‘ReadyNow!’ app for emergencies

Human Rights First has launched a free, secure mobile app designed to help immigrants prepare for possible ICE detention and act quickly in times of crisis.

Sophia Rerucha, a student at San Francisco State University (SFSU) and reporter for Radio Bilingüe, has more details.

A new mobile app allows users to have a confidential emergency plan at their fingertips and immediately notify loved ones or lawyers when ICE agents attempt to detain them. This is possible thanks to the efforts of Human Rights First, an organization that, in collaboration with Acacia Center for Justice and Corazon Norte, has been working to help immigrants when they are suddenly confronted by immigration authorities.

For Diana Diaz Madera, a mental health therapist for Corazon Norte in the Central Valley and advisor to Human Rights First, this new app is of great importance since raids almost always happen very quickly, and people rarely know what they need to do.

“We have to make sure that our children, our loved ones, whether they are our grandparents whom we care for, our dogs, or our children, have a plan in case the person in charge of them is detained.”

ReadyNow! is the name of this new app. It is free and was designed with the advice of immigration lawyers, digital security experts, and community advocates.

Since the start of the Trump administration’s second term, Diana and other community advocates have been working to create an easy-to-use mobile app where users can update their information at any time.

“So, it’s a little different from the safety plans that are mostly on paper, that you keep at home, which are equally important, but the app goes with you.”

But how does ReadyNow! work? According to the mental health therapist who works in Los Angeles, users can enter their personal information and be ready to activate their emergency plan. Then, if they encounter ICE, the information they entered is sent with one click to the people whose contact details have been added to the app beforehand.

“Then, the plan is sent immediately and reaches you. And you can say, ‘You know, I had an encounter with ICE.’ It also gives you the location of where the person is, or it gives you the coordinates at that moment, and also, if they don’t have a lawyer, it helps them connect with a free legal aid group if one is available.”

Diana and the rest of the group designed the app so that users feel confident entering their personal information. For that reason, everything you enter is secured and deleted immediately when you press the button that alerts your contacts.

“Nothing is stored in the cloud, which protects your information from, for example, hacking or subpoenas. I know that’s something a lot of people are afraid to use right now: technology. But I wanted to let you know that this is something we take very, very, very seriously. And the app has different features to help with that.”

However, even when they are told how the ReadyNow! app works, some immigrants refuse to use it because they say they don’t want to give up, and they would rather fight than let something bad happen to them, Diana says.

“What I try to tell our community a lot is: ‘You made so many efforts to get here, you have made so many efforts to live in this country. This is another way to protect your loved ones. It’s just a little bit different. In this case, it’s about having, giving them help, even if you’re not present, making your voice heard.’”

The Human Rights First advisor emphasized how much attention she paid to people’s emotions and how difficult it is to encounter ICE, which is why she had to resort to principles that inform about trauma.

“We also took into account trying not to retraumatize our people with the use of this app. And that’s something that’s very nice, that you don’t see very often.”

Diana confirms that the app was created with the important goal of not only helping but also informing the immigrant community.

“We put out an app that I would honestly recommend to my family. I use it myself, and we want others to feel that way too. And we hope that other organizations that are interested can contact us so they can have information and help us bring this app to different places.”

The ReadyNow! app is currently available in six languages. To stay up to date with the app, visit www.humanrightsfirst.org.

Many thanks to Sophia Rerucha, reporter for Radio Bilingüe and student at San Francisco State University, for this report.