How to Show Up for Immigrants

I’m a queer Jewish Chinese immigrant, and I’m scared. This President has made—callous at best, hateful at worst— remarks about all the identities I claim, and the evidence says he’s coming for people like me and those I love. But I have the privilege of U.S. citizenship that many of my loved ones do not. My friends were thankful to have gotten H-1Bs (foreign worker visas), and new passports with gender changes, mere weeks before Trump took office and his administration threatened to, or did, take away both programs.

Already, the President has announced plans to detain migrants at Guantanamo Bay and revoked an Obama-era enforcement practice that barred ICE agents from entering “sensitive locations”—like schools and houses of worship. Despite this, Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids have already been reported in communities across the country. Legislation has passed in the House of Representatives that would cut off federal funding for critical services and could unjustly deport migrants who act in self defense against domestic violence. This legislation activates mandatory detention for accusations of petty crimes. Meanwhile, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids have already been reported in communities across the country.

As Jews who exist in a complicated place, experiencing both privilege and marginalization, we are simultaneously valorized as a successful assimilated group and targeted by anti- semitism. Therefore, it’s important to remember the Republicans’ “divide and conquer” strategy. U.S. society and culture have always pitted marginalized groups against one another. My own Chinese ancestors were labeled “model minorities” and given conditional access to some of the privileges afforded to rich white citizens in the U.S. But their success and achievement were only valorized to perpetuate racist myths about other groups, reinforcing stereotypes of poverty and laziness among Black and brown Americans.

A distinct but parallel issue is happening with Jewish Americans. Under the guise of “protecting Jewish safety” and “combating antisemitism,” the administration has either detained or threatened to detain an ever-growing number of students, professors, and researchers from U.S. university campuses.

Keep in mind that the people being targeted have legal visas or resident status; the binary of “good, hard working” and “bad” immigrants has become meaningless under this regime. All immigrants are now suspect. “Ironically, the very legislation used to justify Mahmoud Khalil’s detention was initially designed to keep Jewish leftists out of this country,” said Shayna Solomon, Field Director of Never Again Action. “The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (INA) invented a quota system that was simultaneously anti- Asian and anti-Jewish, and shows how our immigration system was built on racism.”

With this history in mind, we should be mindful of the rhetoric we use about immigrants and whether it perpetuates the myth of “good” and “bad” immigrants. It’s important to not let our principles slip when talking about our neighbors under threat—because everyone deserves dignity, human rights, and due process, not just those we deem worthy and hardworking enough, not just those who have used official pathways in order to enter this country.

It can be easy to succumb to despair at the scale of human suffering in the headlines. But there are some concrete ways you can help, plus ideas to keep in mind when you do:

1. Plug into your local organizing networks, Jewish or Not. Jewish organizing projects across different localities, such as Jews United For Justice in the D.C. area, Jewish Council on Urban Affairs in Chicago, Jewish Community Action in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Carolina Jews for Justice, and Jews for Racial and Economic Justice in New York are likely partnered with local migrant-rights organizations and have information for how to get involved. There are also Jewish organizations working specifically on immigrant rights both at a local and national level, such as the nationwide Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), Never Again Action (NAA), and Jewish Coalition for Immigrant Justice Northwest (JCIJ) in Seattle.
   
2. Participate in Sanctuary Work. This can be more than hosting an undocumented migrant family at your congregation. It can be going with someone to court hearings, ICE check-ins, and even on everyday errands so they feel safer. “Follow the leadership of immigrant-led organizations and ask how we can best show up,” said Andrea Soroko Naar, Executive Director of JCIJ. “Accompaniment was identified as one of the key areas in which allies can play a role. This is a way you can leverage the privilege you have.” Right now, it is riskier for congregations to participate in the traditional mode of sanctuary, which is all the more reason to step up in other ways in supporting newcomers and longtime residents in our communities. Local organizations (see above) likely have information on this work.
   
3. Educate yourself with Know Your Rights material. Particularly if you work at a “sensitive location.” If you work at an educational institution like a K-12 school, at a university or at a house of worship, Trump has rescinded policies that prevented ICE from entering some of these locations. Bottom line: read up on Know Your Rights materials, and know that ICE must have a warrant signed by a judge to enter your premises. Online you can find a Know Your Rights guide for schools.
   
4. Donate to direct service and immigrant movement groups. Consider those that have been impacted by the administration’s Stop Work order—like the 120-year-old nonprofit organization The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI). On January 24th, the State Department issued an order mandating a halt to all refugee receptions and placement services under the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. While this order has been blocked by a judge, its impact rippled through the immigrant rights movement, which includes anti-trafficking work.
   
5. Pay attention to state and local legislation.Tennessee and Ohio both have legislation trying to kick undocumented kids out of school. Also, you may want to ask if there are jails in your community think ing about opening up immigrant detention beds, or where the nearest ICE detention center is. Why does this matter? Because without additional detention space, deportations cannot happen at the magnitude the administration wants.
   
6. Stay grounded and nourish yourself with spiritual, physical, & mental health resources. It’s absolutely important to know how to watch ICE, but we also have to be thinking about how to regulate ourselves in order to do riskier work. According to both Shayna Solomon and Soroko Naar, immigration issues feel really urgent to white Jewish folks they work with, and when intense emotions arise, some harmful patterns can show up: “I think the savior instinct [in direct work with migrants] to take charge and not be mindful of one’s power is something that requires unlearning and practice,” said Soroko Naar. Solomon asks, “How can we show up calm and helpful, and use the information that we have to regulate our own emotions before stepping into these situations?”

THIS IS GOING TO BE A LONG FIGHT, and the anti-immigrant far right has been preparing for years for this moment. Our movement is prepared too, but I try to heed the call from Pirkei Avot: “You are not obligated to finish the work, but neither are you free to desist from it.” Find the small piece you can contribute, and know that there are thousands like you doing their small parts as well.

Gen Slosberg is a writer and organizer based in Oakland, CA.

ILLUSTRATIONS BY REBECCA KATZ