We Must Act Now To Protect Immigrant Rights In The US

With the stroke of a pen, decades of progress in protecting immigrant communities, people of color, LGBTQIA+ individuals, survivors of gender-based violence, those with diverse abilities, women and children are being swiftly unraveled. ICE raids are sweeping across New York City, targeting those who have fled harm, many of whom are living in temporary housing. Caregivers are afraid to send their children to school because they might be targeted by ICE. Food pantries and community healthcare centers are seeing a sudden drop in participants because people would rather go hungry and risk their health than risk deportation. Because one’s immigration status can be weaponized against them, survivors of gender-based violence will go into further hiding, forced to make an impossible choice: endure abuse or face deportation. ​The Laken Riley Act mandates detention for undocumented individuals charged with theft-related crimes, a policy that disproportionately impacts immigrant survivors by providing abusers and landlords with yet another tool to threaten and control them through the fear of ICE involvement and deportation.