(Washington)—Since Trump’s inauguration one year ago today, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) has worked tirelessly in fighting back against his administration’s horrific policies of attempting to end immigration to the United States and tearing apart families within our communities. As Trump’s sanctioning of white supremacist ideology, violence and escalation grows we remain undeterred - we will not let Trump’s hateful and racist policy agenda ever be accepted as normal.
As we embark on the second year of this administration we carry with us the lessons from the first. We will continue our work to educate immigrant communities about the administration’s attacks with up-to-date legal and policy analysis and resources. We will continue testifying before elected officials to end the collusion between local police and federal enforcement agents. We will continue courthouse watch efforts to make sure immigrants showing up for scheduled court hearings are not alone as they face possible arrest, detention and deportation. We will continue to stand in solidarity with organizations who have been condemned by the administration for speaking out against anti-Blackness and xenophobia. We will work to end the expansion of detention centers and continue demanding increased funding for essential immigrant legal services. We will fight every effort of this administration to limit access to immigration benefits and naturalization, particularly their targeted attacks against Black and Brown communities.
We are heartened that a recent poll indicates the majority of Americans looking at the stark news cycle and recent events in Minnesota and around the country are beginning to see what we have known for years - ICE must be abolished. Abolishing ICE would be the first step in trying to rebuild our democratic institutions. We call on our elected lawmakers in Congress to, at the very least, end funding for ICE and redirect their current bloated budget to help our communities with housing, healthcare and other essential needs.
During this second year of the Trump administration, we will remain firm and continue to fiercely advocate for a better, more just framework for immigration. The strength of our communities and our shared commitment to dignity and justice will continue to give us hope.
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The Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) is a national nonprofit that works with immigrants, community organizations, legal professionals, and policy makers to build a democratic society that values diversity and the rights of all people. Through community education programs, legal training & technical assistance, and policy development & advocacy, the ILRC works to protect and defend the fundamental rights of immigrant families and communities. Follow us at www.ilrc.org, and @the_ILRC on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and TikTok. Also follow us on Bluesky @the-ilrc.bsky.social, and on Facebook.