On February 19th, Professor Jennifer Baum led the Child Advocacy Clinic’s volunteer participation in a phone bank to answer community members’ questions about their rights and the rights of their family members. The phone bank was a joint initiative of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, Telemundo, Catholic Charities, and the New York State Office for New Americans.

During the phone bank, Clinic volunteers took calls from campus on their laptops. They trained in advance, reviewed know-your-rights and other materials, and practiced delivering the information directly to callers.

Callers to the phone bank included immigrants and US Citizens, and they sought and received information in multiple languages about:

• Their rights if ICE comes to their home or other private space;
• Their rights if stopped in a car or a public space;
• What to say in order to invoke the right to remain silent;
• Where to get information about ICE in public schools;
• How to create a safety plan;
• How to create standby guardianship for children of detained parents; and
• How to find a lawyer or get information about their legal cases.