How we’re fighting back ✊
Between reports of mass ICE raids and continued separations at the border, we are experiencing times of incredible fear, anger, and sadness.
This makes it all the more important to savor our victories, reflect on the advances we’ve made to keep families together, and continue building our forces!
At the nationwide level, we’ve defeated the citizenship question on the 2020 census. At the state level, we’ve won life-changing legislation that will impact close to a million undocumented New Yorkers. At the local level, we’ve launched municipal ID programs used by 1,835 people already. Read more below!
We finally restored access to driver’s licenses to undocumented New Yorkers! This victory will change the lives of 100,000 undocumented immigrants in the Hudson Valley — who will finally be able to drive safely to work, to run errands, to pick their kids up from school. We will stop thousands of deportations across New York State.
This victory was so hard-fought for — and it has been well-celebrated. On Sunday, over 500 people came out to our celebration party in Newburgh. We got to thank Assemblymember Jonathan Jacobson (who cosponsored the legislation) and State Senator Jen Metzger (who voted yes on it) in person! We danced, we sang, and best of all, we got time to appreciate the magnitude of this victory with the people who fought so hard for it.
We officially launched ALL five of our Municipal ID programs this summer.
1,835 people across Beacon, Kingston, Middletown, Newburgh, and Poughkeepsie have gotten their own Municipal IDs. People continue to stream into City Halls across the Hudson Valley — even amidst Trump’s threatened ICE raids — because the need for a form of identification can’t wait. We’re working to make these programs as impactful as possible by talking to hundreds of people on the street, handing out information, and recruiting businesses to support through discounts and benefits!
Trump has threatened mass ICE raids — and we have been preparing our communities to protect each other and fight back! Over the past month, we’ve educated hundreds of immigrants and allies through Know Your Rights trainings and canvassing. The impact is already tangible. This week, we have confirmed multiple reports of Hudson Valley residents refusing to open their doors for ICE and avoiding arrest. This is a huge testament to the power of knowing our rights and we look forward to preventing many more deportations through this public education.
