known uh email address, uh an email address that was provided to them by their attorney.
• 41:48
  SPEAKER_00: And so yes, my clients have my email address, but I confirmed with them and they never said that they used my email address.
• 42:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um my clients have ties in some way here in the United States.
• 42:08
  SPEAKER_00: They have family members, they have friends, some of them even have sponsors, and so they use those uh contacts uh information.
• 42:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um and like I said, this isn't a forwarded email from a client.
• 42:28
  SPEAKER_00: And um the other thing is too is that when the clients use or you know, when the clients have to put their information, put their phone number, for example, or their their email address, um they'll use they'll use somebody that they know, which is a family member or a friend or a sponsor.
• 42:53
  SPEAKER_00: But also, too, when their information was recorded by the government, um, I had not started representing them.
• 43:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um the government gets their information when they apply for parole, for example.
• 43:08
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then they'll they'll do their check-ins with ICE, they'll update them on their contact information.
• 43:17
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes, well, actually, where I work, our representation comes in after the fact.
• 43:23
  SPEAKER_00: So um these are people that um were have just been detained, for example.
• 43:31
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's where my representation comes in.
• 43:35
  SPEAKER_00: So they had already given the government their information, and so it just doesn't make sense that it doesn't make sense that they would use my information.
• 43:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I confirmed with them, and they were like, no, we didn't we didn't give your information to to the government.
• 43:49
  SPEAKER_00: We they you know we even those that are detained, like I get they don't have access to email, but you know, they have loved ones that they provide.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_00: their their email address.
• 44:03
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, it was just, it was just, it was pretty bizarre.
• 44:07
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't mean to be long-winded about this, but yeah, it was it was bizarre and you know obviously I'm not I'm not backing down.
• 44:15
  SPEAKER_00: I'm still here and I'm I'm still representing you know um people.
• 44:23
  SPEAKER_02: Good stuff.
• 44:24
  SPEAKER_02: So where can our viewers or listeners find out more about what's the organization you work with right now?
• 44:34
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm a nonprofit attorney immigration attorney at uh La Maestra.
• 44:40
  SPEAKER_02: La Maestra.
• 44:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah La Maestra Community Health Centers.
• 44:43
  SPEAKER_00: So La Maestra is a um just a really quick background it's it's it's actually uh a medical clinic and they have um an immigration department.
• 44:53
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 44:54
  SPEAKER_00: And so we um yeah we we work on immigration cases.
• 44:59
  SPEAKER_00: We're small um and so uh we for the most part our services are are free and uh you know obviously uh we do an intake we make sure that you you know you qualify and um and yeah so uh you know there uh I I'm I'm there um and uh that's it is it uh la maestra dot org?
• 45:32
  SPEAKER_00: Uh yes yes it is okay and uh we offer uh various uh services besides uh immigration um we I mean it is uh it's uh I mean there's everything from you know just like clinic services medical clinic services there's um there's behavioral health there's like mental health services there's dentistry there's vision so you can go see uh an optometrist um there's there's just so much and one of the yeah one of the services that's offered uh are immigration services I love it yeah yeah I'm on their Instagram page here it says La Maestra Community Health Centers yes it's always they have fame locations around San Diego and one in Nashville City I saw yeah yeah it's all the places you were talking about where people need help yeah yeah how can people find out more about you are you like anywhere on social media any of those things sure um so um I I'm not too like I don't have a TikTok or Twitter or X is what it's called now I mean um I I do have uh an Instagram um and so I I do tend to post a lot of you know just thoughts about everything that's going on and you know obviously you know uh those opinions are my personal opinion um it's not reflective of you know anything else and so um my um instagram handle um or you know uh how they can find me it's um Adam Mark Pen and so that's spelled A D A M A R C and then P E N All right cool I'll check it out Pen Adam Mark M A R C Okay cool pen Adam Mark Pen check him out follow him support him um well my final question for all our guests I take it from this guy Osotaba has a he's a Mexican entrepreneur he has a a podcast called Cracks um and he always ends the podcast he says if you could write a message in the sky yeah for millions to see what words would you write oh okay um that's that's a good one I guess I would say this um and I think this is just more in general of of how I operate uh as as an attorney um so as an American as an immigration attorney I'm committed to justice I will always demand that this country built on native land by enslaved hands and made great by immigrants lives up to its promise of liberty and justice for all in fact I think it's one of the most patriotic things to be able to hold this country accountable to challenge it relentlessly until its reality matches its ideals right so it's about ultimately making sure that this country fulfills its promise of being that more perfect union well that's a that's a mic drop moment to end our podcast uh you know I those are words to ponder and uh thank you for them I think it would benefit uh millions to see those words and live those words and reflect those words so I want to thank you again Adam for your uh contributions and leadership in our community thank you for helping so many um thank you for you know being such a soldier of justice um and for being on our podcast I want to thank our co-host Ariel who's gonna be leaving us here in about three weeks to begin her uh studies at law school um I know that what you've heard today will will leave an impression in your mind and and I think you need greater clarity in the work that you do.
• 50:41
  SPEAKER_02: And I want to thank all of our listeners um for always uh tuning in listening to the Latino where we discuss the intersection of law in our Latino communities at this time um you know what we're seeing happen you know could be more described as the intersection of lawlessness in our Latino community so I think it's super timely and great that you were a guest today.
• 51:04
  SPEAKER_02: And so um that wraps things up for today.
• 51:08
  SPEAKER_01: Again uh thank you both thank you very much appreciate it thank you for listening to the Latino podcast we'll see you again next time and be sure to click subscribe to get future episodes