Tag: DRUM

JHISN Newsletter 04/25/2026

Posted on April 25, 2026 by - News, Newsletter

Dear friends,

Remain vigilant? Breathe a temporary sigh of relief? The mass targeting of immigrants for deportation in central Queens has not yet materialized. We share recent wisdom from Queens Neighborhoods United: “[W]e can’t always live in fear that ICE is around, and we can’t pretend that ICE is never around. Finding a balance and arming ourselves with information to inform our day-to-day lives is important.” Find a balance; stay informed; build and hold our collective strength.

Yet, every day, police violence against immigrants continues, and our first article highlights the pursuit of justice for two Queens families shattered by NYPD shootings in their homes.

Our second article dives into the mess of government propaganda, misinformation, missing data, and realistic “best estimates” of the number of immigrants in the US who have been recently detained and/or deported. Who really counts in US society? All those whose lives have been upended by a revved-up mass detention and deportation machine deserve to be counted.

Newsletter highlights:
  1. Where is justice for two Queens families shattered by NYPD violence?
  2. Checking the numbers on US detentions and deportations

1. Justice for Win Rozario and Jabez Chakraborty!

On March 27, 2024, struggling with a mental health crisis in his Ozone Park home, 19-year-old Bangladeshi immigrant Win Rozario called 911 for help. What showed up was two aggressive cops, who provoked, tased, and gunned him down without mercy in front of his family.

“After shooting Win, the NYPD forced Win’s mom and brother to go to the precinct immediately, refusing to let them accompany Win to the hospital. Win’s mother and brother were separated and interrogated without lawyers and before being notified that Win had died. The NYPD then refused to let the Rozario family back into their apartment for over 48 hours, refusing to let them retrieve critical medications or even feed their cat. It took the advocacy of the Public Advocate to get the Rozario family back into their home – which the police had neglected to clean up after murdering Win.” —The Justice Committee

In September 2025, NYC’s Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) found that Officers Matthew Cianfrocco and Salvatore Alongi used excessive force and abused their authority. But so far, they have not faced any consequences. State Attorney General Letitia James refused to prosecute the cops, a decision the family called “cowardly.” Potential disciplinary action is now at the discretion of New York Police Commissioner Tisch, who is considered likely to order the loss of some vacation days—or no punishment at all. Only Mayor Mamdani can overrule whatever she decides.

This April 1, the Rozario family and local immigrant justice group Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM) led a demonstration at Diversity Plaza, solemnly marking the second anniversary of Win’s murder and calling on the city to fire Cianfrocco and Alongi:

“Win’s mother shared her experiences and demands: ‘I can’t believe two years have passed and still the police have not been punished… I want to say that police should not be sent to respond to situations involving illness or mental health crises. Otherwise, more families like mine will be forced to live with this emptiness and grief.’” —@DRUMNYC

The Diversity Plaza protest also mobilized support for another Queens immigrant family brutalized in a similar way by the NYPD. Jabez Chakraborty, 22, who lives with schizophrenia, was shot by cops in a January 2026 confrontation that his family insists was completely unnecessary.

“We are shocked and outraged by the NYPD’s treatment of our son and brother, Jabez Chakraborty, and our family. We called for help. We called 911 for an ambulance to provide medical attention for our son, who was in emotional distress. We did not call the police. Instead of medical responders, the NYPD arrived and shot our son multiple times right in front of us.” —Chakraborty family, 1/30/26

Although he was severely wounded, Jabez Chakraborty survived. But District Attorney Melinda Katz rushed to arraign him on assault and weapons charges as he lay chained to his hospital bed—ignoring objections from Mayor Mamdani.

“What purpose does it serve to punish someone who needed medical and mental health care, and got bullets instead? This shooting was not an isolated incident: it’s a devastating example of how our systems repeatedly fail the most vulnerable New Yorkers.” —Fahd Ahmed, Executive Director of DRUM

WHAT CAN WE DO?

2. The Reality Behind Detention & Deportation Propaganda Numbers

“We know of no reliable count of the total number of deportations during the first year of the Trump administration.” — Deportation Data Project (January 2026)

Those managing the anti-immigrant agenda of Trump and his hatemongering Homeland Security advisor, Stephen Miller, regularly obfuscate their arrest, detention, or deportation numbers. Such transparency problems are not new. Before Trump took office in 2024, the American Immigration Council (AIC) published Transparency Recommendations identifying numerous legally mandated reporting requirements that ICE failed to fulfill. The AIC reported that ICE, under Biden, was “severely undercounting the number of people it has in immigration detention.” In July of last year, Robert Garcia, a representative on the House Committee on Homeland Security, stated, “I actually just don’t trust numbers the administration is putting out, and I don’t think the American public should.” Thankfully, the diligent work of non-profits and university researchers does serve as a lighthouse in the fog.   

The number of people processed through the deportation machine is obscured by the administration’s hyperbolic statements. Only through the independent work of organizations, reporters, and pro bono lawyers, who process Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuits to delve into Homeland Security data, can we get a sense of how many people are actually being processed through the deportation machine.

In March of last year, TRAC Reports won a major FOIA case against ICE and CPB when a court rejected all the government’s arguments for withholding records. In November 2025, TRAC released a report about detention and removals after the massive deployments of military and civil immigration enforcers: “The data show surprisingly little has been accomplished given the huge expenditure of resources devoted to this effort.” The increase in ICE removals under Trump in 2025 was reportedly only 7% higher than the 2024-25 numbers under Biden.

Before Trump’s second inauguration, data on border arrests, deportations, and other immigration metrics were published twice a month (as mandated by the DHS funding bill). An April 2026 visit to the DHS website finds that the immigration websites have not been updated since 2024. ICE Detention and Repatriation data has also not been updated since 2024. The 2025 numbers reported by Homeland Security on its detention management site are severely limited. Even a high school student’s online ICE Tracker project is making a better attempt than Homeland Security to share this data publicly.

While TRAC Reports highlighted the many data errors in ICE data releases, the Vera Institute of Justice reported that the “failure [of ICE] to regularly release accurate, complete, and accessible data is part of what enables it to operate this multi-billion-dollar network with little oversight or accountability.” With the support of the Deportation Data Project, the Vera Institute published its December 2025 report on ICE Detention Trends in 1,464 facilities. If the ICE reports from August of last year are accurate, then the 61,226 people detained by ICE is the highest ever level of detention. 

“First, ICE arrests quadrupled, including both street arrests and transfers from criminal custody to ICE immigration custody. ICE street arrests (i.e. arrests not at jails) went up by over a factor of eleven. Street arrests at this order of magnitude are a new phenomenon. For both types of arrests, ICE was much less likely to target people with criminal convictions. These changes led to over a sevenfold increase in arrests of people without criminal convictions.”—Deportation Data Project


Transfers from Jails and Prisons Doubled and Street Arrests Increased by 11x—Deportation Data Project

The self-deportation component of the Miller-Trump strategy, despite a significant increase in numbers, failed spectacularly to deliver its promise as a cost-effective way to remove immigrants rapidly. Last September, DHS posted self-aggrandizing statements, and Kristi Noem talked about self-deportation numbers, which came from an estimate by the anti-immigrant think tank CIS that did not even use DHS data. 

