Good afternoon Housing Not Handcuffs supporters,

Last week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents entered a homeless shelter in downtown San Diego, presented a valid warrant, and arrested one person. To our knowledge, this is the first time ICE agents have targeted a homeless services agency since the Trump administration reduced restrictions against entering protected areas such as houses of worship, hospitals, and homeless shelters. This may signal an increase in ICE raids targeting homeless people and direct service providers.  

We share this not to spread alarm but to give folks concrete tools and resources to keep themselves and their clients safe.  

Below are things you can do right now to prepare for ICE raids impacting homeless people  

1. Watch a recent webinar we held for homeless service providers about what to do before, during, and after an ICE raid.  
2. Read and share our new guidance for what to do before, during, and after an ICE raid.  
3. Share these resources on social media using this social media toolkit.  
4. Read this messaging guidance from the Housing Narrative Lab 
5. Download Know Your Rights posters  
6. Email [email protected] to report any ICE activity that impacts unhoused people.  

We all need a safe place to live. But instead of addressing sky-high rents, politicians and their billionaire friends are passing laws that make homelessness worse- and trying to pit the needs of homeless people and immigrants against each other. Their goal is to sow division to distract us from the real truth: housing is too expensive for a growing number of people, and politicians refuse to ensure that everybody has the housing they need.

We won’t let them divide us. Instead, we reaffirm our core truth that housing, not handcuffs, is the solution to homelessness and that everybody, regardless of race, class, immigration status, or gender identity, needs a safe place to live.  

In addition to targeting migrants, the Trump administration has talked openly about enacting a nationwide camping ban and rounding up homeless people into government-run detention camps. The stakes could not be higher. Please stay tuned for more information, resources, and ways to take action.

If you’re able, please contribute to the National Homeless Law Center to support this ongoing work.