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Putting an immediate stop to migration into America and a mild January brings us to question what we can expect to see in February in the cities.

We're taking a closer look at the long term impact on this winter weather.

That's just ahead.

But first, the Trump administration plans to terminate the legal status of a half million migrants who are allowed to legally enter the US from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela.

Immigration raids have rounded up more than a thousand people across the country.

The US military base at Guantanamo Bay is being readied for the detention of thousands of migrants, and each day brings new plans to better control the nation's immigration system.

At the heart of it all are migrants and refugees, even those who have sought US citizenship legally.

Also, at the heart of it all.

Organizations that try to help them assimilate into American society.

And joining us is the executive director of QC Air, the Quad Cities Alliance for Immigrants and Refugees, Aimee de Haven.

It's been a whirlwind of activity from the white House, in regards to immigration.

What has been the response from the people that you talked to day to day?

There's been a lot of terror and fear.

Every day it seems to change.

Even like before the election, it was kind of hard to know if he was serious, like, how long it's going to take to put these actions into place.

With the last term, he made a lot of promises, and it took quite a while.

Whereas this year it's going a little bit faster.

As far as what he's doing, and the policies that he's put into place, and people are just afraid.

They're afraid to leave their home.

They're afraid to send their kids to school.

Many are afraid to go to church or even go to the store.

You serve a lot of people that are legally here.

They're legal.

Migrants are legal refugees.

Why would they be afraid?

Well, with the Ryan, like.

Yeah, that was passed.

Really?

Anybody with lawful, permanent status that we're here legally, with any crime, regardless of what it is.

And not even being able to have your day in court and be prosecuted could still be sent back.

So to have that fear of the unknown of what's going to happen.

How many people do you serve?

I mean, how many?

How many?

Because you've been around for a while.

Er has been active in this community.

So we, we're actually originated in 2012, with just the need that was there, where we really didn't know how many immigrants were in the community, and we just wanted to be, a resource for them of where they could go to get assistance.

In 2020, we received a new program, through the Illinois Coalition of Immigrant Refugee Rights.

And with that, we started, having a part time, which actually was me, for about a year.

And that program grew, and now we are currently at, five full time staff and, three part time.

And what kind of services does Cukier offer?

We offer assistance to immigrants and refugees in the Quad Cities.

Whether it be to assist, to apply for a medicaid Snap, any safety net programs, or to apply for employment or to apply to get their children enrolled in school.

Really any application or assistance that they need?

If there's some that we directly cannot assist with, and we refer to other organizations in the community that it can.

We also offer education on the process of becoming a citizen.

So people that are lawful permanent residents, what are the steps to take, to become a citizen?

We also have free, English service classes.

So if anybody is about ready to apply for citizenship, we break down the questions ten at a time to make it a little bit easier, and so they can be more prepared for their tests.

When we talk about immigration, I think we always think of south of the border.

We think of a Central America, Mexico, the, parts of South America.

But the migrants and the refugees that are in the Quad City area really come from a lot of different countries all over, Ecuador, Brazil, Colombia, also Turkey, Afghanistan, really all over the world.

I know we sometimes just direct that and think that everybody is from Mexico, but really there's people from all over the world here.

Yeah.

And so when you're talking about, like Afghanistan, you're talking about a war torn country, people that have seen some of the worst, atrocities and have lived the worst life.

And they come to America.

It's got to be a huge adjustment.

I mean, how how do you help somebody acclimate to to eastern Iowa and western Illinois?

To the best of our ability, really help them get set up with the resources that they need.

World relief actually does a lot as far as resettling.

They help them find a home, get a job, and kind of get them acclimated, whereas we kind of step in, when those resources end, we help them take any next steps or if they need help finding a different employment, or just kind of navigating the Quad Cities.

We do our best to empower immigrants and refugees to acclimate and just kind of settle.

Yeah, yeah.

Well, there's so many things we take for granted.

What is the toughest part about, you know, joining society in America?

Really?

Language.

English is a very difficult language to learn.

I'm grateful that that's the first language that I learned.

But individuals coming here, many are older, sometimes find it difficult to learn the language.

And sometimes they just don't feel they have the access, for the resources to get the assistance that they need.

There are organizations and resources for, language assistance.

And I really encourage anybody that does come to our country to learn, English to the best of our ability, because that's something that without that, you're more likely to be taken advantage of.

So to learn the language, learn the laws, and know your rights.

Tell me a little bit about because you say taken advantage of and I could see that happening so easily.

What areas have have migrants and refugees really been victimized in that area?

So unfortunately with employment, also illegally, with employment.

Many immigrants, aren't paid a minimum wage or paid under sometimes they're not paid at all.

