Civil rights and immigrant advocacy groups led a town hall in south St. Louis on Monday to teach people how to defend and care for neighborhoods that are at risk of facing immigration enforcement raids and deportations.

About 200 people filled a gym to hear what leaders from the Migrant and Immigrant Community Action Project, Action St. Louis, ArchCity Defenders, Manos Unidas STL, Migrantes Unidos and LifeWise STL had to say about immigration enforcement in St. Louis. The groups’ unified goal for the event was to prepare residents for an uptick in enforcement, which could occur in the next few weeks.

Some advocacy groups say Gov. Mike Kehoe’s activation of the state’s National Guard funnels more resources to immigration enforcement and frees up agents to conduct that enforcement more

See Full Page