Photo courtesy of Marc Nozell from Wikimedia Commons

We’re a few weeks into this new administration and Trump has made it clear that he’s attacking our friends, families, and neighbors - and that the only people he’s protecting are those loyal to him and billionaires. 

Since day one, Trump has launched the most blatant hate agenda against immigrants. He has issued executive orders that would unlawfully shut down asylum at the U.S. southern border, use the military to separate families, and make it easier to detain and deport migrants - including detaining them at the notorious Guantanamo Bay. Anti-immigrant lawmakers in Congress gave him a helping hand by passing a law punishing undocumented people, including minors, with deportation for small crimes without due process.

These attacks on immigrant people represent life-altering efforts to separate our families and our communities.

And, it’s expensive. The American Immigration Council estimates that mass deportation will cost $88 billion per year over the course of a decade. We found that $88 billion could erase medical debt nationwide for 40 million Americans, or a fraction of it - $11 billion - could provide free lunch to all schoolchildren in the United States. Not to mention that undocumented people contribute $96.7 billion in federal, state, and local taxes, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

There are already 40,000 people locked up in detention centers, and Trump’s detention expansion plan would more than double the capacity, and Republicans in the House and Senate are proposing plans of $200 billion or more to detain and deport undocumented people.

But these attacks aren’t going unopposed. People are showing up for our immigrant neighbors and loved ones. Resistance has been far reaching, and we simply won’t accept the nightmare that is mass deportations and detentions.

From lawyers, to policy advocates, lobbyists, organizers, researchers, and more, the immigration movement is a diverse and beautiful powerhouse. 

United We Dream, CASA, Make the Road States, and Action Lab joined in launching a solidarity pledge to “[build] a strong and sustainable movement to defend ourselves and our neighbors.” Detention Watch Network is doing ongoing work with their #CommunitiesNotCages campaign where, at the local level, they work with community members to prevent ICE proposals and shut down detention centers. And the list goes on. 

My fellow immigrants and I are also standing our ground. We’re stating the facts: Immigration is good. And we’re here to stay.

On February 1, 2025, thousands of people blocked a major highway in Los Angeles to protest against the ICE raids. Just two days later, many gathered in solidarity for a Day Without Immigrants. On this day, students didn’t go to school, employees didn’t show up to work, and 250+ businesses closed nationwide to show immigrants are important to everyone’s day-to-day services and lives.

All over, people are effectively using lawsuits to fight back against Trump’s threats. Five pregnant women, with the help of immigrant rights groups, sued the Trump administration’s attempt to end birthright citizenship. Three federal judges just blocked this attempt. Plus, the American Civil Liberties Union led major legal organizations and sued the administration for seeking to shut down asylum at the border - on grounds that it’s a violation of long-time international law for humanitarian protections.

Immigrants are essential to this country. We bring opportunity and possibility to the United States. And not only do we contribute as students and professionals, business owners, healthcare and essential workers, we are simply people trying to live good and successful lives like anyone else. We’re a part of the American story. 

Now and more than ever, we’ll continue to show up for each other, and we hope you will, too. Our lives and families depend on it.