Dear friend of IDP,

Each day, the abuses are getting worse. 

ICE agents are abducting people in plain daylight, physically attacking community members, advocates and journalists—and our very freedom to criticize these abuses is under threat. It’s not an exaggeration to say that democracy is on the line. 

At the Immigrant Defense Project, what gives us hope is that people like you are taking action.  Whether you are sharing critical Know-Your-Rights materials, advocating for just policies, protesting injustice, supporting people in your community or donating, it is clear that we are working to defend immigrant rights—and we are doing it together. 

Our organization was founded almost 30 years ago, after Congress passed the draconian laws that underpin the mass deportation system that the current administration has turbocharged to such a horrifying degree. Thanks to your support, we at the Immigrant Defense Project are fortifying  our work to promote immigrant justice and to protect our most basic rights and fundamental values. 

IDP engages in cutting-edge local advocacy, legal support and training in New York City and state, where we are based, and national work to educate people about our constitutional rights, to pursue powerful legal strategies in court that interrupt mass deportation, and to change hearts and minds. As we approach the end of the year, I wanted to take a moment to share some recent highlights of our work:

• Providing critical legal support to community members and public advocates 

  • Since January, our hotline and Padilla Support Center have helped nearly 1000 people navigate and defend themselves in the criminal and immigration systems, and trained hundreds of  lawyers representing immigrants in the criminal and family courts.

  • We updated our suite of multilingual Know Your Rights materials and our updated Train the Trainer was viewed over 6,000 times, ensuring broad access to critical, actionable information and ownership by organizations seeking to deepen their own knowledge and ability to disseminate Know Your Rights information. 

• Fighting for local and state sanctuary and clemency justice in New York 

  • IDP continued to defend and call for the expansion of sanctuary policies in New York by steering the ICE Out! NYC Coalition in New York City - which successfully defended against the Mayor’s attempt to return ICE to Rikers Island - as well as the  New York for All Coalition which  built support for our demand for a state sanctuary bills from labor unions, health care workers, and Members of Congress.

  • We continued to call for Clemency Justice, through legislation and by urging the Governor to use her powers in times of urgency. We were thrilled to celebrate the pardon granted to Sammy, a member of Mekong NYC, for whom we joined in advocacy when he was facing deportation. 

• Challenging inhumane immigration laws through impact litigation and policy advocacy

  • We defended people impacted by the war on drugs by providing litigation support to immigrants challenging their deportation in court, including individuals who should not be deportable following the Second Circuit’s recent decision in U.S. v Minter. 

  • We fought to ensure immigrants are not excluded from the benefits of criminal legal reforms, by challenging deportations based on overturned and expunged convictions. 

  • At the federal level, we advocated for federal marijuana legalization that doesn’t leave immigrants behind, and pushed back against proposed laws that would give the government more power to detain and deport immigrants.

• Using strategic communications to move hearts and minds and favorably shift the public narrative

  • In response to the persistent use of  harmful narratives, we invested in the expansion of the Comm/Unity network, which IDP coordinates. The network provides communications support to 17 national immigrant rights organizations working to dismantle criminalization   in word and deed.

  • Using research-based strategies, we developed key messages on sanctuary, essential considerations for storytelling, and guidelines for responsible immigration coverage.

  • We led a national messaging research project to identify effective approaches to building opposition to mass deportation,  convened a new monthly space to discuss these issues, and helped Texans United for Justice launch the All In for Texas digital campaign. 

As community members are being stripped of their dignity and deliberately dehumanized, we know that one of the concerted strategies of this federal administration is to sow divisions among us. We see our work at IDP–with impacted community members, attorneys, organizers, advocates and communicators across the state and country–as refusing that division and affirming that together we will continue and intensify our work to defend immigrant rights. 

Donate Today to Defend Immigrant Rights Together in 2026

This moment calls for a powerful and collective response. We must be steadfast and nimble in the face of these uncertain times. Your generous donation energizes our commitment to justice and enables us to continue this fight.

Photo by Fabian Cisneros

IDP and partners mobilize in Albany to demand passage of the New York for All Act

In solidarity,

Yasmine Farhang

Executive Director

On behalf of the entire IDP staff