Homeland Security spent $200M on ads (created by agencies with direct ties to DHS staff) to urge self-deportation through the incongruously named Project Homecoming. The “voluntary” project claims to offer applicants a free plane ticket and a stipend of $1,000, recently increased to $2,600. Data review confirmed around 25,000 people registered for self-deportation on the CBP mobile app. Only half of those actually returned home with DHS support. The others face delays in paperwork processing, have not received payments, and still await their flights home. Immigration attorneys indicate their lack of trust in the program. In reality, only a minority of immigrants are eligible for those incentives to leave: those who do not meet the requirements are simply handing over their information and risking detention. 


Voluntary Departures Increased by 28x—Deportation Data Project

Although the government’s Project Homecoming data is questionable, reliable data shows that the number of court cases ending in “voluntary departure” increased to 35,000—over three times those during the previous year. Looking at New York specifically, under Biden, less than 1% of people arrested by ICE opted for voluntary departure—today it is 22%. People are also deciding to self-deport without government intervention—but even at the point where they are boarding flights to return home, they are still being detained and handed over to ICE agents.

The end goal of this administration is really not just about deportation. It is about enabling white nationalism and authoritarianism through racial profiling, eroding constitutional rights, scapegoating and subjugating immigrants, and weaponizing a massive private, for-profit prison system. 

WHAT CAN WE DO?

 

In solidarity and with collective care,

Jackson Heights Immigrant Solidarity Network (JHISN)

Follow @JHSolidarity on Facebook and Twitter and share this newsletter with friends, families, neighbors, networks, and colleagues so they can subscribe and receive news from JHISN. 

 

 

JHISN Newsletter 11/22/2025

Posted on November 22, 2025 by - News, Newsletter

Dear friends, 

It is now a fact. Zohran Mamdani won the NYC mayoral election—by an enthusiastic margin. He will be sworn in on January 1, 2026, as the immigrant mayor of this city built on immigrant labor, dreams, and community. Our own Jackson Heights-based DRUM (Desis Rising Up & Moving) sibling organization, DRUM Beats, mobilized its South Asian and Indo-Caribbean membership to play a major role in Mamdani’s successful campaign. 

Given the threats this week from Thomas Homan, Trump’s so-called ’border czar,’ the most important part of today’s newsletter may be our WHAT CAN WE DO? section at the very end. We report first on ICE’s recent escalation of attacks here in Queens, and next, on your responses to our reader survey on how to prepare for ICE invasions in our own neighborhood. We conclude with actions you can take, and trainings and groups you can join, to collectively defend our communities. Please join us in learning what solidarity will look like in our immigrant-led New York City. 

Newsletter highlights:
  1. Our neighborhood faces escalating ICE raids
  2. Reportback on JHISN reader survey: Actions and suggestions to confront ICE

1. ICE Is Here–How Do We Respond?

It seemed inevitable. After a months-long brutal mass deportation campaign at the Federal Plaza courthouses in Manhattan, ICE has now started ramping up street raids in Queens, knowing that almost half of us (over one million residents) were born outside the US. 

In the first week of November, 97th Street and 41st Avenue in Corona became the main focus of a major ICE dragnet, resulting in the confirmed abductions of 12 neighbors. Other parts of Corona were also hit. As reported by Queens Neighborhoods United (QNU), these were not targeted arrests of individuals using judicial warrants. Instead, Latinos walking down the street, sitting in their cars, or riding bikes were racially profiled and arrested by swarms of agents. ICE used deception tactics—for instance, rotating out agents who might be recognized, or pretending to be done for the day, then suddenly returning to trap more residents. 

We note that ICE has been active in our community for some time. According to one well-informed activist, an average of two people a day were already being detained in the Jackson Heights, Corona, and Elmhurst area prior to the 97th St. raids. ICE has recently been sighted, banging on doors on 79th Street near Roosevelt Avenue at 5:00 AM, presumably trying to serve a warrant. However, QNU says, “ICE is escalating. They are using more elaborate ruses and traps. We must respond.”

Parts of the Corona assault were recorded on video, and some local residents tried to warn pedestrians using whistles. These efforts need to grow into a mass response by our whole community. We need well-organized ICE Watch and rapid response teams to monitor federal agents and keep our neighborhoods informed. We need a widespread whistle campaign so that every resident can take part in sounding an alert when ICE appears. We need enough people in the street to make it hard to trap anybody. 

This counter-escalation has started to emerge. We encourage our readers to be active according to your capabilities. Please see our What Can We Do? section at the end of our next article.

2. JHISN Reader Survey: Take Local Action Against ICE’s Illegal Activity

“[T]hey were here and they were everywhere. Smash and grab jobs happening across the city nearly simultaneously. But the things being stolen aren’t jewels, they’re lives. Off streets, from yards. One roofer plucked off a ladder. A landscaper thrown to the ground, tackled by a half-dozen men in camo with weapons …. What I need you to understand is that nobody is letting them go quietly. The Feds’ every movement is announced by a chorus of whistles, by a parade of cars honking in their wake, neighbors rushing outside to yell to film to witness these kidnappings that are unfolding in front of us. Neighbors running towards trouble.” – Dan Sinker, “What I Need You to Understand, Notes from Chicago in Late October”

In our last two newsletters, JHISN invited feedback from our readers through our NYC Prepares for ICE Invasion survey—we thank all of you who participated for your thoughtful responses. While most of you said you had already participated in actions to show opposition to the outrageous abductions by ICE agents, more than a third of you indicated that you are ready to take action for the first time. We applaud you and will continue to use the newsletter, as best we can, to encourage more people to take even more steps. We suggest that readers review the reports on grassroots resistance coming out of Chicago by Dan Sinker and Kyle Kingsbury, a.k.a “Aphyr”—they show what NYC could become when we face ICE attacks like those in Chicago. 

Our survey also asked about the challenges facing our readers and suggestions for what can be done next. Overwhelmingly, our respondents shared that their biggest challenge is not being aware of actions they can take, even as several readers reported on actions they have already done: 

  • Distribute Know Your Rights (KYR) information to businesses and people
  • Make phone calls and complete petitions to politicians 
  • Accompany immigrants to court appointments or participate in court watching
  • Donate to immigrant support organizations

The main challenges our readers reported were a fear of physical risks and that work hours and mobility issues associated with age prevent participation in actions. One person responded simply: “Fear”.

