As we’re beginning to hear, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement service (ICE) has started greatly ramping up raids in multiple cities. I’m looking, personally, for ways I can help #resist this, as I’m sure that many other people are.
A piece in the Washington Post describes what we’re dealing with. This rather reprehensible remark by an “one immigration official” said anonymously
“Big cities tend to have a lot of illegal immigrants,” said one immigration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak publicly due to the sensitive nature of the operation. “They’re going to a target-rich environment.”
“Target rich environment” is a phrase I associate with the Iraq War, when it referred to enemy insurgents (BTW: if you know the actual origin of the phrase, please tell me). While it would appear that ICE is claiming they are picking up “known criminal”, it’s also clear they’re not limiting themselves to people who meet this definition. In fact, it appears that anyone who gets swept up in this who can not prove they are US citizens are getting thrown into the same pot.
I’m not an expert on this, but since there aren’t other diaries up by people who know more yet, I’ve put this one up as a clearing house. Because the raids are happening without warning (as you’d expect), this is challenging to slow down. I’ll start with a couple actions I know of. Please add more in the comments; I will update the diary to include them.
The first thing I can suggest is to make your contact info known to organizations that are already active and asking for help:
- Report ICE Activity, so others can respond and help: call UWD’s hotline at 1-844-END-1ICE or text 877877 (H/T oldhippiedude)
- #HereToStay Network (by United We Dream): add your contact info
- Alternatively, #HereToStay via your phone: code 877877, text HERETOSTAY.
- UPDATE 1: If you’re in Arizona, take a look at puenteaz.org (H/T bobsc)
- UPDATE 2: Find an immigration lawyer (H/T oldhippiedude)
- UPDATE 4: A sort of “underground railroad”. I’m not sure this is practical, but I think merely discussing this idea widely is useful protest, because of the comparisons to anti-slavery and anti-Nazi efforts of the past (H/T GarySeven).
oldhippiedude suggests in an awesome comment:
There have been other diaries with this information, but they’ve been scattered around and tend to disappear quickly. I hope that this one can become a sort of central location for info on how people can help.
One source for legal aid for people dealing with the system can be found here. Just enter a zip code to get hooked up with an immigration attorney.
The city of Austin has paid for its efforts at remaining a sanctuary city by having $1.8 million dollars in state grants cut off by the governor. You can donate to help make up these funds and show your support for their stand by donating here. Read about this effort here.
For a comprehensive website outlining the issue and what actions you can take, check out United We Dream. Of particular interest is their downloadable Immigration Defense Card, available in five languages.
You can also report ICE activity by calling UWD’s hotline at 1-844-END-1ICE or texting 877877. These individual reports have been essential in getting the story of the magnitude of ICE’s actions to the media.
And I suppose it goes without saying here that one of the best organizations to donate to is the ACLU. They’ve long been real heroes in the legal fight for immigrants’ rights.
UPDATE 3: Here’s a list by state of useful organizations.
I’ll add other actions as I know of them.