Many immigrants will do work in the hopes of getting paid.

And at the end of it, because of their status, sometimes people just won't pay them.

They don't.

They have nothing they can do.

I mean, you know, and there's also many, individuals who are here who do pay taxes, they do pay.

And to Social Security, they do pay in to Medicare.

And those are services that they likely will never see.

But the fact that they are paying millions into a system that they won't access, I also feel is unfair, but, they're doing what they can to try to make a better life.

As well as legal, many individuals will go to a lawyer, to get assistance, and they pay them thousands of dollars to get a green card.

Whereas sometimes it won't be filed or, it'll be filed late and then.

So they're out thousands of dollars and they don't feel there's anything that they can do.

Because of their status and where they're from.

So how are you able to stop that from happening?

We can report it.

That's pretty much about it.

So, yeah, a lot of what you do is coming from state funding.

And the state of Illinois is far more welcoming than some states.

Oh, yeah.

So tell me a little bit about that.

So I'm, we do service both sides of the river, so we service Iowa as well as Illinois.

Right now, resources are very limited.

The need is great for citizens and everybody in this country.

Iowa, there's a lot fewer resources.

The state is not as welcoming to immigrants.

Unfortunately.

And Illinois is.

But unfortunately, because of that, we're also a target.

Whereas they're targeting and going after the sanctuary cities.

Over the individual states that are actually working with, the Trump administration.

Is that even a big fear here in the Quad Cities where people are afraid that, they're going to be federal agents or somebody knocking on their door?

Oh, 100%.

People are terrified, and honestly, they have no idea what to expect.

So most of them are afraid to leave their home.

So what are you telling these families?

So we're telling them to remain calm.

That regardless of your status, that you do have rights.

The main thing is be calm.

Don't run.

If somebody approaches you, you do have the right to remain silent.

And anything you say can and will be used against you.

As well as make sure that you have a plan of action if you are at risk of being deported.

Make sure to, if you have children, set up a power of attorney, that there would be somebody to be able to take care of your child if you are detained, or deported.

Try to get somebody who can take care of your assets, your possessions, if you have a home, car.

Is there somebody that you trust that can handle your financial, obligations?

Make sure that you get the documents in order signed that they're able to make those steps going forward if they're no longer there.

Make sure that they have information memorized, memorize, contact numbers, because likely if they're detained, their phones are going to be taken away.

Make sure you memorize numbers of emergency contact.

Who's going to be the person who's going to be your power of attorney?

Make sure those numbers are memorized.

Also, if you do have lawful permanent status, make sure you have those documents on you.

Make sure you memorize your alien number.

Trying to go through all the things, but you're absolutely, you know, here, what you're telling me is, is you have to go above and beyond, what the average American citizen has to do.

So the burden of proof does fall on the individual to verify that they are here legally or have a status of some sort.

But it is a lot more than a citizen does.

Also, be sure that you do not lie.

Don't ever say that you are a citizen or that you have a status when you don't, because that actually will hurt you more than anything.

You've been at this for what, 12 years?

No.

For four and a half.

Four and a half years.

Okay.

Are you surprised at the way immigrants or refugees are being treated at this point?

I mean, did you ever think this day would come?

Looking at our history.

I feel that we probably have.

We've done things similar to this in the past, so it doesn't surprise me.

It does break my heart.

The immigrants that are in this country literally are the backbone.

They are the ones that are putting food on our tables.

They're the ones that are, building homes, and they just want a better life.

They're fleeing, from the risk of being killed in their country where it is not safe, and they just want a better life.

And it's what all of us wanted when we first traveled here.

For the opportunity for a better life.

And it breaks my heart the way that they're being treated.

The reality is, immigrants are less likely to commit a crime.

Now, I know that we're seeing in the media what is happening.

That there are individuals that are not, behaving like citizens.

They are breaking the law.

And those individuals do need to be prosecuted.

That's not how we want our country to be.

Whether it be citizens or somebody who's just visiting their country.

But the reality is, is immigrants are hard working, persistent, strong individuals who deserve to be seen, and deserve a path to work and a path to citizenship.

If you are a person who's, an immigrant or a refugee, what should they do?

I mean, how should they contact you?

So you can reach us?

You can access our website, either at cukier.

Dawg.

You can reach out to us on Facebook at Quad City Alliance for Immigration Refugees.

Or you can also call us at our office at (563)594-0854.

Or you can stop in.

Now we will be we're in the process of moving, over the next month.

We are going to have a new location.

And between there, we might be limited on our hours.

So I would be preferred that you do contact us to make sure that we have somebody there, that can see you at that time.

But we're going to be packing up, getting the new, office ready, and, we have a little bit of remodeling to do there as well.

What would you tell, a refugee or an immigrant?

