Actions by federal leadership are being touted as the reason for the United States’ recent addition to the CIVICUS Monitor Watchlist.
CIVICUS is a global alliance comprising various organizations at the local, national, regional and international levels that “spans the spectrum of civil society” per the alliance’s website monitor.civicus.org. Its main mission is to “strengthen citizen action and civil society throughout the world,” touting values of justice and equality, reciprocity, knowledge, vision and principal courage in an effort to provide more civility within society.
The watchlist is meant to draw attention to countries which CIVICUS deems have experienced “A serious decline in respect for civic space, based on assessments by CIVICUS Monitor research findings, our research partners and consultations with activists on the ground.” CIVICUS says the US inclusion on the monitor stems from work by the Trump administration that it claims is causing a decline in civil rights.
Interim Co-Secretary General of CIVICUS Mandeep Tiwana in a recent news release, stated, “Restrictive Executive Orders, unjustifiable institutional cutbacks, and intimidation tactics through threatening pronouncements by senior officials in the Administration are creating an atmosphere to chill democratic dissent, a cherished American ideal.”
While many developments have spurred a great deal of debate in recent months, one of the core initiatives of the Trump administration- mass deportations- has served as the source of increased fear and anxiety amongst migrant residents, both documented and undocumented. It was this rise in fear and anxiety that led to comments from Emporia City Commissioner Tyler Curtis this past week, where he expressed concerns for the local migrant population and called for more information on how local leadership can help address and reduce said fears.
That said, Curtis noted there are obvious concerns from migrant residents that could act as a deterrent to said forums and communications.
In recent months, advocates for the Trump administration’s deportation initiatives have stated that the only individuals who need fear deportation are those who are here illegally. Emporia Spanish Speakers CEO and Founder Lelan Dains, however, claims recent comments by Border Czar Tom Homan say otherwise.
With this in mind, KVOE News asked Dains how trust can be established. He says it is a difficult situation as local and state lawmakers have no say in immigration policy.
That said, Dains says local and state officials can make strides by ensuring their words are followed by action.
When contacted by KVOE News for comment on the matter, Police Chief Ed Owens declined a recorded interview, however, he reaffirmed Dains’ comment saying “We will abide by the rule of law, Federal, State and local but will not go out of the way to do anything we are not required to do.” As of Tuesday, Dains says he has not heard of any kind of mass deportation efforts locally, noting there have been two to three self deportations. Aside from those, City Leadership tells KVOE News it is unaware of the presence of Federal agents, specifically ICE, within the community in recent months.
As the concerns continue to swell at the local and federal levels, Dains and Curtis both encourage residents to be a “resource” to one another and help direct those with said concerns to the proper agencies and organizations such as Emporia Spanish Speaker,s which provides assistance with documentation among other services according to Dains.
For more information on Emporia Spanish Speakers, visit EmporiaSpanishSpeakers.com.