But for every challenge identified, survey respondents also offered two suggestions for future actions. Unawareness can be fixed through greater information sharing. One person suggested that we learn from other groups, such as DIRE (Deportation and Immigration Response Equipo) in New Jersey. Another suggested “Distribute whistles and publicize when/how to use them for rapid response. Like in Los Angeles and in Chicago, there has been a grassroots effort to distribute orange whistles that people can blow if they see ICE.” Another said, “Have a chat group | Patrol the neighborhood | Make noise to alert our neighbors.” 

JHISN has now posted instructions about whistle use as Community Resistance Tools on our blog, borrowing flyer information from South Brooklyn Mutual Aid. If you have been at the Jackson Heights Greenmarket on 34th Ave., between 79th & 80th, you may have seen activists distributing whistles and instructions to our community. Whistles played a role in the recent day-long ICE raid in Corona, and Hands Off NYC has now distributed well over 10,000 whistles throughout the city. Last weekend, JH Indivisible joined with 10 people from the neighborhood (including JHISN members) to distribute ICE Packs to business owners, including a whistle, instructions in English and Spanish for how to use the whistle, and red cards with KYR information. 

Some of our active readers have connected with local ICE Watch groups. Most of these local groups create their own direct messaging communication methods to the immigrant population they serve; only trusted sources, who have been able to verify that ICE action is underway, post to the ICE Watch lists. So, although the federal government demanded Apple and Google remove the ICEBlock app from their app stores, which they did, most local ICE Watch groups were not significant users of that app. 

One of our respondents made a straightforward comment: “I think we all have to help each other out in whatever ways we can.” Some of us can march in weekend events. Some of us can donate money to support immigrant-led groups or the many GoFundMe pages of families seeking support to fight their deportation case (please support the pages of those you know to be local to Jackson Heights).  Some of us can wear a polka dot dress and block an ICE Humvee to slow its progress. Some of us can take successful legal action against discriminatory practices that intimidate immigrants with the threat of deportation. Some of us can tell NYC assembly members to get ICE OUT! Some of us can get ICE barred from operating in Rikers. 

One of us cannot do everything, but many of us, doing what we can in different ways, can make the difference between quiet surrender or effective solidarity.

WHAT CAN WE DO? 
  • Get trained by Hands Off NYC, a coalition of over 50 action-taking groups, to learn Know Your Rights, ICE Watch, and organizing and mobilization strategies. Sign up for their Queens training on Saturday. Dec. 13, 12 – 4 pm.
  • Attend one of the New York Immigration Coalition’s many Neighborhood Defense Training webinars.
  • Attend the monthly Zoom meeting of Jackson Heights Indivisible and get involved with their local actions. 
  • Join the Visibility Brigade (also known as the Rush Hour Resistance) every Wednesday evening from 6 – 7 pm in Jackson Heights.
  • Notify activists if you see ICE: 
  • NYC ICE Watch – DM via Instagram @nycicewatch – use the SALUTE page to quickly format your post
  • Call the Immigrant Defense Project’s NY/NJ ​Rapid Response Network Emergency ICE Raid hotline at 1-800-308-0878, or in New York City,​ call 1-212-725-6422.
  • Prepare yourself, your neighbors, and others by being familiar with Make The Road New York’s Deportation Defense Manual—especially read Part Two: Rapid Response to Raids; appendix D; and appendix F. (Note this is from July 2022, and many things have changed since then).

In solidarity and with collective care,

Jackson Heights Immigrant Solidarity Network (JHISN)

 

Follow @JHSolidarity on Facebook and Twitter and share this newsletter with friends, families, neighbors, networks, and colleagues so they can subscribe and receive news from JHISN. 

 

 

JHISN Newsletter 10/25/2025

Posted on October 25, 2025 by - News, Newsletter

Dear friends,

Rarely do we start with a set of asks, but extreme times give our newsletter a sense of urgency. So first, please take a few minutes to fill out our JHISN reader survey, and share how you might imagine and participate in neighborhood defense if escalated ICE raids land in central Queens. Thanks to all of you who have already responded.

Next, please check out and circulate this new state government portal to report disturbing or violent actions you witness by ICE and other federal agents in NYC; photos and videos can be uploaded to the site. The public portal was created by the NYS Attorney General one day after the militarized ICE attack on immigrant street vendors—and New Yorkers who came to their defense—on Canal Street this week. 

Our newsletter below looks more closely at the role of citizen immigrants, our own Jackson Heights-based organization DRUM Beats, and immigrant politics more broadly in Zohran Mamdani’s historic campaign for NYC mayor. And we give an update on the precarious situation affecting members of our Nepali community in Queens who have had their Temporary Protective Status terminated by the Trump regime—part of a larger campaign to rip away the legal status of hundreds of thousands of TPS holders nationwide. 

Newsletter highlights: 
  1. Zohran Mamdani: immigrant organizing boosts support for an immigrant mayor
  2. Update on cancellation of TPS for Nepali residents

1. Mamdani’s Campaign Success: Grassroots Immigrant Organizing

“[Trump] just threatened to have me arrested, stripped of my citizenship, put in a detention camp and deported. Not because I have broken any law but because I will refuse to let ICE terrorize our city.”—Zohran Mamdani

Jackson Heights group DRUM Beats, the sibling organization of Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM), was featured by many news organizations this year for its political advocacy work. You may have seen them last weekend at Jackson Heights Farmer’s Market doing henna tattoos, canvassing for Zohran Mamdani, and providing voting registration assistance. They are a major contributing factor to the success of Mamdani’s campaign to become the next, and first Muslim and South Asian, mayor of New York City, and, as he says himself, the first immigrant mayor in generations. DRUM Beats was one of the first grassroots groups to endorse him. Along with CAAAV Voice, the political arm of the CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities, South Asian residents were engaged across all five NYC boroughs in support of Mamdani’s campaign. Turnout for the primary saw a 40% increase in South Asian voters for the Democratic Socialist candidate. This came less than a year after many of those same populations appeared to swing right by supporting Trump for president. One reason for Mamdani’s success is his showing up in person in their districts.

30% of the election districts won by Trump in 2024 supported Mamdani in the June 2025 Democratic primary. Many of those districts are in majority Asian neighborhoods. Indeed, across all immigrant-majority neighborhoods, Mamdani won by 7 points. New York Communities for Change has announced that a coalition of organizations representing 50,000 working-class Black and immigrant New Yorkers endorsed Mamdani. Make The Road New York officially endorses him, as does Congressmember Adriano Espaillat, an influential Latino leader for upper Manhattan and the Bronx. He also secured support from the head of the NYPD Bangladeshi American Police Association at a time when 13 other law enforcement organizations had backed the incumbent and former policeman, Mayor Adams, before he dropped out of the race. Despite having higher financial earnings than the working-class immigrants campaigning for Mamdani, many young, well-paid, white collar workers in New York’s tech sector are also giving him their support; they also worry about the affordability of life in the city. 

