"Noncitizens may no longer feel safe showing up to public meetings to fight harmful local policies, advocates say.

[...]

Despite the crowd, initially almost no one wanted to register to voice their opposition and be in the spotlight, said Leticia Gutierrez [...]. A sign-up sheet, asking for names and addresses, was enough to cause fears among the predominantly Hispanic community about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) being able to track down undocumented family members. 

So Gutierrez took to the microphone and announced in Spanish, “I’m an immigrant, too. I know you’re scared, I know it’s difficult,” Gutierrez said she told the attendees. “But if you don’t sign up to speak, the people here will genuinely think you’re in favor of this permit.”