This page was developed in 2017. If you have resources to contribute or want change alerts, contact KYR[at]immdefense.org.
Local, City, and State policies to protect immigrants from deportation:
- Fight for local policies to protect immigrants from deportation, including limiting ICE collaboration with law enforcement. See Local Options for Protecting Immigrants: A Collection of City & County Policies to Protect Immigrants from Discrimination and Deportation, a resource from the Immigrant Legal Resource Center. For detailed examples from NYC, see also NYC detainer & probation policy.
- Advocate for state or local funding to ensure public defenders are able to provide proper immigration advice so that immigrant clients do not suffer the harsh consequences that can stem from a criminal case, such as New York’s Regional Immigration Assistance Centers.
- Advocate for state or local funding to ensure representation in immigration court, such as the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project. See also Blazing a Trail: The Right to Counsel in Detention and Beyond, a resource from the National Immigration Law Center.
- Support campaigns against discriminatory surveillance, special registration, and data sharing. See Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM) and Stop LAPD Spying.
- Stand with calls for police departments to refrain from handing over immigrants with administrative warrants to ICE, such as in the initiative as part of the campaign for the IDNYC, New York’s municipal ID.
- Fight for policies to prevent ICE arrests in courthouses, such as in Kings County, Washington and Santa Clara, California.
- Stand up for policies welcoming refugees locally and nationally. See Refugee Council USA’s Post-Election Toolkit.
- Engage in efforts to establish “safe school zones”. See the National Education Association’s resources.
Fight against criminalization, surveillance, racial profiling, and mass imprisonment. Decrease the number of people in and harmed by the criminal legal system:
- Use and support alternative methods to address healing, accountability, and harm. See resources compiled by Critical Resistance.
- Support efforts to stop Broken Windows and other abusive policing such as Communities United For Police Reform and to uplift community safety solutions, including Safety Beyond Policing, #BlackLivesMatter, and We Charge Genocide.
- .Fight to end mass imprisonment in efforts such as Californians United for a Responsible Budget and Critical Resistance.
- Support pre-arrest diversion programs such as LEAD (Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion).
- Support drug decriminalization, such as marijuana reform in California.
- Support sentencing reform, such as the One Day to Protect New Yorkers Campaign. See also similar successful efforts in California, Washington, and Nevada.
Join the growing movements calling for ICE to stay out of our communities:
- Learn from and promote the experiences of community-based organizations fighting back against raids and deportations.
- Resources on ICE raids and community arrests: Families for Freedom, New Orleans Workers’ Center for Racial Justice, The Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights, Organized Communities Against Deportation, #Not1More Deportation Campaign, Make the Road NY, and United We Dream.
- See also generally PUENTE Movement, Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI), 1Love Movement, Juntos, Southerners on New Ground (SONG) , National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON).
- Learn more about grassroots community defense strategies, such as Los Comités de Defensa del Barrio (CDB)/The Barrio Defense Committees and Movimiento Cosecha.
- Know Your Rights! Distribute materials and receive training on rights when faced by an ICE arrest at home or in the community, or due to contact with the police.
- Support organizations, such as as the Sanctuary Movement and New Sanctuary Coalition of NYC, working with faith-based organizations in support of people at risk of deportation.
- Learn more background about detention and deportation laws and policies and those most impacted at Immigrant Justice Network and Detention Watch Network.
Help support individuals potentially facing deportation by eliminating convictions or through deportation defense:
- Encourage people at risk of deportation to be screened for the impact of a gubernatorial pardon, which may keep them out of deportation proceedings or open up possibilities for relief in immigration court.
- Help people at risk of deportation get screened for post-conviction relief, especially if they were not advised or were incorrectly advised of the immigration consequences of a conviction. Learn more in IDP’s Post-Conviction Relief model materials.
- Mount a case campaign to stop an individual’s deportation, including building a support committee, and gathering letters of support from elected officials and community members. See Families for Freedom’s A.R.M. Case Campaign Materials.
Learn how the criminal legal and immigration systems intersect — and how you can resist the detention and deportation — in our Deportation 101 curriculum guide.