Mamdani, who worked as a housing counselor with the local immigrant services and housing support organization Chhaya CDC, does not include an “immigration” section on his campaign website. He clearly is a strong supporter of our sanctuary city status, but his platform emphasizes affordability, housing and food security, health, and education as the critical issues facing working-class populations. His policy memo about Trump-Proofing New York is not just about standing up to the ICE invasion, but about protecting all vulnerable New Yorkers from the multiplicitous attacks by Trump. During the first Mayoral debate last week, the topic of immigration and our sanctuary city laws was raised—Mamdani distinguished himself from the others by being more personal and talking of the horrific and ongoing abduction activities conducted by ICE at 26 Federal Plaza.

In private, Trump has indicated he thinks Mamdani is unbeatable. Trump has threatened to withhold federal money from New York if Mamdani is elected Mayor and has already moved forward to cut federal counterterrorism and transit funds. The president has stated that he will arrest Mamdani if he tries to stop masked ICE agents from deporting our neighbors. Trump, along with Tennessee Representative Andy Ogles, also questioned Mamdani’s citizenship. Ogles has been called out for censure for his bigoted and racist speech, including his letter asking the Justice Department to denaturalize and deport Mamdani. (Vickie Paladino, a Queens Council member, who also called for Mamdani to be deported, was met with minimal criticism from city officials and the current mayor.) After Mamdani won the Democratic primary, Tom Homan, Trump’s so-called Border Czar, said that ICE would double up and triple up agents in New York (and this week we watched New Yorkers defend their street vendors from ICE on Canal Street). 

These are the actions of authoritarians who will use any means, even if illegal, to silence and punish the people opposing their anti-democracy political dogma, which is hidden behind a show-of-force facade of nationalism and patriotism. Meanwhile, Mamdani was interviewed on Fox News and stated he will lead this city by building partnerships with people, and that he would do so, “not only in Washington, D.C., but [with] anyone across this country.” He has already proven he can do that by building a multi-asian coalition of support, which has expanded further and made him the current leader in the election polls.

WHAT CAN WE DO?
  • Be inspired by The Queensborough restaurant and organize a fundraising event for your favorite local immigrant-led support organization. After the No Kings March, The Q raised over $600 in cash for NICE (New Immigrant Community Empowerment).
  • Help DRUM Beats continue their political advocacy by making a financial donation. 

2. Brief History of TPS for Nepal, and Its Termination

As of 2023, there were more than 200,000 Nepalis in the US, with almost 17,000 living in Jackson Heights, many with Temporary Protective Status (TPS). As of October 2025, more than 12,000 Nepalis residing in the US–some of them our neighbors here in Queens–have had their legal TPS status abruptly canceled by the Trump administration. 

TPS was created by the Immigration Act of 1990, and grants permission for people to stay in the US if conditions in their country are unsafe from a natural disaster, an armed conflict, or some other unusual and temporary situation making it unsafe for people to return. TPS protects people from deportation, and they can be authorized to work in the US. TPS is granted for 18 months, and at the end of that time it can be extended or revoked for another 6, 12, or 18 months. At least 60 days before the period ends, the Secretary of Homeland Security must review conditions in the target country and publish the decision in the Federal Register.

In April 2015, there was a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Nepal, followed by several strong aftershocks. There was extensive damage throughout the country: 755,000 homes were damaged; 9,000 people died and 22,000 were injured. That is why TPS was granted for Nepalis residing in the US until June 2018. Then, in 2017, serious flooding and landslides impeded food production and reconstruction of the earthquake damage. As a result of two separate court cases (Bhattarai v. Nielsen and Ramos v. Nielsen), TPS for Nepal was extended three times until June 2024. 

However, in 2018, Trump revoked the TPS status for Nepal, which was quickly challenged in court. Then, in 2023, DHS under Biden rescinded that termination and extended TPS until June 2025. On June 6, 2025, DHS Secretary Noem terminated TPS for Nepal, effective August 5, 2025. She claimed “there are notable improvements in environmental disaster preparedness and response capacity, as well as substantial reconstruction from the earthquake’s destruction such that there is no longer a disruption of living conditions and Nepal is able to handle adequately the return of its nationals.”

In July 2025, the National TPS Alliance and individual plaintiffs with TPS status challenged Secretary Noem’s actions as arbitrary and capricious, failing to provide the required 60-day notice, and violating the equal protection portion of the Fifth Amendment because the motivation was partially racial animus. On July 31, US District Judge Trina Thompson granted the plaintiffs’ motion to postpone the cancellation. The court ordered that TPS remain in effect until at least November 18, 2025. But on August 20, 2025, the District court’s stay was overridden by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, allowing TPS cancellation for Nepal, Honduras, and Nicaragua to go forward. 

Meanwhile, in September 2025, there was a political crisis in Nepal when economic dysfunction and disillusioned youth led to widespread protests, government buildings burned, a national curfew, and finally the installation of a new president, Sushila Karki, the first woman president of Nepal.

It is not clear if that political crisis will have any bearing on the status of Nepalis in the US. With the removal of work authorization and the threat of deportation the Nepali community is in danger.

WHAT CAN WE DO?
  • Make a donation to our local immigrant-led organization Adhikaar which represents the Nepali-speaking community. 

 

In solidarity and with collective care,

Jackson Heights Immigrant Solidarity Network (JHISN)

Follow @JHSolidarity on Facebook and Twitter and share this newsletter with friends, families, neighbors, networks, and colleagues so they can subscribe and receive news from JHISN. 

 

 

JHISN Newsletter 07/26/2025

Posted on July 26, 2025 by - News, Newsletter

Dear friends,

Like many of you, we find ourselves at risk of being overwhelmed every week, sometimes daily, by immigration news. Much of it bad and some of it almost unbelievable. We continue to publish our monthly newsletter with a local focus whenever we can—looking at both the forces aligning against immigrant lives, and those allied with solidarity, resistance, and community-based care. None of it makes any sense without you, our readers, taking this news and acting when and where you can, for immigrant justice and power. Thank you for continuing to read the newsletter—and for using it as a tool in our common struggle.

Today’s issue takes on systematic wage theft—disproportionately experienced by immigrant workers—while highlighting how common it is in our own neighborhood. The newsletter also returns to the urgent issue of the Trump regime’s attempts to cancel Temporary Protective Status (TPS) for hundreds of thousands of legal immigrant US residents, including many in the Nepali community here in Queens.  

