LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — From birthright citizenship, to paused refugee admissions, a national emergency sending military to the border, and more, on his first day in office President Trump signed executive orders impacting immigration policies in the U.S.
A Lexington immigration attorney, Heather Hadi, says, "We're seeing a lot more action being taken with a lot more impact and very quickly."
Hadi has been an immigration attorney for more than a decade. As a child of immigrant parents she says she saw firsthand how flawed the system can be.
Hadi explains, "My family is from Iraq on both sides. So, I come from a family of immigrants and saw how difficult it was to get my aunts, my uncles, my cousins here. The immigration process is broken. And so, it seems odd to want to work within a broken system, but my goal was to learn the system and try to assist people the best I can."
In her time as an immigration attorney Hadi estimate that she's worked with people from around 20 countries. As these U.S. immigration policies continue to change and be enforced she says she wants people to be prepared and not scared.
She says, "You are not required to give them any information, you're not required to give them your I.D., you don't have to have a conversation with them. Unless they have a warrant with your name that is signed by a judge and you see it with your own eyes, keep that door shut, call your lawyer immediately."
Hadi says make a plan, memorize your attorney's number and someone trusted, make sure your kids and job are notified, and know your rights.
"We're getting a lot of phone calls from scared parents. They want to know if I get detained what do I do with my children? If they're at school, who's gonna pick them up? What do I do with my property? My businesses? How do Iprotect the things and the people that I love the most if I’m detained?" asks Hadi.
She says she's seen immigration and customs enforcement agents out in Lexington -- around Man O' War and the Cardinal Valley communities -- which she says have higher Hispanic populations. LEX 18 reached out to ICE to see if and how their operations have changed, but have not received an answer.
Their site shows that in the 2024 fiscal year more than 113,000 arrests were made across the U.S.
Hadi says she's seen people in this community show compassion.
Hadi said, "It's been hard, it's been depressing when you get all these calls and hear people's worst fears, and you're having to try to calm it down. But when you see other people that have absolutely no reason to care getting together and saying, 'This is not what Lexington stands for.' That is, it's really wonderful."
