Before President Donald Trump took office last month, he put immigrants in California on high alert with his promises of “mass deportations.” Keeping to his word, Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 23 to send 1,500 active duty service members to patrol and search for migrants on the southern border in San Diego.

Currently, an estimated 2,500 troops are deployed in southernmost California to assist U.S. Customs and Border Protection as well as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in detaining and deporting illegal immigrants from the country.

Federal action hasn’t been limited to the south of the state. The moves by the Trump administration have also frightened and impacted residents right here in Contra Costa County, many of whom have taken to social media platforms as a way of alerting their neighbors about incoming ICE presence and activities.

In particular, a movement known as “Spread Power, Not Panic,” initiated by the Martinez-based organization Stand Together Contra Costa, has gained traction across the county, including among some students. 

Residents who participate have been helping to share information in English, Spanish, Mandarin and Arabic, aiding immigrants to understand their rights and privacy, while encouraging preparedness and knowledge over fear.

“I think one of the things I love about the students is that they’re taking action,” said Maria Dorado, counselor of the DREAMers and Extended Opportunity Programs and Services program at Diablo Valley College.

“A  lot of us are connected on social media, [and] the students have taken it upon themselves to post when they see ICE agents.”

The Martinez organization provides a hotline and offers individuals a chance to speak with a legal counsel, along with other free immigration legal services. The public is recommended to call (925)- 900-5151 with alerts about federal immigration activity, or to further check the organization’s web page at  www.standtogethercontracosta.org.

Many of those individuals spreading awareness tend to be children of first-generation immigrants, or first-generation American citizens who are close friends and neighbors of immigrant communities that are now hiding in fear for their families’ future.

“My dad, who lives in Bakersfield [and] works as a mechanic, said that people who are working as farmhands in the fields down there are not going to work — most of the time it’s empty because of the [ICE] sightings,” said Daniel de la Trindad, a first-generation Chicano-American student and member of the Latino organization PUENTE at Diablo Valley College.

“It’s kind of crazy how a lot of undocumented people are living in fear,” he added. 

Many social media posts on Instagram lately promote posting the sightings of ICE agents to the local Rapid Response Network. From there, local volunteers, organizations and attorneys work together to confirm those sightings as well as to put out exact details about the location and time of arrests.

“It’s outrageous that now friends and family of mine are just scared of leaving their houses, scared of going to work, they don’t feel safe anymore,” said Sebastian Grimaldi Requejo, a first-generation Peruvian-American who left the U.S. for Peru when he was four years old, and came back at 19 to study at Diablo Valley College.

“I can’t believe people are calling them criminals when they just wanted a better life for them and their families, and now they are prosecuting them,” Grimaldi added. He said the protection and assistance provided by Stand Together Contra Costa, and the hotline where people can report ICE activity and receive free consultation, was extremely useful for people in need.

“I feel that it’s gonna be really helpful right now, having an Instagram page helping people that just speak Spanish,” Grimaldi said. “I’m just glad that our community is getting together helping each other so we can be safe.”

Stand Together Contra Costa advises people to post videos and pictures of ICE raids after the officials have left, in order to protect their identities.

They also educate individuals about their constitutional rights under the 4th and 5th Amendments, which outlaws ICE agents’ ability to arrest or check individuals’ IDs and belongings unless they have a written warrant for an arrest of an individual or their family.

The organization frequently posts how to identify ICE agents who are undercover and how to keep individuals  from further danger.

“I think it’s important that information is shared to remind our students that we are here to support them and to do what we can to protect them,” said Brenda Gonzalez, a PUENTE/ EOPS counselor at DVC.

DVC President Susan Lamb provided an emailed statement on Feb. 3 alerting all students and faculty that under the DREAM Act, their rights will be protected under California Senate Bill 54 and Assembly Bill 21, which excludes state and local agencies from participating in or enforcing federal immigration efforts across the  Contra Costa Community College District.

Gonzalez responded to Lamb’s email, saying, “It’s appreciated that information was shared in the email in resources on what to do if we do encounter these situations here on campus during these times.”

She added, “It’s important for us as a community to get trained on knowing your rights to help share that info with our students and community here.”