Newsletter highlights:
  1. Wage theft is all around us
  2. Temporary Protective Status (TPS) under assault: an update

1. Wage Theft is All Around Us

Wage theft is rampant in industries that employ large numbers of immigrant workers. These include agriculture, building maintenance, garment assembly, hotel, restaurant and food service, construction, nursing homes, nail salons, warehouses and car washes. Inequality.org states the obvious: “Undocumented workers are particularly vulnerable to wage theft as they are often the least likely to report violations due to fear of retaliation, job loss, or exposure of their immigration status.” This has become an even more pressing consideration as the terror of the Trump regime’s mass deportation accelerates.

The Center for Popular Democracy reports that “An estimated 2.1 million New Yorkers are victims of wage theft annually, cheated out of a cumulative $3.2 billion in wages and benefits.” Wage theft among New York City’s 300,000 low-wage workers is reported to be roughly $18.4 million per week. The widespread nature of wage theft in the state and city can be visualized by clicking on Documented’s Wage Theft Monitor. The Monitor is based on state and federal data acquired through Freedom of Information requests. It records thousands of final wage theft settlements—large and small, in every neighborhood—including hundreds of findings against businesses in our area. 

Examples of wage theft in Queens alone seem endless:

  • In 2020, Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM) organized a large protest outside Sona Chaandi, one of the largest jewelry stores on 74th Street. Demonstrators accused the owners of sexual harassment, as well as wage theft. Nargis, an immigrant DRUM member and former employee, told the rally that she was harassed, paid $50 to $75 for 10 hour days, and forced to take care of the owner’s elderly parent without pay. The Documented Wage Theft Monitor shows that Sona Chaandi was eventually ordered to pay $65,000 to two unnamed workers.
  • Some local eating and drinking establishments with immigrant work forces have faced large wage theft settlements. El Picosito Bar on Roosevelt was ordered to pay $237,621 to 10 workers a few years back. La Boina Roja Steakhouse was recently ordered by the state to pay $221,130 to 11 workers, according to the Wage Theft Monitor. National chain restaurants are also implicated. For instance, Chipotle on Northern Boulevard was ordered to reimburse 85 workers in a wage theft case filed in 2023.
  • In 2022, Attorney General Letitia James announced a settlement of more than $90,000 in favor of several Astoria laundry workers. The Laundry Workers Center, which primarily represents immigrant women of color, did the initial investigation on the case and pushed it to the AG’s office.
  • That same year, James also won a $130,000 settlement for two building superintendents in Flushing who were paid no wages at all—the owners had decided that a rent-free apartment would serve as their only compensation.
  • Last year, Make the Road New York was instrumental in publicizing and filing a disturbing wage theft complaint by Ecuadorian migrants at a tobacco packaging factory in Queens. Workers assert that they were paid about $4 an hour, working in sweatshop conditions 10-13 hours a day, seven days a week.
  • This summer, Assemblymember Shekar Krishnan took the lead in trying to terminate lucrative city contracts handed out to Griffin’s Landscaping, a firm accused of repeated wage theft and other illegal behavior.

Unfortunately, many ripped-off immigrant workers never get a legal settlement, or any kind of justice. Even those bold enough to file complaints with state or federal authorities face an uphill struggle. They may win their cases, which often take years, and yet the employer stalls, refuses to pay the judgement, hides, or declares bankruptcy.

“Hildalyn Colón Hernández, deputy director of New Immigrant Community Empowerment, a New York-based worker advocacy organization, said, ‘Employers are operating with no consequences’….Colón Hernández added that her organization now trains its employees on how to investigate wage theft because it would take too long if they had to rely on federal or state investigators to recover back wages.”  —ProPublica, 8/22/23

WHAT CAN WE DO?

2. The Impact of TPS Changes for NY

“The law is very clear that once the TPS extension has been granted, it cannot be taken away en masse. This is the first time in the 35-year history of the TPS statute that anyone’s ever tried to do that.” –Ahilan Arulanantham, co-director, Center for Immigration Law and Policy, UCLA School of Law

The Brookings Institute warned that Trump’s campaign promises targeting immigrants “would have disproportionate impacts on U.S. cities and urban areas, given that most foreign-born individuals live and work in these places.” Among US counties with undocumented populations, Queens is ranked the sixth-largest and has over three TPS holders per 1,000 people. (With a population of about 2,250,000, that amounts to over 6,750 TPS holders.) The Trump regime, led by Stephen Miller’s hard-line propaganda, aims to abruptly end TPS status for hundreds of thousands of US residents, which disproportionately threatens people living here in Queens and NYC.  

About 40% of the migrants who arrived in NY in 2022-23 came from Venezuela under TPS protections. New York City has the second-largest TPS-eligible Haitian population in the nation, which comprises about 3% of the city’s population. Among other TPS recipients, New York City also has the largest Honduran population and, residing in both Woodside and Jackson Heights is the second-largest Nepali migrant population in the country. Around Flushing and Kew Gardens, there is a large population of Afghan immigrants in Queens. 

These groups combined comprise 87,000 TPS holders in New York state who are specifically under threat from the questionable legal actions spearheaded by the Trump administration to strip their legal authorization to remain and work in the US, making them all detainable and deportable. The inappropriately named One Big Beautiful Bill, which barely received enough votes to become law, supplements these attacks by requiring higher fees for individuals to submit forms necessary to file in court to fight against potential deportation. The Showcase of Nepalis in New York (NepYork) published the full details of these cost increases. NepYork also reported on a recent NJ event organized to discuss increased deportation threats and the imminent termination of TPS for Nepalese immigrants. 

“TPS is ending on August 5 [for Nepal], and thousands of lives are hanging by a thread. We organized this not just because the law is changing, but because our families are suffering silently. Many don’t know their rights. Many are scared. We have organized this event to help them find a way and let them know they are not alone.” Dr. Bishnu Maya Pariyar, Program Director at Hudson S.P.E.A.K.S.

Pushback against TPS terminations includes Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen’s SECURE Act, introduced last month along with 30 other senators. The bill would secure a pathway to permanent residency and is supported by numerous unions, CASA, the National TPS Alliance, and the National Network for Arab American Communities. Additionally, in February, the Dream and Promise Act was resubmitted—a bipartisan bill supported by nearly 200 representatives that would protect DACA recipients as well as TPS holders.  

On Monday, July 28, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards will hold a rally at 6:00 PM at Queens Borough Hall to support community members who are deeply affected by the terminations of Temporary Protected Status. Haitian-American City Councilmember Farah Louis has also spoken out against the efforts to end TPS. She notes that people fled their dangerous home countries, came here for a better life, they work for local businesses, and invest in the economy here—and now all that is about to be snatched away. Brad Lander, the NYC Comptroller, has published Protecting Our Neighbors, describing the humanitarian costs of cancelling TPS. His report also highlights the defunding by the Trump and Adams administrations of vital legal services used to protect over 1,800 children whose lives will be disrupted by this change.

Hundreds of thousands of TPS recipients, along with family members and supporters, await the outcome of the numerous challenges made in court by the National TPS Alliance, CASA, Haitian Americans United Inc., and the Haitian Evangelical Clergy Association as the clock ticks down towards deadlines that threaten to end their legal status. 