A relatively new member of American society.

What would you tell them right now to have hope?

Not all Americans are against them.

We do support them.

They're not alone.

And that there are resources and help, and people that do care about them.

Our thanks to the Quantity Alliance for Immigrants and Refugees, Amy de Haven, coming up next, is this winter weird or what?

A closer look at the weather we've had and what we can expect.

But first, enjoying the start of February both indoors and out with some ideas from visit quad Cities.

Check out the things to do this week in the Quad Cities.

Start off with entering an immersive inflatable planetarium called the Discovery Dome at the Putnam Museum on February 3rd.

Then you can listen to dogs in a pile at Common Court in the Redstone Room on February 3rd.

Next, celebrate the John Deere Collection at the figgy Art Museum on February 6th.

Then you can attend the Hockey Fights Cancer Night at the Vibrant Arena at the mark on February 8th.

And finally, watch Groundhog Day the Musical at the Spotlight Theater on February 2nd.

For more events like these.

Check out our events calendar at visit Quad cities.com.

It has been a dry winter and with the exception of a few bitter cold days last month, it's been a pretty seasonal one as well.

But it's the lack of precipitation that could have the greatest impact on the rivers this spring, and the farm fields this planting season.

We talked with the National Weather Service meteorologist, Rich Kinney, to get a better idea of what lies ahead.

For me, it's been a really warm and dry winter.

I mean, am I seeing something that it doesn't exist for the most part?

Most of the days have have been above normal, with the exception of a couple of pretty severe, cold periods in there.

So it got really bad.

So, December above normal temperatures.

January actually below normal.

But we're in La Nina conditions.

And that typically means for us, kind of unpredictable, temperatures with bouts of, of cold air and a pretty active pattern.

Okay.

Active.

But we haven't seen much precipitation.

No.

December very dry.

Yeah.

And we're well below, normal on snowfall.

So December and January, 3.6in the official amount at, the Quad City airport.

So usually we're, way up there in the 18 inch neighborhood for those two months.

So way below on the, on the snowfall and January, we would have been below normal on precip, but we got about 1.6in there late in the month.

So we've only got about a sixth of the snow that we would normally get three inches as opposed to 18.

Yeah.

What kind of an impact does that have?

Well we went into the winter with dry soil conditions.

Fall was also way below normal.

And which was too bad because at the beginning of spring or late spring of last year, we almost wiped out all of the drought conditions and the dry conditions throughout the area.

And then we saw it creep back in the fall.

Absolutely.

And I just checked the latest, drought monitor, the status right now.

So from the Quad Cities north, so generally north of I-80, it's a D1 level drought right now, which means moderate, drought.

The forecast actually through the spring is, for some, improving, conditions because in general, the climate projections are leaning a little bit towards above normal precipitation.

And when we talk about rain, when we're talking about precip, when when the ground is still somewhat frozen, that doesn't really help, does it?

I mean, it doesn't mostly just runoff.

Absolutely.

And that's what happened with this band of pretty heavy rainfall.

1 to 2in near and south of the the Quad Cities.

We have frost depths running about a foot right now.

So, like you said, runoff, very little soaking into the soils.

So it made it, the water into the river system and is has cleared out.

So unfortunately, that won't have a big improvement in terms of soil moisture, because that's what farmers want to see is snow.

They want to see a lot of snow so that it just slowly melts into the soil and the subsoil.

Yeah.

Yeah.

That that's exactly right.

At this point, if we can get some, some, beneficial precipitation here, but not excessive, throughout the, the rest of the winter and into into the spring, we may get the soil moisture back, more closer to normal, but we'll have to see.

The other thing is, starting in February, you start doing the flood projections as far as the rock.

And, you know, all the other tributaries and, of course, the Mississippi River.

What are we seeing way up north?

Because that always has a huge impact.

If you have a lot of snow up in the headwaters, that's what comes down.

Yes.

A few years ago, record snowpack in the upper Mississippi Valley, up around, Minneapolis and in the headwaters.

So our confidence level was high.

In fact, early on, we were predicting a 5050 chance of reaching record levels.

Know at Rock Island on the Mississippi.

And we did just barely break, the record that year.

This year, a different story.

Snow cover way up north.

Much below normal.

Now again, we're getting into more of an active pattern so we could see additional snowfall.

But right now, when you combine the soil, the moisture that's in the ground with the lack of snow cover up north, those fundamentals point towards a lower flood risk.

Not to say there's not going to be flooding this spring.

You could get a period of very heavy rain, but at this point, our risk is below normal.

I always think, because the Mississippi River, I think of it rising and causing problems.

When I think of the Rock River, I think of ice jams and the instant, flash flooding that occurs there.

