The Immigration Crackdown, the Laken Riley Act, and how to help
In his first day in office, Trump issued a flurry of executive orders that amounted to a brutal crackdown against immigrants, both documented and undocumented. They include an end to birthright citizenship, empowerment of ICE to separate families and detain people with even fewer guardrails than before, targeting sanctuary cities, and more.
To immediately jump into helping, start with remembering the immigration activists’ motto: Power not Panic! Concentrate on actions that actually help, not spreading fear.
Report your own sightings of ICE activity to your local hotline. (Claims on social media don’t count and are especially dangerous to immigrant communities, causing panic and preventing people from going about their business, which makes them even more vulnerable.)
Learn and promulgate your rights against ICE. Get some ILRC Red Cards and hand them out.
Pressure your local officials to refuse compliance and information-sharing with ICE.
Call your Members of Congress and tell them: Thank you for voting NO on the Laken Riley Act and to unite Democrats against Trump’s agenda.
Call Governor Newsom and Mayor Lurie and tell them: DO NOT COLLABORATE with federal immigration enforcement.
Donate to and participate in local mutual-aid efforts such as handing out food and repairing tail lights, as these can help immigrants survive and help prevent contact with the police. NorCal Resist is a great organization handling this work in our area.
A full explainer on the EOs is available here.
Unfortunately, these awful executive orders are now supported by legislation as well. The House passed the Laken Riley Act, H.R. 29, and the Senate passed its version, S. 5. All four of our Members of Congress voted against it. However, 12 Senate Democrats voted with Republicans to pass this incredibly dangerous bill that does a lot to legalize the extrajudicial tactics of detention ICE has used on vulnerable people in the past. We are outraged by their betrayal. Some of them were Democrats we fought hard to elect over the past four years, and it is a huge disappointment to see them collaborating with fascism. They are:
Catherine Cortez Masto—Nevada
John Fetterman—Pennsylvania (co-sponsor)
Ruben Gallego—Arizona (co-sponsor)
Maggie Hassan—New Hampshire
Mark Kelly—Arizona
Jon Ossoff—Georgia
Gary Peters—Michigan
Jacky Rosen—Nevada
Jeanne Shaheen—New Hampshire
Elissa Slotkin—Michigan
Mark Warner—Virginia
Raphael Warnock—Georgia
If you know someone in these Senators’ constituency, have them call the senator(s) listed above for their state and let them know about your disappointment!