Country Designation Date Most Recent Action Expiration Date # Individuals
Afghanistan* May 20, 2022 Termination (5/13/25) July 14, 2025 11,700
Cameroon* June 7, 2022 Termination (6/4/25) August 4, 2025 5,200
Haiti* Jan. 21, 2010 Termination (7/1/25) Sept. 2, 2025 348,187
Honduras* Jan. 5, 1999 Termination (7/8/25) Sept. 8, 2025 72,000
Nicaragua* Jan. 5, 1999 Termination (7/8/25) Sept. 8, 2025 4,000
Nepal* June 24, 2015 Termination (6/6/25) August 5, 2025 12,700
Venezuela* Oct. 3, 2023 (re-designation) Termination (2/5/25) Not applicable 348,202

Table compiled by bhfs 7/22/2025
* Asterisks denote ongoing litigation 

WHAT CAN WE DO?
  • Local group DRUM has been organizing for 25 years and supports the Nepali population under threat from TPS terminations. Join their 25×25 campaign and have 25 of your own contacts donate $25 to support their work.
  • The National TPS alliance includes, among others, the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON), Adhikaar and the Haitian Bridge Alliance. If you are able, consider donating to any or all of these organizations.
  • Attend the rally this Monday, July 28, at 6pm at Queens Borough Hall to demand continued TPS protections for immigrant neighbors. 

 

In solidarity and with collective care,

Jackson Heights Immigrant Solidarity Network (JHISN)

 

Follow @JHSolidarity on Facebook and Twitter and share this newsletter with friends, families, neighbors, networks, and colleagues so they can subscribe and receive news from JHISN.

 

 

JHISN Newsletter 05/03/2025

Posted on May 3, 2025 by - News, Newsletter

Dear friends,

The sidewalks are bursting with people, 37th Avenue in Jackson Heights is filled with immigrant workers, mothers, babies in strollers, fathers with sons and daughters in tow, grandmas, teenagers … It is May Day 2006, organized under the banner ‘A Day Without An Immigrant.’ Millions of immigrants and their allies take to the streets in massive demonstrations across the US with a show of strength and solidarity, standing up against legislation threatening undocumented communities and calling for comprehensive immigration reform. 

Almost two decades later, it can feel hard to remember that moment of power and promise.

But May Day 2025 in New York saw immigrant justice movements in the streets again, this time arm in arm with movements for Palestine liberation, union labor, democratic process, and an end to billionaire oligarchy. As our first article highlights, both locally and nationally we see immigrant struggles actively making links with other mobilizations for freedom and justice. Collaborative politics in response to authoritarian threats is one strategic way forward.

Our second article turns to the small carceral island floating between Queens and the Bronx. We look at Rikers Island and efforts to overturn the hard-won victory of getting ICE out of Rikers. Mayor Adams and his new buddies at DHS are trying to re-open ICE deportation operations at Rikers. People are fighting back.  

Newsletter highlights:
  1. Joining hands across issues: immigrant justice makes allies
  2. ICE returns to Rikers Isle? Not so fast

1. Allies at the Intersections

“The regime’s actions are designed to spread fear, break apart communities, and discourage public dissent. However, we have a clear message for the Trump regime: We refuse to be silent as our communities are criminalized and our freedoms are eroded.” —Solidarity Pledge (2025)

In recent months JHISN members have attended meetings hosted at DRUM (Desis Rising Up & Moving) headquarters near Diversity Plaza. The monthly event is the newest program that the South Asian and Indo-Caribbean immigrant rights group has created to bring allies in to join their work. Each meeting is built on the important work DRUM has forged over 25 years—upcoming discussions will have participants talking about what kinds of meaningful collaborative work can be done locally by a group of allies. 

On April 18, the Elmhurst-based group Centro Corona hosted an event, open to the entire community, and shared the zine project they worked on in partnership with Red Canary Song (RCS):

“Despite organizing distinct communities, RCS and Centro Corona quickly learned we have common enemies, as well as a shared rage and grief about the injustice we experience in the world, and thus we are in deeply interlinked struggle.” —Bodies Not Borders zine (April 2025)

Over recent weeks, this collaborative approach has been seen at a larger scale through the massive national protests against the authoritarianism of the second Trump administration. JHISN walked next to DRUM and New York Communities for Change during Manhattan’s April 19 Earth Day March, where organizations fighting cuts in environmental protections marched with organizations confronting Trump’s anti-immigrant policies. The shared demands that day included:

  • ICE Out of New York. Stop collaborating with ICE and protect our immigrant communities. New York must remain a sanctuary for all.
  • New York Out of Fossil Fuels. Commit to a rapid, just transition to 100% renewable energy. No new fossil fuel infrastructure, and divest from fossil fuels now.
  • Release Mahmoud Khalil, Rümeysa Öztürk, Mohsen Mahdawi and cease targeting student protesters.
  • Release Kilmar Abrego Garcia and cease the targeting of all immigrant communities regardless of status.

Prior to Earth Day, on April 5, the national march named HandsOff 50501 (50 protests, 50 states, 1 movement) gathered together tens of thousands of people protesting multiple issues including demands to Resist Fascism, Free Mahmoud Khalil, Takedown Tesla, Protest for Democracy, March for the Arts, and Dance for Democracy. The organizers provided printable signs for people to demand the Republicans take their hands off our bodies, civil rights, union contracts, veteran services, scientific research, immigrants, free speech, LGBTQ+ rights, and more, and more, and more. We saw this again at the 50501-supported May Day Strong rallies across the nation demanding “a world where every family has housing, healthcare, fair wages, union protection, and safety—regardless of race, zip code, or immigration status.” Our local immigration advocacy group Make The Road NY was a critical participant in the NYC May Day Strong rally in Foley Square, and DRUM also had a vibrant contingent in the march from Foley to Battery Park.

This intersection of groups with different concerns and interests joining together is crucial for building power and will be key to changing the social narrative about immigration and immigrants. The importance of coming together was highlighted just three days before Trump’s return to office when a cohort of immigrant rights groups launched the solidarity pledge. Those who already signed the pledge are currently working on another action for Friday, May 23, and building support with other groups to create the event. 

There are also plans for later this year, in November, when RaceForward will convene in St. Louis, Missouri. Their Just Narratives event will be the anchor to a Cultural Week of Action on Race and Democracy which includes elevating the voices of immigrants along with other groups. If they can do it in Missouri, and they can do it in Wisconsin, then in Jackson Heights we can definitely come together with local groups DRUM, Make the Road NY, Adhikaar, Centro Corona, NICE, Damayan, Asian Americans for Equality, Queens Neighborhood United, Voces Latinas, and Chhaya CDC to create our own intersectional action that combats the right-wing’s intersectionality of hate. You too can join groups together and Build the Resistance with us. 

