The Power to Prepare: What to Do if You’re
at Risk of Being Detained by ICE
¡El Poder De Prepararse! (The Power to Prepare!) is 12-page illustrated Spanish-language booklet designed in collaboration with The Center for Urban Pedagogy and the Immigrant Defense Project. It discusses what people can do to prepare for a potential arrest by ICE and what can happen during an arrest, in detention, and during their court trial. The booklet ends with an explanation of the different decisions the immigration court can make about a case. This booklet was created with input and feedback from people who have been arrested by ICE or identify as at-risk of arrest
by ICE.
People-centered Design
Throughout the project, our team asked ourselves: how do we humanize this guide when dealing with an organization that dehumanizes undocumented people? For example, the booklet outlines a lot of documents that at-risk people should compile and have ready should they be detained. Originally, I illustrated these documents and simply placed them around the dense text. This can come across as sterile, and did not invite people to explore the guide further. It did not center the people going through a difficult time at the hands of ICE. The answer to centering people and humanizing the guide was-simply enough- illustrating people!