New weapon to fight deportation: a ringtone

Catchy jingles.

They’ve been used to hawk breakfast cereal and remind the American public to “duck and cover” in the event of nuclear war with the Soviet Union.

On Sunday, the creation of a jingle meant to combat the arrest and deportation of immigrants was announced.

The ditty is not for radio or TV, but comes in the form of a ringtone for a cellphone.

It urges immigrants to sign nothing, say nothing and contact an attorney when confronted by federal immigration agents.

It is the creation of Unite Here Local 1, a hotel and restaurant workers union that has a large immigrant membership. The ringtone can be downloaded from the union’s website at http://www.unitehere1.org/ringtone/.

The jingle is in Spanish. Here’s the English translation:

“In Donald Trump’s America immigrants live in fear. They kiss their families goodbye because they don’t know when they walk out of that door if they’ll ever see them again,” Angel Castillo said at a news conference Sunday in Federal Plaza in the Loop.

“So we do not sit still. We’ve got to do something about it. So we’re using music and technology to notify every immigrant in this city: you’ve got rights,” said Castillo, an immigrant from Panama and organizing director for Unite Here Local 1.

Several advertisements promoting the jingle will pop up this month at bus stops in the Loop, on Michigan Avenue, and in surrounding neighborhoods, according to union spokesman Tom Bowen.

The ads seek to hammer home the message of “Say nothing. Sign nothing.”

The Spanish word for nothing — “nada” — is repeated in bold letters on the ads.

The Rev. Clete Kiley, who serves as director of immigration policy for the union and is also a special adviser to Cardinal Blasé Cupich, said Sunday that he hopes the ringtone goes viral.

“We ask parents, teachers. Take this ringtone and put it on the phones of your children,” he said.

Kiley denounced President Donald Trump’s treatment of immigrants.

“The Trump administration has recklessly and inhumanely expanded the power of ICE agents to detain and deport members of our communities,” Kiley said, using an acronym for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

“These new and aggressive ICE tactics are causing immense fear and confusion in our communities, within our families and in our work places,” he said.

Kiley said the campaign was “about the rights of individuals, no matter their immigration status.”

“Every person has a fundamental human right and rights guaranteed under the constitution of the United States,” he said.

“One of those sacred rights is the right to remain silent.”

Ald. Danny Solis (25th) plans to put up several signs notifying immigrants in the Pilsen community of the jingle.

“It’s one of the most creative strategies to connect our community,” he said.