Representative Luis Gutierrez (D., Ill.) has created a “family defender toolkit” to help the potential beneficiaries of President Obama’s executive amnesty avoid deportation while the program is on hold.
In an infomercial-style video released earlier this week, Gutierrez explains his toolkit’s key feature: a card designed to help illegal immigrants escape deportation. He instructs the potential beneficiaries of Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA) programs to use the card to defend themselves against immigration enforcement officers, but to avoid showing it to local law enforcement if they’re detained for matters unrelated to immigration.
“Only pull [the card] out when you’re detained by an immigration official; it explains in English and Spanish that you’re eligible for DACA and DAPA,” Gutierrez says in the video. “By using this card after you’ve been arrested or detained, you can explain that [according to] the policy in place today, you should be released because you’re not a priority for deportation.”
Gutierrez, who was challenged by anti-amnesty activists at the University of Southern California last week, may have deliberately avoided publicizing the cards to avoid further political backlash. His message appears to be directed only at those who stand to benefit from the president’s executive actions.
“I hope that you never have to use this card, but if you do, don’t be scared, because you’re prepared,” Gutierrez concluded. “Soon enough the DACA and DAPA applications will be available.”