The ACLU won hearts and minds when they filed a court petition that awarded an emergency stay on Trump's latest egregious move to assert his authority as President Trump. The outpouring of support has been enormous — and understandably so. In a matter of days, the organization raised $24 million in online donations alone — that’s six times what it gets in a year. And that figure from the Washington Post is a few days old, so I am sure that amount is obsolete.
If want to help the fight against immigration, I encourage you to skip the donation to ACLU. They’re honestly set when it comes to money (and there’s other things about the organization that I won’t go into right now). Give your money to local organizations. Getting money and finding donors in the non-profit world is tough. And it’s even tougher than you’re doing effective, radical work for a cause focusing on vulnerable like like immigrants.
The ACLU is a powerful organization, but they focus on following the letter of the law. And if there’s anything that the Republicans (and our overall American history) can tell us, the letter of the law alone cannot and will not save us. It isn’t just about what is legal; it is about what is ethical and just. The work of organizations to change our culture for the better, help anyone needing help, and providing other direct services is just as important — if not more important, to some — for creating an America where immigrants and refugees are welcome and can have good lives.
So I took to Facebook to ask people about their favorite smaller organizations working on immigrant rights. I haven’t had the ability to vet these independently, so please keep that in mind. I included links to their websites and social media for easy research.
Feel free to suggest some of your favorites in the comments below. Pro-tip: If you want to find something local use [Ctrl F] to search this page for your state.
Please note: I organized these organizations by state, but they might do work on a national scale. Check out the organization’s websites to verify.
Arizona
Colibri Center for Human Rights is “a family advocacy organization working to end migrant death and related suffering on the U.S.-Mexico border.”
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California
Arab Resource & Organizing Center “is a grassroots organization working to empower and organize our community towards justice and self-determination for all. AROC members build community power in the Bay Area by participating in leadership development, political education, and campaigns.”
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Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA) works “to advance the human and civil rights of immigrants and refugees in Los Angeles.”
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Korean Resource Center “strives to empower our community by integrating services, education, culture, organizing, and coalition building, all of which seek to improve the life of the individual and the community.”
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Mobilize the Immigrant Vote “is a California statewide nonpartisan alliance that is advancing the broader movement for justice by building the power of low-income New Americans of color including immigrants, refugees, and asylees.”
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Services, Immigrant Rights, and Education Network (SIREN) aims to “empower low-income immigrants and refugees in Silicon Valley through community education and organizing, leadership development, policy advocacy and naturalization services.”
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Illinois
The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights works to “ promote the best interests of unaccompanied immigrant children with due regard to the child’s expressed wishes, according to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and state and federal law.”
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Maryland
CASA’s mission is “to create a more just society by building power and improving the quality of life in low-income immigrant communities.”
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New Jersey
Make the Road New Jersey builds “the power of Latino & working class communities to achieve dignity & justice.”
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New Mexico
El Centro de Igualdad is a “grassroots, Latino immigrant led organization located in Central New Mexico which works with Latino immigrants and allies to defend, enforce, and advance our communities' collective rights.”
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New Mexico Immigrant Law Center works “to strengthen immigrant families by advancing the rights and opportunities of low-income immigrants and their families.”
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Santa Fe Dreamers Project “provides free legal representation to immigrant youth and their family members, with a focus on economic & community development.”
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Somos un Pueblo Unido “works to build a community that does not discriminate against people based on their national origin, that institutes humane migration policies, and that protects the human rights of everyone irrespective of where they are born or what documents they carry.”
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New York
African Communities Together is “an organization of African immigrants fighting for civil rights, opportunity, and a better life for our families here in the U.S. and back in Africa.”
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Arab American Association of New York “works to support and empower the Arab American community by providing social services to help new immigrants to adjust to their new home and become active members of society.”
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Atlas: DIY “works with immigrant youth to unlock access to legal services, learning opportunities, and leadership development in a space owned, run, and governed by the youth themselves.”
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Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI) “is a racial justice and immigrant rights organization that engages in issue education, advocacy, and cross-cultural alliance building in order to end racism, criminalization and economic disenfranchisement of African-American and Black immigrant communities.”
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Brooklyn Defender provides “high quality legal representation and related services” to people who cannot afford an attorney on their own. They have recently created an emergency fund to support immigrants under Trump.
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Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM) builds “the power of South Asian low wage immigrant workers, youth, and families in New York City to win economic and educational justice, and civil and immigrant rights.”
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Make the Road New York “builds the power of Latino and working class communities to achieve dignity and justice through organizing, policy innovation, transformative education, and survival services.”
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New York Immigrant Coalition “promotes immigrants’ full civic participation, fosters their leadership, and provides a unified voice and a vehicle for collective action for New York’s diverse immigrant communities.”
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Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project “brings legal aid services to places where there are few or no legal aid lawyers” to stop “wrongful detention and deportation of refugee families in the United States.”
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Pennsylvania
New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia is “an interfaith, multicultural immigrant justice movement organizing communities to end injustices against immigrants, regardless of status.”
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Juntos is “a Latino immigrant community led organization in Philadelphia fighting for our human rights as workers, parents, youth, and immigrants.”
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Make the Road Pennsylvania ”builds the power of Latino and working class communities to achieve dignity and justice through organizing and policy innovation.” Facebook | Twitter
Texas
Border Network for Human Rights (BNHR)
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RAICES “provides free and low-cost legal services to under-served immigrant children, families and refugees.”
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Human Rights Initiative of North Texas, Inc. “promotes international human rights through local service to refugees and immigrants who have suffered human rights abuses.”
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Washington
OneAmerica “advances the fundamental principles of democracy and justice at the local, state and national levels by building power within immigrant communities in collaboration with key allies.”
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National
Cosecha “is a nonviolent movement fighting for permanent protection, dignity and respect for the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States.”
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Mi Gente calls itself “a new political home for Latinx & Chicanx organizing.”
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