WHAT CAN WE DO?

2. At Rikers, a Battle for the Soul of the City

Rikers Island, our down-the-street neighbor, is a place where all the evils of New York City are concentrated. As City Council Member Tiffany Cabán declares, it is “a hellhole, a torture dungeon, a death chamber, a modern-day slave plantation, a site of relentless suffering and terror in every direction.” Perhaps it is fitting that Rikers is now the focus of a major struggle pitting New York as a sanctuary city against the Trump regime’s program of mass deportation.

It was Mayor Bloomberg who first approved the establishment of an ICE office at Rikers, in 2003. Although he often bragged about New York as a city of immigrants, Bloomberg was a supporter of the Criminal Alien Program (CAP), set up to deport immigrant arrestees. CAP claims to focus on immigrants with serious criminal backgrounds. But once embedded in jails and prisons, the program simply deports as many incarcerated immigrants as it can. The American Immigration Council notes: “DHS statistics show that a large percentage of immigrants apprehended under CAP are not criminals at all. An October 2009 DHS report found that 57 percent of immigrants identified through CAP in fiscal 2009 had no criminal convictions, up from 53 percent in fiscal 2008.”

At Rikers, The NY Post reports that “up to 15 agents worked closely with Department of Corrections staff, and could monitor inmates and issue detainer orders for [undocumented] immigrants on their radar.” As described by the ACLU, the results of CAP back then were devastating:

“Between 2004 and 2009, more than 13,000 inmates at Rikers Island were placed into deportation proceedings as a result of the Criminal Alien Program. According to numerous reports, inmates often don’t know that they are speaking with federal agents, understand that they could be placed into deportation proceedings as a result of the information they share, or realize that they may refuse to consent to an interview.”

A fierce 5-year campaign by the ICE Out of Rikers coalition, led by Make the Road New York, succeeded in convincing the City Council and Mayor de Blasio to limit ICE’s access to inmates, and ultimately to adopt legislation removing ICE from the island. Now, exactly ten years later, the Adams administration is trying to get ICE back in, using a legally questionable executive order. The carefully written order promises that ICE will not “engage in civil immigration enforcement” at Rikers—something explicitly forbidden by NYC sanctuary law—but will merely “assist” the Department of Correction in various “criminal investigations.”

The City Council quickly filed suit against the mayor’s executive order, charging that it is a transparent attempt to undermine the law by giving ICE access to information about immigrants’ status and location. They also allege that it is part of a “corrupt bargain” that Adams made with the Trump administration to get federal indictments against him dismissed. The Council notes that the mayor announced his plan to invite ICE to Rikers the same day he met with Trump’s border chief, Thomas Homan. Council Speaker Adrienne Adams remarked that “we are filing this lawsuit to halt his illegal order that he shamelessly previewed on the Fox News couch with Tom Homan.” Daniel Kornstein, attorney for the Council, promised to subpoena Homan to make him testify about the deal with Adams.

The Council”s lawsuit has kept ICE out of Rikers so far. At a hearing on April 25, Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Mary Rosado issued a restraining order preventing any changes until a formal hearing can be scheduled to resolve the issue.

Homan and Mayor Adams surely know that the vast majority of those held in city jails are not there because they were convicted of a serious offense. For instance, as of Friday, April 27, out of 7,345 people incarcerated by NYC  (mostly at Rikers), fewer than 800 have been found guilty and are actually serving sentences. 5,362 inmates are in pretrial detention. It is a deep injustice that many of these people find themselves imprisoned for years under terrifying conditions simply because their families can’t afford bail.

Under current law, right or wrong, the city already cooperates with ICE to facilitate the deportation of undocumented immigrants convicted of “violent or serious felonies”—177 offenses in all. But hundreds of people are being held at Rikers on suspicion of illegal drug possession and other nonviolent offenses. Crucially, many current inmates will be found innocent. Yet for Eric Adams, “innocent until proven guilty” doesn’t apply to non-citizens. He thinks that simply being suspected of an offense makes a person automatically a criminal—especially if they are a working class immigrant.

“City law prohibits ICE from operating on Rikers for good reason. When ICE had access to the jail, they used it to surveil, intimidate, and conduct uncounseled interviews in an inherently coercive setting; allowing them to extract admissions about nationality and immigration status, and then using those statements to justify detention and deportation …. That is why New York City passed sanctuary laws—not to grant special privileges, but to impose basic legal protections of due process in a system that otherwise offers none.” —Bronx Defenders

WHAT CAN WE DO?
  • Consider donating to a bail fund to help people await trial with their families, in dignity.
  • Help the Bronx Defenders represent low-income people in the justice system. 

 

In solidarity and with collective care,

Jackson Heights Immigrant Solidarity Network (JHISN)

 

Follow @JHSolidarity on Facebook and Twitter and share this newsletter with friends, families, neighbors, networks, and colleagues so they can subscribe and receive news from JHISN. 

 

JHISN Newsletter 01/11/2025

Posted on January 11, 2025 by - News, Newsletter

Dear friends, 

‘Happy New Year. You’re Deported’ was published by The Nation at the end of the year…in 2015…during the second term of the Obama presidency. Horrific, unacceptable, and unconscionable were key words the article used to describe Homeland Security’s plan to begin raids to deport families. Our first article for this new year 2025 looks at the ongoing state-sanctioned deportation threats to immigrant families and communities which promise to be significantly more aggressive than before. Just like a decade ago, our New York immigrant justice organizations today stand against the inhumanity of these policies. Even as our Mayor and Governor both talk about walking back our sanctuary policies and allowing more cooperation with ICE agents, hundreds of people rallied this past week at the state capitol in Albany demanding expanded legal protections for immigrant New Yorkers. 

Government intimidation will not stop the political, social, and community struggles of immigrant-led organizations and justice campaigns. We will, in fact, see community support strengthened this year when Make the Road NY holds a February ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new landmark center in Corona. Our second article spotlights Make the Road’s Deportation Defense Manual and practical guidance for community safety in 2025. 

Newsletter highlights:
  1. A look at deportation threats–and protections–in NYC
  2. Make the Road NY’s blueprint for deportation defense

 

 

1. Cruel Futures—Deportation @NewYork

“By pledging to carry out the largest mass deportation in history, Trump isn’t just targeting immigrant communities, he’s attacking the very fabric of the country … Trump is creating a future where millions of families will live in constant fear of being torn apart, and where entire communities and economic sectors will be destabilized.” —Murad Awawdeh, director, NY Immigration Coalition (12/8/24) 

The destabilization promised by Trump and his anti-immigrant minions holds a special threat to New York State, where 4.5 million immigrant residents are at risk of having families, lives, and communities overturned by a mass deportation agenda. New York City is home to an estimated 412,000 of the state’s 672,000+ undocumented people, all of whom stand in the crosshairs of an incoming administration that aims for cruelty and racist scapegoating as a livestream political bloodsport.

