ICE Should be for Drinks :-P

So last week, ICE got to my daughter’s friend and arrested him. He has been in the US since he was a toddler. He was enrolled in DACA and had a social security number, and that’s what they used to find him pick him up at work on a Thursday afternoon.

Perhaps most importantly, the have co-opted my local city police department to do their dirty work for them. They held him for a day and eventually did release him. But they also told him to “self deport” before they send him to that prison in El Salvador. He’s never committed any crimes.

That kid is as American as my own daughter. This is the only land he’s ever known. They went to school together for years. He’s bright, intelligent, talented. Losing him is a nerf to America.

And now he can’t even catch a plane ride out of the US, because he doesn’t have a Real ID. So, he’ll have to take a bus to Mexico and hopefully they’ll let him exit without a big fuss. At least he has a passport card.

In his case, his mother already left the US and is down there somewhere in Oaxaca near Guatemala. She was an asylum seeker from Venezuela, who came here legally. Just didn’t have any documents for her kid. She never did anything wrong either.

I just can’t imagine having to pull up stakes and leave everything you’ve ever known, to move to a place where you have barely any connections and don’t speak the language. And without much in the way of money either. This just sucks!

I mean, basically this poor kid’s gotta cross the whole North American continent to Arizona and then head south from there, all the way to Mexico City, and then even farther — all while hoping ICE doesn’t pick him up again just out of spite.

A plane ride takes about 3 hours to get to Arizona and then another 3 hours to get all the way to Mazatlan. Transfers are pretty brutal. I can’t imagine what it’s gonna be to ride it on a bus. The whole trip will take days, maybe a fuckin’ week.

So, among other things, on the 4th of July, my daughter says to me:

I don’t really know what else to say except for how we are halfway through the plot of WW2 and the human rights violations are sick, and that I’m sad that my friend has to leave his home. We have to look out for undocumented people right now because they are really in danger, this shit terrifies me.

These people are monstrous, cruel beyond understanding. I can’t just stand and watch, or argue with idiots and nazis in r/CMV.

So, I am declaring #OpDreamShield.

The first step, is to identify what can be done legally, within the law. So, here’s a quick rundown on that.

What follows comes from ChatGPT, because of course it does. ^_^

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Let’s walk through the menu of legal tools and practical tactics you can use to help friends without papers keep their freedom of movement—and their skin—intact. I’ll break it up by goal, because “one weird trick” memes don’t work on the immigration system.

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1. Lock in whatever status they can get, now

Fast-Track	Who Qualifies	What It Buys	Fine Print
DACA renewals	Came here <16 y/o, in the U.S. since 2007, and already have DACA	2-year work card + deportation reprieve	New apps are still frozen, but renewals are humming despite Fifth Circuit drama. Supreme Court may step in next term. (uscis.gov, informedimmigrant.com)
TPS (Temporary Protected Status)	Nationals of certain disaster-ridden countries (e.g., Salvadorans)	Work card + lawful presence while TPS lasts	El Salvador just got extended to Sept 9 2026. Miss the re-reg deadline and you’re toast. (uscis.gov)
Family-Reunification Parole-in-Place	Undocumented spouses/step-kids of U.S. citizens	3-year work docs, ability to adjust inside U.S.	Brand-new (rolled out Aug 2024) and flying under the radar. (uscis.gov)
Humanitarian visas (U, T, VAWA)	Crime victims, trafficking survivors, abused spouses/children	Work eligibility, path to green card	These take patience but stop removal once filed.

Cheat code: keep tax returns, school records, leases, and pay stubs. They prove “good moral character” and continuous presence when some window suddenly opens.

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2. Move inside the U.S. without flashing “undocumented” in neon

• Driver’s licenses / IDs: 23 states plus DC issue them with alternative docs. Delaware and Maryland (your backyard) both do. Check state rules on proof of residence. (ncsl.org)
• ITIN + taxes: Filing every April isn’t just adulting—it’s evidence you’re playing by the rules and helps later with any “good-faith” waivers.
• Know-Your-Rights cards: A laminated “I do not consent to a search; I want a lawyer” card is worth fifty TikTok tips.
• Digital hygiene:
  • Pi-hole or NextDNS to nuke trackers at home.
  • Full-disk encryption + a second, clean phone profile for border checkpoints.
  • Strip devices before travel: yank Signal backups, browser history, and cloud-sync anything you actually need. (EFF has a solid checklist.) (eff.org)
  • An RFID-shield wallet keeps random deputies from skimming ID chips, but skip the tinfoil hat—just buy a $10 Faraday sleeve.

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3. Leave and come back (or just leave without a black mark)

Scenario	Play	Why It Matters
DACA holder needs to study abroad / visit dying abuela	Apply for Advance Parole before departing	On return, CBP admits them “legally,” which later wipes out the “EWI” problem for green-carding through marriage.
Spouse of a citizen overstayed	Use new Parole-in-Place (see §1) before crossing a border	Avoids the deadly 3-/10-year bars triggered by departure.
Too risky, must exit permanently	Ask an immigration judge (or ICE) for Voluntary Departure	You leave on your own dime, avoid a removal order, and keep the door open for future visas. (justice.gov)

Hard reality check: giving someone a ride within the U.S. is fine; whisking them across an international line or hiding them from ICE is “alien smuggling” land. Know the distinction or you’ll be bunk-mates in Alligator Alcatraz.

