SARATOGA SPRINGS - Most of the people who gathered at Skidmore College on Monday night came to the immigration town hall meeting with one question: How can I help?

Julie Leonelli of Hudson Falls was among the more than 100 participants in the Filene Recital Hall wanted to know from a panel of immigration experts on how to protect the city's undocumented workers from further arrest and deportation.

"We are trying to do everything we can to help people in Hudson Falls," said Leonelli who was upset by the shuttering of El Mexicano Restaurant in Hudson Falls after its Saratoga location was raided by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "Restaurants are closing. People are scared stiff. We are trying to help them to find lawyers and translating paperwork for them."

The town hall meeting, with a panel of immigration lawyers, a business owner and immigrants themselves, was inspired by the recent city federal sweeps in the city that resulted in at least 27 arrests, taking a toll on the restaurant workforce. The audience members, made up of people who are supportive of undocumented workers, were seeking practical answers to questions such as what to do when they see an ICE officer arrest someone, whether they have to show an ICE officer documents of their workers and what their legal rights are if they are found driving or helping an undocumented person.

Samantha Howell, an immigration lawyer with the New York Civil Liberties Union, suggested that if people see an arrest they should try to get as much information from the detained person as possible – mainly contact information so that family and friends can be notified. She also suggested calling a lawyer immediately.

"What happens is they are detained in Albany County jail for a few days before they are sent to Batavia to go to court in Buffalo," Howell said. "Many people, after they leave Albany, disappear. It's important to get a lawyer right away."

She along with lawyer David Meyers said that ICE needs a warrant to see work papers and that employers need only two forms of identification, plus a completed a W2 form and an I-9 form, in order to hire a worker. They also said that an officer can legally ask for papers of everyone in a vehicle, but can't ask for papers from a person walking down the street.

"There is no Good Samaritan clause in the law," Howell said. "I would discourage you from interfering in an arrest. But you should know your rights. It's a dangerous time to be a person of color who doesn't speak English."

Bahram Keramati, a naturalized citizen, said he felt it was important to attend Monday's meeting. "These ICE arrests made an impact on the community," he said. "Immigrants are important to the community, they are making contributions."



Members of the audience pointed to the harsh political climate, where immigrants are demonized, undocumented immigrants find it hard to gain sympathy.

"I want to ask the entire country, 'Have you ever been hurt by an immigrant?" said Dr. Ingrid Bermudez, a family practitioner and immigrant from South America who sat on the panel. "And then ask, 'Has an immigrant ever helped you?' Most people will say they have."