00:00:00	Hello, my name is Diego Valdivia.  I am the Director of Immigrant Services with the YWCA in Rockford. And this presentation will focus on emergency planning. The idea is to be prepared for any type  of emergency. Of course, a lot of the information is going to focus on what to do or how to be  prepared in case of detention or deportation. But again, most of the information in the next slides  will truly be useful in any kind of emergency. As in many of my presentations, I do like to start  by saying that I am not an attorney. And so the

00:00:40	information presented today is not intended for  legal advice or legal purposes, it's just mostly educational. Okay, so let's get started. Okay,  so why plan? It's always good to be prepared. Sometimes there's a tendency to be more reactive  than proactive. And it's much more difficult to come up with solutions to whatever we are  presented with sometimes, if that's the case. So in the next slide, we will cover information  such as ensuring safety and stability for family members, how to protect important documents and  establish those support systems that we might need

00:01:25	and then keep things organized and making sure  that we let somebody know where we keep those things that we organize. So let's get started. So first you want to make a plan. You want to come up with a plan and you want to communicate  this plan to those individuals close to you, to those who may live in your household or just  people that are important to you. You want to start by identifying who would be responsible for  your children and assets and or assets in case of an emergency. You want to have this discussion  and culturally speaking, for example, for the

00:02:05	Hispanic community sometimes these are awkward or  odd conversations to have but it's super important to designate somebody that would take care of your  children in case of an emergency. And of course, you want to update their contact information at  the school with their doctors and you also want to, it's highly recommended that you  have a document such as a short-term guardianship prepared for them as well. There is a whole presentation that we do on that topic but today we just touched on it briefly.  You also want to gather all your documents and

00:02:38	store them in a safe place and you want to make  sure that you let that emergency contact know where you keep them and how to have access to  them. And then lastly, like on this emergency plan, you want to save money and ensure that  in case of an emergency, especially if we talk about detentions or deportations, if you are sent  back to your country of origin that you are able to access your bank accounts and if not, at least that you have granted somebody that you trust  access to your finances.

00:03:18	As I mentioned previously, you want  to identify the person that will be in charge of your children, your assets  as well, have that conversation. What does that look like? What are  the responsibilities? And then if documentation is needed for those  processes, then make sure that you get those ready. And obviously have  a conversation with your children, only you would know how to do that depending  on their ages and then down here below, short-term guardianship are recommended,  especially in times of uncertainty.

00:03:52	Your emergency contacts, it is important that you  keep that information updated like we mentioned at your children's schools and with their doctors.  And then if possible, have more than one person designated and have a list of those contacts and  make sure that the information is updated. Now, some considerations for emergency contacts.  Again, if we do focus in the event that the situation might be something like a detention or  deportation, then some of the things that you want to consider is having that emergency contact  be somebody that has a legal status.

00:04:31	But some of the things that we mentioned  here are also gathering important documents, notify your family members and pick up your  children from school, from daycare, contact an immigration attorney, notify your employer if  you wish and then take care of pets, your home, plants, anything like that. These are things  that you want to discuss with that emergency contact or contacts that you select. Now, the dual nationality and passports, we highly recommend if this is an option for  you or your children that you apply for dual

00:05:09	nationality. So that means that if you were  born in a different country, most likely you can apply for citizenship of that country for  your children as well. And for their passports, U.S. passports, if they don't have them, you  could go as far as if you have gotten them the dual citizenship, you can most likely also get  them a passport for that second country. Gather documents, you want to make sure that  you have these important documents in a safe place and that you let that emergency contact  know how to have access to them. Sometimes we

00:05:44	recommend also having copies of these documents,  that way if you don't want to leave the originals with that person so that at least they have  copies of them. And have a written plan like we mentioned previously. Some examples of important  documents would be passports, birth certificates, marriage or divorce certificates, your A number if  you have any immigration process pending or open, social security number, IDs, this family plan that  we talked about, medical information for yourself or your children, short-term guardianships,  if there's any order of protections and

00:06:20	legal custody documents. If it applies. Now documents that an attorney might ask for, pay stop, criminal record, immigration  documents, attorney documents, police documents, civil complaints, you might not need all of these,  but it is at least recommended that you would know how to get them or that your emergency contact  would know how to get them if needed. And then lastly here,  financial arrangements. As we mentioned, it is important that  you keep money in the bank accounts. You may not necessarily have access to cash,  especially in the event of a detention.

00:06:58	This question has been asked in  other presentations previously. Is it recommended that people carry cash?  We typically say no. We consider that it's safer to just check with your bank if you would  have access to your account and your credit or debit card outside of the country as well. Check with your bank before closing your accounts as well. And make sure that you have access to  online banking. Sometimes that makes a difference because there's transactions, transfers, things  like that that you can just do online.

00:07:30	If you wish, you can add a trusted  person to a joint bank account or a sign of power of attorney for someone  to handle your finances as well. Financial rights. So deportation arrest or arrest does not remove your financial rights to your assets.  That question is often asked as well. What if this happens to me? Would I lose my assets? Again,  this is something that you, just to be safe, want to make sure that you check with an  attorney, that you seek legal advice if you have lingering doubts, if you have questions more  specific on a situation like this. But typically,

00:08:15	generally speaking, you shouldn't lose rights to  your finances when you are detained or deported. You have the right to receive your outstanding  salary regardless of your immigration status. And then it is recommended that you create a plan  and inventory of your assets as well. And stay prepared. So this is a living document, so we say. So circumstances change. Some of this information was put together as early as 2022. And it is not 2025, and things have  changed a lot. And they will probably continue

00:08:51	to change. So it is important to, whenever  you decide, if you decide to make a plan, that you constantly review it, regularly look at  anything that may have changed so that you update it accordingly. And stay connected with people  that you trust and then organizations that are reliable as well. Thank you.