Art of Citizenry - The Criminalization of Immigration: Profiting From Detention with Anthony Enriquez

The Criminalization of Immigration: Profiting From Detention with Anthony Enriquez

01/30/25 • 43 min

In episode 19 of Art of Citizenry Podcast, Manpreet is joined by Anthony Enriquez, the VP of U.S. Advocacy and Litigation at RFK Human Rights. Together, they discuss the complexities of immigration detention in the U.S., focusing on the financial motivations behind privatized detention centers, the historical shifts in immigration policy, and the role of race in shaping these policies. Anthony highlights the significant abuses occurring in detention centers and the need for advocacy and reform to address these issues. This conversation delves into the complex issues surrounding immigration detention centers, their economic impact on local communities, the evolving political narratives around immigration, and the structural challenges within immigration policy. It highlights the importance of local advocacy and the need for oversight and accountability in immigration detention practices, emphasizing the role of community-led movements in shaping a more just immigration system.

Meet Our Guest

Anthony Enriquez is the Vice President of U.S. Advocacy and Litigation at Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights. He is an attorney working to reduce mass incarceration in the United States by exposing and stopping human rights abuses in the criminal legal and immigration systems. Anthony leads a team of advocates fighting in U.S. courts and international human rights mechanisms in solidarity with grassroots campaigns for accountability for state-sponsored racial discrimination, torture, and extrajudicial killings.

“Immigration detention is more than an immigrants' rights issue alone. The power we give to the U.S. government to inflict abuses on immigrants is inevitably used against citizens: from racial profiling to mass surveillance to prolonged civil detention and even deportation itself. The public funds we use to transform rural economies into private prison towns could have been used for investments in small businesses, manufacturing, and vocational and educational training instead of multi-million-dollar CEO salaries.”

Take Action.

At this moment the safety of many is under threat. With much uncertainty, members of our communities are living in fear of what lies ahead. The current administration is attempting to fast-track deportations without due process and have already passed a series of executive orders that further push hardline immigration policies and threaten Constitutional rights. Moments like this demand our action. Now is the time to support the efforts of local grassroots organizations and immigration legal services. Also, take a moment to know your rights – regardless of status, you have rights under the U.S. Constitution.

Resources

ACLU Know Your Rights - Regardless of your immigration status, you have guaranteed rights under the Constitution. Learn more here about your rights as an immigrant, and how to express them.
Immigration Know Your Rights Resources - double-sided posters you can print out.
National Immigration Legal Services Directory - Search for immigration legal services providers by state, county, or detention facility. Only nonprofit organizations that provide free or low-cost immigration legal services are included in this directory.
Download & Print a Red Card - Immigrant Legal Resource Center’s Red Cards help immigrants exercise those rights and protect themselves in many situations, such as when immigration agents visit our homes. Available in 16 different languages.
The National Immigration Project - a membership organization of attorneys, advocates, and community members that litigate, advocate, educate, and build bridges across movements to ensure that those who are impacted by America’s immigration and criminal legal systems are supported.
Know Your Rights: For Employers & Community Businesses - Workplace raids are a common immigration enforcement tactic, often targeting industries reliant on immigrant labor, such as agriculture and food service.
Fact Sheet: A High-Level Analysis of Trump's First Executive Actions - An overview of day one executive orders impacting immigration policy.
For Health Care Workers - ICE can now raid hospitals. Learn about your eth...

Meet Our Guest

Take Action.

Resources

ACLU Know Your Rights - Regardless of your immigration status, you have guaranteed rights under the Constitution. Learn more here about your rights as an immigrant, and how to express them.
Immigration Know Your Rights Resources - double-sided posters you can print out.
National Immigration Legal Services Directory - Search for immigration legal services providers by state, county, or detention facility. Only nonprofit organizations that provide free or low-cost immigration legal services are included in this directory.
Download & Print a Red Card - Immigrant Legal Resource Center’s Red Cards help immigrants exercise those rights and protect themselves in many situations, such as when immigration agents visit our homes. Available in 16 different languages.
The National Immigration Project - a membership organization of attorneys, advocates, and community members that litigate, advocate, educate, and build bridges across movements to ensure that those who are impacted by America’s immigration and criminal legal systems are supported.
Know Your Rights: For Employers & Community Businesses - Workplace raids are a common immigration enforcement tactic, often targeting industries reliant on immigrant labor, such as agriculture and food service.
Fact Sheet: A High-Level Analysis of Trump's First Executive Actions - An overview of day one executive orders impacting immigration policy.
For Health Care Workers - ICE can now raid hospitals. Learn about your eth...

Previous Episode

Inauguration Day: An Executive Agenda of Oppression

This week marks the beginning of our reckoning with America’s truths, with the realization that Trumpism is the very product of our own societal tendencies. On Monday, January 20th, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States.

Episode Time Stamps

Intro: 00.43
Reflecting on the First Term: 4.15
The Tech Industrial Complex & Crony Capitalism: 07.23
Global Political Context: 10.19
Executive Orders, Policy, and Global Affairs: 11.22
- Immigration: 14.05
- Climate Change: 15.18
- Trans Rights: 17.15
- Public Health & Reproductive Healthcare: 19.17
- Trade & Tariffs : 20.47
- Civil Liberties & Disinformation: 21.36
- Tech Corporations Role in Policy Making: 23.05
International Affairs: 24.15
Calls to Action: 25.20

Day One Executive Orders

On day one, Trump marked the start of his second term with a series of executive orders and pardons – two presidential privileges that fueled Trump’s sadistic passion for authoritarian rule. In addition to revoking 78 of Biden’s Executive Orders, including ones that protect LGBTQ+ people, immigrants, the planet, and women’s health, and issuing many more executive actions, he pardoned nearly all the 1,600 individuals charged in the January 6th insurrection, effectively ending all cases. Executive orders ranged across distinct categories: immigration, climate, trade, DEI, and public health. It was clear that this time around, Trump was prepared to execute the full powers of the presidency.

