The Trump administration arrested Newark Mayor Ras Baraka—and now they are threatening to arrest Congress people. Add your name to fight back against Trump's political retaliation!
Dear MoveOn member,
Last Friday, the Trump administration escalated its political attacks, this time arresting Newark Mayor Ras Baraka while he attempted to visit a New Jersey immigrant detention facility that is currently running without permits due to building code violations.1 And now they are coming after House Democrats, including Representatives Bonnie Watson Coleman, Rob Menendez, and LaMonica McIver who accompanied him to the facility for an official oversight inspection.2
This is a terrifying abuse of power. President Donald Trump is ramping up his attempts to silence and quell any dissent and opposition. He is testing the limits of what he can get away with. That’s why we have to keep fighting back against his authoritarian power grabs, whenever and wherever they occur.
More than 19,000 MoveOn members have signed the petition demanding an end to Trump's retaliatory arrests. Click here to add your name and defend the right to protest!
We deserve transparency into what is happening in our government. Elected officials need to be able to do their job and report back to the people they represent. That is what members of Congress were attempting to do on Friday when they went to inspect a private Immigration and Customs Enforcement jail. Instead—under the direction of Trump—they were roughly blocked and prevented from entering.3
"Americans should be outraged—democracy demands transparency, not fear and force. No agency and no administration should be allowed to operate in darkness,” said Representative McIver.
Trump wants to intimidate everyday people from not only speaking out against his unlawful actions but even knowing what is happening in the first place. We will not be bullied into silence.
Click here to sign the petition, and then share with three friends to keep building the momentum we need to push back.
Thanks for all you do.
–Mia, Aliya, Matthew, Amanda, and the rest of the team
P.S. See our email below from earlier in the year to read how Friday’s arrest is part of a disturbing pattern by this administration, and how we can resist.
Sources:
1. "What to know about the newly opened immigration detention center in New Jersey’s biggest city," WHYY News, May 8, 2025
https://whyy.org/articles/newark-nj-immigration-detention-center-delaney-hall/
2. "Trump admin eyes arrests for House Dems over ICE incident," Axios, May 11, 2025
https://www.axios.com/2025/05/10/trump-ice-arrest-house-democrats-new-jersey
3. "Newark Mayor Ras Baraka arrested at ICE facility while joining Democrats to conduct 'oversight,'" ABC News, May 10, 2025
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/newark-mayor-arrested-ice-facility-joining-democrats-conduct/story?id=121652689
Trump is arresting and disappearing people for exercising their freedom of speech in order to shut down any opposition against him. Will you add your name to the petition to protect our right to protest without persecution?
Dear MoveOn member,
This is not a drill. Trump is weaponizing ICE and Homeland Security to arrest and disappear people, including students, professors, and everyday people, in yet another power grab demonstrating his complete disregard for our rights and freedoms.
People with lawful status who have done nothing wrong—nothing but exercise their right to dissent—are being taken away by masked, plainclothes agents, locked away without charges, and faced with deportation. This is happening right now in America.
This is not about national security. It’s a dangerous escalation of authoritarian tactics meant to silence, control, and intimidate the rest of us into compliance and silence. Add your name to the petition defending the rights of everyone to dissent without political retaliation.
Mahmoud Khalil, a student activist with legal status, was detained after speaking out for Palestinian rights. Trump called it “the first of many”—and he meant it.
Yunseo Chung, a junior at Columbia University who has lived here since she was 7, had her residency status revoked for nothing more than participating in a campus protest.
And just last week, Rumeysa Ozturk, a Tufts doctoral student, was seized by six masked ICE agents in broad daylight as she left class. She’s now being held in a Louisiana detention center without charges, despite a federal court order to keep her in Massachusetts.
This is political persecution, plain and simple. Will you sign the petition to demand an end to Trump’s political arrests and defend our right to protest without fear?
Trump is trying to threaten and intimidate people to see how far he can unlawfully wield his power and influence. Already, universities are caving to his demands—from Columbia University making it easier for law enforcement to arrest and remove students to the University of Michigan closing its Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.4,5 It’s disturbing how swiftly institutions are folding to Trump’s demands, and it only emboldens the Trump administration as it bulldozes over our rights.
This will not stop with immigrants. None of us are safe when dissent is treated like a crime. We know this is terrifying, but here’s the truth: The need to silence people isn’t a show of strength; it’s a sign of fear. When public opinion turns against the powerful, they panic.
This crackdown is Trump’s fearful response to losing control. We can’t let fear and repression win.
Thanks for all you do.
–Mia, Aliya, Matthew, Amanda, and the rest of the team
Sources:
4. "Columbia Agrees to Trump’s Demands After Federal Funds Are Stripped,” The New York Times, March 21, 2025
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/21/nyregion/columbia-response-trump-demands.html
5. "University of Michigan closes its DEI office, ending multi-million dollar investment into diversity,” Politico, March 27, 2025
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/27/university-of-michigan-dei-office-00255509
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