Nearly half of NYC’s small businesses are run by immigrants, including undocumented owners (an estimated 60,500 undocumented entrepreneurs live in NY state). Close to 310,000 undocumented workers compose 7% of the city’s labor force. Undocumented workers in New York State pay about $3 billion in state and local taxes. Many immigrant households in our neighborhood are ‘mixed status’ with members living together who have both legal and unprotected immigration status—including over 351,000 citizen children statewide who live with an undocumented family member. Trump has announced he wants to make even more people ‘undocumented’ by stripping away time-limited legal protections like Temporary Protective Status (TPS), DACA, and humanitarian parole, which would expose thousands more people in Central Queens to deportation threats.

Assessments abound regarding what Trump 2.0 can really do, what they will really do, and how quickly. In recent US history, the vast majority of removals and detentions took place at the US-Mexico border. Deporting undocumented immigrants from New York City would require interior arrests and detentions, actions limited, in theory, by complex legal procedures and choked by overwhelmed immigration courts. But ‘expedited removal’ protocols—which Trump tried to ramp up during his first administration—would allow federal officials to remove anyone who cannot prove they are in the US lawfully, or that they have resided physically in the country for two years or more.

New York City is not without some protections, for now, against deportation frenzy. One of over 170 US cities that has established sanctuary policies, NYC since 1989 has created legal safe zones for immigrants threatened by federal overreach. In 2014 and 2018 under Mayor de Blasio, sanctuary laws were strengthened to preclude local cooperation with ICE’s ‘detainer requests’ (with exceptions for people convicted of serious crimes), and to mandate advance review by senior city officials of any request for help from federal immigration agents that might lead to deportation. In fiscal year 2022-23, the NYPD granted exactly zero of ICE’s requests to hold someone in custody for them. But attempts at the state level to expand immigrant protections have stalled, including the ambitious New York For All Act which has never gotten out of committee. And Mayor Adams has recently threatened to change the city’s existing sanctuary laws to facilitate cooperation with ICE and federal deportation.

As we speak, the city is also closing down the vast tent city at Floyd Bennett Field in southern Brooklyn, built to serve as a family shelter for recent migrants. The closure is due in part to a steady decline in the number of migrants arriving in NYC and being housed in city shelters, a 17% drop from 69,000 migrants in January 2024 to 57,400 in December. Local immigrant justice groups and the mutual aid group Floyd Bennett Field Neighbors also fought for the closure just before Trump’s inauguration: the tent shelter was built on federal land, and advocates feared the new administration could repurpose the shelter as an immigrant detention center.

Finally, the vulnerability of thousands of recently-arrived migrants in NYC to mass deportation is mitigated by the fact that the majority of new migrants are asylum seekers. Though referred to as “illegals” by Trump, and often presumed undocumented, many recent migrants are actually at the start of the years-long asylum process. They exist in a legal border zone, constructed precisely to protect asylum seekers from deportation during the proceedings.

Will legal border zones mean anything in the coming years? Will laws be blown up, and emergency states of exception proliferate? That uncertainty triggers everyone’s worst nightmares. As Murad Awawdeh of NY Immigration Coalition says: “We can’t allow this vision of cruelty, exclusion, and fear to become our reality.”  

WHAT CAN WE DO?
  • Support the New York For All Act which prohibits state and local resources from being used to enact inhumane federal deportation agendas.
  • Support the Dignity Not Detention Act which prevents NYS from entering in, or renewing, contracts for immigrant detention centers. Similar bills have passed in NJ, CA, WA, and IL. Sign on with your organization’s support for the bill.
  • Support the Access to Representation Act which guarantees the right to counsel for anyone, regardless of income, who comes before a New York immigration court, including in deportation hearings.  

2. Preparing for Trump’s Deportation Plans

“I think [Queens], in many ways, ends up being the kind of epicenter for the fights. I think a lot of the work that we’re going to have to do over the next four years, whether it’s deportation defense or education within the community, is going to be centered in our borough.”–Jagpreet Singh, organizer with Desis Rising Up & Moving (DRUM) 

In the first weeks of 2025, our undocumented friends and neighbors are dreading the onset of Trump’s deportation plans. Many of the immigrant justice organizations are on high alert. Both DRUM and Make the Road NY say they have been preparing for the incoming presidential administration:

“Throughout this year, we’ve been preparing our community for this. We’ve been preparing basically this entire year. I think we’re in a better spot than we would have been if this was unexpected.” —Jagpreet Singh, organizer with DRUM  

 “It is a very dark time when New York City, which has always thought of itself as a sanctuary space, that our mayor would even willingly meet with this new border czar. It sets a tone that New York City is not for immigrants, and it puts a target on the back of immigrants.”—Luba Cortes, immigration lead organizer, Make the Road New York 

Make the Road NY, with the help of the Immigrant Defense Project, has created one of the most comprehensive preparedness resources: the Deportation Defense Manual. MTRNY’s website also offers current resources and downloadable flyers, including their recent Stay Safe! How to Protect Yourself in a Trump Administration.

The Defense Manual, available in Spanish and English, has three major parts and several useful appendixes. Part 1: Know Your Rights provides details for dealing with ICE at home, on the street, while driving, or at work. The main message from Part 1 is to not open the door unless ICE shows you a judicial warrant (sample on p. 19). Be calm and remain silent. You do not have to say anything or provide any information. (Your 4th and 5th Amendment rights should protect you from incriminating yourself and/or unlawful search and seizure.) You can say “I want to exercise my right to remain silent.” and “I do not consent to a search.” Ask for an interpreter. Ask to talk to an immigration attorney before signing anything. If you see someone being detained, take photos and write down all the information about the encounter. (Appendix D has a form to use.) Call the Immigrant Defense Project help line (212-725-6422).  Part I ends with extremely important guidance for how to protect your children by creating a plan now, and Appendix C has a comprehensive family preparedness checklist.

Part 2: Rapid Response to Raids provides information needed to support someone or a family after an ICE raid. What information do you need to have about the detained loved one? How to find a lawyer, and how to visit someone in detention? (pp. 28-31).

Part 3: Deportation Defense lists strategies to organize support for an individual who has been detained. How to organize the community to support a detained person? How to create a fundraising campaign or put pressure on government agencies? (pp. 42-44 and Appendix F).

Finally, Appendix G has multiple copyable flyers with rights information to distribute.

WHAT WE CAN DO?

 

In solidarity and with collective care,

Jackson Heights Immigrant Solidarity Network (JHISN)

 

Follow @JHSolidarity on Facebook and Twitter and share this newsletter with friends, families, neighbors, networks, and colleagues so they can subscribe and receive news from JHISN.