April 5, 2017

Phone App Meant to Alert Family of Immigrant Detention

With a push of a button, up 15 people notified of an immigrant's detainment.

cell phone Using a cell phone while driving is now illegal in Tucson.

A new application for cell phones is meant to alert family members if someone has been detailed by immigration officers.

The fear of deportation with little or no notice is one shared by many who are in this country illegally, said Sheridan Aguirre, a field communications field manager for United We Dream, a national organization with more than 100,000 members aimed at protecting the rights of immigrants who are in the U.S. regardless of legal status.

"One of the most common questions I hear from my loved one’s is if I’m detained, how will I remember what to do and be able to know what’s going on with me and how will I know what’s going on in my situation," Aguirre said.

That is what led an Arizona web developer, who himself was in the country illegally for 25 years, to come up with "Notifica."

Celso Mireles of Phoenix is now a U.S. citizen. He partnered with United We Dream to develop the phone app.

“Essentially this app alerts up to 15 people of one’s choosing, to let them know that they have been detained and that they need the support of those 15 people,” he said.

Aguirre said the app should be available next week and will be free and downloadable on Notifica.us.

By posting comments, you agree to our
AZPM encourages comments, but comments that contain profanity, unrelated information, threats, libel, defamatory statements, obscenities, pornography or that violate the law are not allowed. Comments that promote commercial products or services are not allowed. Comments in violation of this policy will be removed. Continued posting of comments that violate this policy will result in the commenter being banned from the site.

By submitting your comments, you hereby give AZPM the right to post your comments and potentially use them in any other form of media operated by this institution.
AZPM is a service of the University of Arizona and our broadcast stations are licensed to the Arizona Board of Regents who hold the trademarks for Arizona Public Media and AZPM. We respectfully acknowledge the University of Arizona is on the land and territories of Indigenous peoples.
The University of Arizona