It is that a bit of a concern?

Because we could still have these big cold spells.

I mean, that's still a possibility for flooding.

Absolutely.

And those are, as you know, unpredictable situations and can be very dangerous.

Yeah.

And they're we rely on our law enforcement and, emergency management partners, spotters, some even, putting up drones and whatnot to get a handle on on how that ice is moving through the, the system.

But if we do get some cold periods, we could see, you know, a formation of, some significant ice that, then as it warms up, you start to worry about breakup ice jams, right?

Right.

Let's talk a little bit more about the fact that the, dry conditions in January has actually led to grass fires, which is something that we normally see late in the summer.

We're seeing it in January.

That's concerning.

That is very unusual.

Very unusual.

We had several, very warm and dry days dried out, the surface, grasses or fuels for, for the fires to get, started and then any fire that did get going or if someone was burning, some limbs or whatnot, that could quickly become out of control.

And we did see some significant, grass fires out, in the area.

Now, one thing we, we, have, and we've have had for the past several years a special satellite channel that we can look at that will show us hotspots throughout the area.

They show up as, as dark on our satellite imagery.

So now we're actually able to give officials some heads up on fires they may not be aware of.

Usually they're aware of them.

It may be a prescribed burn, a planned burn, but sometimes it's, it's a wildfire.

Actually.

And we can help to give them a heads up.

Has that was that obviously that was recently used?

Yes.

How did that help?

Local law enforcement?

We contacted the, emergency, manager as they were, which prompted them to actually go to the scene and call out all the various first responders, area fire departments, and, unfortunately, it did, spread, pretty quickly, before they could get it under control.

Nobody injured in that.

But, boy, you always worry about those things are getting into into homes and other structures.

Yeah.

We see what's going on on the West Coast and we just think, wow, we're lucky it doesn't happen here.

Well, what we have that they don't have, of course, are tornadoes and the severe weather.

And we're going to be heading into that season as well.

Yeah.

The preparedness, I know you have programs for, for not only spotters, but preparedness.

There's so many valuable lessons to learn when that severe weather season comes.

Absolutely.

And one of the big lessons we always stress, have multiple ways to get your weather information, because when the weather is really extreme, like the 2020 derecho, you can't rely on any single one source of information.

You may have weather radio station knocked off the air.

You may have, cell phone outage.

So, that's a concern there.

But yes, we're we're heading into, spotter training season.

So starting the week of February 17th will kick off our, our first sky worn spotter training sessions, and those are held.

I know you hold them a lot of times that like fire stations in salt communities, at public event areas.

What do you do?

You want people to attend these, what they expect when they go?

Sure.

Well, these are, free and open to the public.

They take, you know, anywhere from a an hour and a half to two hours, they're eye opening.

Yes.

I mean, there's a lot that you you cram a lot in that, and you learn an awful lot.

And we try to update it every year.

We don't want to show pictures and video from Oklahoma and Texas.

We want to show what's going on in this part of the country.

So it's not the same presentation, every year.

Folks really enjoy it and we hope for, some good turnout this year.

Well, and this past year was very devastating for parts of central Iowa, with tornadoes that hit, is it possible to predict how tough of a spring season it's going to be?

I know you could predict flooding, but what is the potential for the severe weather this spring?

There are a lot of variables, so it's hard to pin down, that I mean, we're always, prepared, though, for it can, we can have early season outbreaks.

You go back to March 31st, a couple of years ago when we had, the EF4, very rare tornado.

But those are kind of a sobering reminder that those type of violent tornadoes, they're rare, but they can happen, up here in this part of the country, when you're talking key iota, down to the southwest of the Quad Cities or Greenfield or Winterset, over, in the central western parts of the state.

What are we attributing this all to?

I mean, is it all Nina, or is there more to it?

That's really affecting the climate right now?

Well, right now, the overall patterns for this winter are being driven primarily by La Nina.

And basically that means cooler than normal sea surface temperatures off of the equatorial Pacific.

So, that's what we're looking at right now as we get into the spring, we're transitioning more into neutral conditions so near normal temperatures.

So not a lot of, trends with that particular pattern that give us, a hint one way or another.

But we're always there and prepared for whatever, Mother Nature has to, has to throw out our.

Thanks to National Weather Service meteorologist Rich Keating on the air, on the radio, on the web and on your mobile device, plus streaming on your computer.

Thanks for taking some time to join us.

As we talk about the issues on the.

IHMVCU, we've always been here for you.

You are and always will be our top priority.

We care about your financial health and we are here.

IHMVCU is a proud supporter of Wqpt.

Public affairs programing on Wqpt is brought to you by the Singh Group at Merrill, serving the wealth management needs of clients in the region for over 35 years.