JOHN,

During his first term in office, Donald Trump ripped immigrant families apart, separating children from parents―even locking thousands of children in cages. Some died while in U.S. custody, including seven-year-old Jakelin Caal:

As a former immigration attorney, I have committed my professional life to protecting immigrant children and families. But now, with the new Trump administration preparing ICE raids across the country, families are also in fear of separation through deportation:

Our team is helping ensure that immigrant families know their rights. Regardless of immigration status, you have rights. All of us can prepare for ICE raids and look out for our loved ones and neighbors by reading up about immigrants’ rights. Please check out and share the below resources, which are in a number of languages.

If you’re in Michigan:

Click here to see ACLU Michigan’s “Know your Rights: Before, During and After Immigration Raids” materials, developed in partnership with the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center.

Or, watch this short video from the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center.

For people outside of Michigan, you can check out Know Your Rights materials from the national ACLU. This page also links to a list of other groups’ resources and to local ACLU affiliates, since laws vary by state. The Immigrant Defense Project also has a legal helpline and Know Your Rights information.

And please share these materials with your family, friends, and neighbors.

I’m a daughter of recent immigrants, and I know that for hundreds of years, immigrants have helped build the United States. Immigrants own businesses, serve in the military, contribute to our communities, and live and love like everyone else. They deserve to live with dignity in the place they’ve made their home. Instead of ICE raids that threaten to tear families apart, we need policies that embrace diversity and create a more humane and accessible immigration system.

In love and solidarity,

Rashida

P.S. Please know that Trump cannot override our Constitution with executive orders; he does not have the authority to end birthright citizenship. As many of my colleagues in Congress are voting for anti-immigrant policies, I promise to keep fighting for our immigrant neighbors and reminding policymakers of our shared humanity.