Now is the Time to Mobilize

This moment demands not only reflection but action. History has shown us that grassroots organizing can be the bedrock of change. From local communities to national coalitions, people are mobilizing to push back against authoritarianism and safeguard democracy. Stop Project 2025 Taskforce is actively working to counteract right-wing extremist policies targeting reproductive rights, climate justice, and civil liberties. Groups like Indivisible provide resources to build local political power, resourcing individuals to influence policy decisions directly in their communities. Meanwhile, the Sunrise Movement continues to rally young people to fight for climate justice, and organizations like the ACLU and Black Lives Matter lead the charge in protecting civil rights and chipping away at systemic inequities.

Now is the time to get involved–whether by joining these movements, supporting their efforts financially, or even starting your own local coalition. Change begins with each of us, and together, we have the power to shape the future.

It is our responsibility to ourselves and one another to do everything we can to build, nurture, and sustain networks of community care. We must take this moment as our calling to build together, nurturing relationships rooted in compassion and reciprocity. We must cultivate resistance movements collectively to effectively challenge the systems that continue to uphold our oppression.

Resources to Support Safety and Collective Action

For more, you can find the full show notes of every episode at https://www.artofcitizenry.com/episodes

Thank you to our producer, Aly Honoré, and editor, Noah Kowalski.

The music featured in the podcast was created by Katrina Zemrak

Next Episode

Criminalization of Immigration: The Power of Grassroots Organizing and Storytelling

In Episode 20 of Art of Citizenry Podcast, Manpreet Kaur Kalra is joined by immigrant community organizer Maru Mora-Villalpando, Founder of La Resistencia, and international human rights lawyer Alejandra Gonza, Executive Director of Global Rights Advocacy. Together, they expose the brutal realities of immigration detention—from systemic neglect and punishment to the resilience of those organizing from within its walls. Maru shares how La Resistencia mobilizes communities to challenge deportations and support detainee-led organizing at Northwest Detention Center. Working in direct collaboration, Alejandra sheds light on the intersection of international human rights law and grassroots advocacy, emphasizing the role of storytelling in holding systems accountable. Through the Melting Ice Project, they document the lived experiences of detained migrants, ensuring their stories shape the fight for justice. This episode is a call to action: migrants in detention are not passive victims—they are organizing, resisting, and demanding change. Join us as we explore the power of community-led movements, storytelling as an advocacy tool, and the role of international human rights mechanisms.

Meet Our Guests

Maru Mora-Villalpando is a longtime immigrant and community organizer, dedicated to the fight for immigrant justice. She is the Founder and Advisor of La Resistencia, an immigrant-led grassroots organization working to shut down the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington, and end all detentions and deportations in the state. Maru’s work embodies the power of grassroots organizing, direct action, and collective resistance.

La Resistencia plays a crucial role in amplifying the voices of those directly impacted by the immigration enforcement system. It remains the only organization in Washington State led by individuals targeted by detention and deportation, ensuring that advocacy efforts are driven by the people most affected.

Alejandra Gonza is an Argentinian human rights lawyer. She is the Founder and Executive Director of Global Rights Advocacy, a Seattle-based non-profit providing pro-bono representation at international bodies. She focuses on defending the right to freedom of undocumented immigrants at the Northwest ICE Processing Center, as well as environmental defenders, political prisoners, and those wrongfully convicted abroad. She believes in the power of storytelling to empower individuals to build their own reparation framework.

Global Rights Advocacy is on a mission to provide victims access to international human rights mechanisms through high quality legal defense and advocacy strategies. GRA has also been doing incredible work in documenting the testimonies of detainees at Northwest Detention Center for the past ten years.

Melting ICE Exhibit

Melting ICE is a visual storytelling project done in collaboration between La Resistencia, Global Rights Advocacy and UW Tacoma that artfully humanizes a problem that often dehumanizes individual narratives – allowing the people most impacted to guide the storytelling process.The exhibition serves as both an artistic and political intervention, engaging the practice of storytelling as an act of living resistance to the oppressive conditions of immigrant detention.

Take Action

The work of grassroots organizations is crucial. They amplify the voices of those inside, mobilize advocates, and challenge the policies that uphold these violent institutions. But they cannot do it alone. True solidarity means more than just awareness—it requires action. Support grassroots groups doing this work in your neighborhood and donate to mutual aid funds. If you decide to get involved in the fight for immigrant justice, follow the lead of those already doing the work, and use your skills and resources to support their demand for an end to detention as a tool of oppression.

Grassroots Organizations & Partners Fighting for Immigrant Justice

La Resistencia is a grassroots organization led by undocumented immigrants and people of color who have been oppressed by the immigration enforcement system in Washington State.
Tsuru for Solidarity is a nonviolent, direct action project of Japanese American social justice advocates working to end detention sites and support front-line immigrant and refugee communities.
Global Rights Advocacy offers access to international human rights mechanisms through representation, reporting and education.
Northwest Immigrant Rights Project promotes justice by defendi...