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4. If DHS comes knocking

1. Don’t open the door unless they slide a judicial warrant under it—administrative ICE forms don’t count.
2. “I choose to remain silent.” Say it, then zip it.
3. Call the rapid-response hotline (usually a local nonprofit) so volunteers can show up to film and verify warrants.
4. Emergency packet: notarized child-care powers, medical POAs, copies of IDs, and $20 cash taped to the envelope for bus fare if mom gets scooped.

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5. What you can do without a law degree

• Bankroll legal fees: Crowd-fund renewals (~$495 a pop) or asylum filings.
• Host an info night: Bring in a licensed immigration lawyer—pizza bribes help.
• Serve as court buddy: A familiar face in immigration court often sways judges on “ties to the community.”
• Offer workspace + Wi-Fi: Many can’t legally work, but 1099 online gigs let them earn under an ITIN while the politicians argue.
• Donate miles: Some asylum seekers win their cases but can’t afford flights to family they haven’t seen in years.

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Final word

None of this is “magic immunity.” It’s a maze of deadlines, waivers, and ever-shifting politics (today a federal judge re-opened asylum claims that the new administration tried to slam shut). (washingtonpost.com) So line up a reputable immigration attorney or DOJ-accredited rep—the kind who files forms, not tweets threads. But with the right paperwork, solid privacy habits, and a squad of friends who know the playbook, people can stay safe, stay working, and—if disaster strikes—exit on their own terms instead of in shackles.

Sources:

• https://www.uscis.gov/DACA
• https://www.informedimmigrant.com/resources/daca/daca-court/
• https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/temporary-protected-status/temporary-protected-status-designated-country-el-salvador
• https://www.uscis.gov/keepingfamiliestogether
• https://www.ncsl.org/immigration/states-offering-drivers-licenses-to-immigrants?utm_source=chatgpt.com
• https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/06/journalist-security-checklist-preparing-devices-travel-through-us-border
• https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1480811/dl
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2025/07/02/trump-asylum-border-lawsuit-immigration/
• https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/temporary-protected-status
• https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1404566/dl?inline=
• https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/temporary-protected-status/temporary-protected-status-designated-country-venezuela

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And, finally, because ChatGPT party misunderstood my request to generate a featured image for this post, here’s a fictional story that’s not too different from what really happened to my daughter’s friend. I’ll say this, chat bot’s got an active imagination.

A Fourth-of-July Knock on the Door

My daughter’s friend Valeria always joked that she was “more American than apple pie”—straight-A student, marched in band, and could recite Hamilton lyrics faster than you could say “immigrant.”
On the morning of July 3rd, while most of us were panic-buying charcoal and sparklers, ICE showed up instead of the mail carrier.

The set-up
Val’s DACA renewal was stuck in bureaucratic limbo; the last receipt notice came months late because her mom had switched apartments and the post office played hot potato with the envelope. Meanwhile, a neighbor’s ex called the local tip line after a messy breakup—the kind of spiteful tattle you’d expect in a high-school soap opera, except with real-world consequences.

The grab
Agents rolled in unmarked SUVs at 6 a.m., timing it so the apartment complex was half empty on holiday travel. They flashed an administrative warrant (I-200, not signed by a judge) at Val’s bleary-eyed uncle, who didn’t know he could simply not open the door. Ten minutes later she was cuffed beside a hibiscus bush, still wearing her Captain America pajama pants.

The scramble
Word got to us by 7 a.m. First move: her mom texted the local rapid-response hotline; volunteers filmed outside the processing center, forcing ICE to follow its own rulebook.
I pulled up her file—tax returns, school awards, every scrap of “good moral character”—and her DACA receipt number. A pro-bono lawyer filed an emergency I-246 stay of removal and a fresh DACA renewal packet the same afternoon.
By sundown, while fireworks cracked over the harbor, Val was still in detention but not on a bus to Louisiana. A judge scheduled a bond hearing for July 8.

The aftershocks
Neighbors rallied, setting up a meal train for Val’s mom and a GoFundMe for legal fees. Some of us wrote character letters, others promised to drive Val to ICE check-ins once she’s out. The lesson landed hard: rights exist only if you know them at 6 a.m. and have a phone tree that answers before sunrise.

Where it stands now
Val made bond—$1,500 the community scraped together in 36 hours. With the I-246 and the renewal receipt, she’s back in class, ankle monitor hidden under knee-high Converse. It isn’t over (it never is), but she’s free enough to argue whether hot dogs are sandwiches. For a kid who’s never lived anywhere else, that’s a small slice of the liberty promised in those Fourth-of-July speeches.

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Take-away: the playbook we talked about isn’t theory. It’s exactly what kept Val from disappearing into “Alligator Alcatraz.” Know the warrants, prep the documents, set up the hotline numbers, and have people ready to swing into action before dawn—the system counts on you sleeping in.