A standing-room-only crowd of 500 people huddled inside Shadyside Presbyterian Church on a frigid Tuesday night to learn how they might safely and effectively chronicle Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and build community capacity among neighbors.
“The key theme of this, if you take nothing else: root yourself in your community,” said Jaime Martinez, executive director of Frontline DIGNITY.
The 90-minute legal rights and violence de-escalation training was the first for the Pittsburgh-based, national organization. It was for people interested in joining a rapid response network that would chronicle ICE raids in Western PA as they happen and share that information with support providers like Frontline DIGNITY equipped to lend assistance.
At the end, organizers shared a password that would allow people to sign up to join a Western PA rapid response network to ICE actions. According to Frontline DIGNITY, 36 hours later, over 200 had enlisted.
Martinez, previously a community defense organizer at Pittsburgh’s Latino resource center, Casa San Jose, said that ICE’s invasive tactics demonstrate a “disregard for human life” and that many of the crises of our time, whether it’s immigration enforcement, affordability, or human rights, are connected to this same fundamental disregard of basic human dignity.
He then introduced Sarah Hampton and Lauren Leiggi, public defenders who provided basic rights and operational security training as well as a rundown of what federal officers can and cannot do. They cited a recently leaked “legal refresher” memo disseminated to officers regarding First and Fourth Amendment rights, with the caveat they have seen low-level and high-level violations of constitutional rights.
ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“It’s reassuring that there are a lot of people who not only want to help, but also want to get information about how to help,” Hampton told Pittsburgh Manifold. “Now they know what they're getting themselves into and what their options are, and like, what's the worst-case scenario that could happen to you?”
Volunteer ushers passed collection baskets between pews as the attorneys spoke. In the lobby: free cookies, stickers, signs, and 3D-printed whistles that bore Frontline DIGNITY's rapid response line number: 412 53 NO ICE (412-536-6423).
“We’ve both been really heavily impacted by what's happening in Minnesota,” said city resident Craig Ketchum, after the 90-minute event. He attended with Demetra Tzamaras, his fiancee, who said she has been trying to learn more about her rights, especially as she attends protests, and believes that anyone could benefit from these types of trainings: “Even if you're not going out of your way to be involved in this, it is impacting everyone now.”
Robert Li, of Penn Hills, said the main reason he attended was to demonstrate solidarity. “We’re in crazy times,” he said. “Just being there so people know they aren't alone in their thoughts and fears goes a long way.”
The event was announced last year and scheduled for the South Side but a surge of demand in recent weeks necessitated a larger venue. Pastor Michael Holohan got the call from some Presbyterian colleagues about 48 hours out from the event and shared the proposal with Senior Pastor Austin Crenshaw Shelley, who told Pittsburgh Manifold they agreed to host the event because violence de-escalation training was in line with the church's mission to honor the “God-given dignity” of all people.
Pastor Holohan told Pittsburgh Manifold that Shadyside Presbyterian preaches in a way that connects faith to the world around them, and when they see people’s dignity being infringed upon they want to step in and try to do something about it.
“There were some hard truths presented in the conversation tonight, but also a real desire to be engaged, committed, empathetic, nonviolent citizens, and to be good neighbors,” he said. “I think Jaime mentioned Fred Rogers. He's our patron saint, you know? Being a neighbor takes a lot of forms and a lot of different shapes, and this is one of the ways that we're called to it right now.”
