#local immigration lawyer

[bmpmp3]

I can physically feel the localizers fighting for their life on this one

[marvelsmostwanted]

There are people – some in my own Party – who think that if you just give Donald Trump everything he wants, he’ll make an exception and spare you some of the harm. I’ll ignore the moral abdication of that position for just a second to say — almost none of those people have the experience with this President that I do. I once swallowed my pride to offer him what he values most — public praise on the Sunday news shows — in return for ventilators and N95 masks during the worst of the pandemic. We made a deal. And it turns out his promises were as broken as the BIPAP machines he sent us instead of ventilators. Going along to get along does not work – just ask the Trump-fearing red state Governors who are dealing with the same cuts that we are. I won’t be fooled twice.

I’ve been reflecting, these past four weeks, on two important parts of my life: my work helping to build the Illinois Holocaust Museum and the two times I’ve had the privilege of reciting the oath of office for Illinois Governor.

As some of you know, Skokie, Illinois once had one of the largest populations of Holocaust survivors anywhere in the world. In 1978, Nazis decided they wanted to march there.

The leaders of that march knew that the images of Swastika clad young men goose stepping down a peaceful suburban street would terrorize the local Jewish population – so many of whom had never recovered from their time in German concentration camps.

The prospect of that march sparked a legal fight that went all the way to the Supreme Court. It was a Jewish lawyer from the ACLU who argued the case for the Nazis – contending that even the most hateful of speech was protected under the first amendment.

As an American and a Jew, I find it difficult to resolve my feelings around that Supreme Court case – but I am grateful that the prospect of Nazis marching in their streets spurred the survivors and other Skokie residents to act. They joined together to form the Holocaust Memorial Foundation and built the first Illinois Holocaust Museum in a storefront in 1981 – a small but important forerunner to the one I helped build thirty years later.

I do not invoke the specter of Nazis lightly. But I know the history intimately — and have spent more time than probably anyone in this room with people who survived the Holocaust. Here’s what I’ve learned – the root that tears apart your house’s foundation begins as a seed – a seed of distrust and hate and blame.

The seed that grew into a dictatorship in Europe a lifetime ago didn’t arrive overnight. It started with everyday Germans mad about inflation and looking for someone to blame.

I’m watching with a foreboding dread what is happening in our country right now. A president who watches a plane go down in the Potomac – and suggests — without facts or findings — that a diversity hire is responsible for the crash. Or the Missouri Attorney General who just sued Starbucks – arguing that consumers pay higher prices for their coffee because the baristas are too “female” and “nonwhite.” The authoritarian playbook is laid bare here: They point to a group of people who don’t look like you and tell you to blame them for your problems.

I just have one question: What comes next? After we’ve discriminated against, deported or disparaged all the immigrants and the gay and lesbian and transgender people, the developmentally disabled, the women and the minorities – once we’ve ostracized our neighbors and betrayed our friends – After that, when the problems we started with are still there staring us in the face – what comes next.

All the atrocities of human history lurk in the answer to that question. And if we don’t want to repeat history – then for God’s sake in this moment we better be strong enough to learn from it.

I swore the following oath on Abraham Lincoln’s Bible: “I do solemnly swear that I will support the constitution of the United States, and the constitution of the state of Illinois, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of Governor .... according to the best of my ability.

My oath is to the Constitution of our state and of our country. We don’t have kings in America – and I don’t intend to bend the knee to one. I am not speaking up in service to my ambitions — but in deference to my obligations.

If you think I’m overreacting and sounding the alarm too soon, consider this:

It took the Nazis one month, three weeks, two days, eight hours and 40 minutes to dismantle a constitutional republic. All I’m saying is when the five-alarm fire starts to burn, every good person better be ready to man a post with a bucket of water if you want to stop it from raging out of control.

Those Illinois Nazis did end up holding their march in 1978 – just not in Skokie. After all the blowback from the case, they decided to march in Chicago instead. Only twenty of them showed up. But 2000 people came to counter protest. The Chicago Tribune reported that day that the “rally sputtered to an unspectacular end after ten minutes.” It was Illinoisans who smothered those embers before they could burn into a flame.

Tyranny requires your fear and your silence and your compliance. Democracy requires your courage. So gather your justice and humanity, Illinois, and do not let the “tragic spirit of despair” overcome us when our country needs us the most.

Sources:

• NBC Chicago & J.B. Pritzker, Democratic governor of Illinois, State of the State address 2025: Watch speech here | Full text

• Betches News on Instagram (screencaps)

[mintakablue]

regarding ICE as someone who has done some reporting on it and talked to both ICE and immigration lawyers

in different states, there are often different levels of law enforcement with ICE. california, for example, has the california values act and so in many jurisdictions, law enforcement is less likely to involve itself with immigration matters. pay attention to the history of your area's compliance with ICE. it also means law enforcement may not know ICE is around.

ICE vehicles do not have to be marked. oftentimes their enforcement and removal cars are not marked as "border patrol" or "ICE" or anything. their plates are usually "exempt" plates.

ICE officers are SUPPOSED to wear identifiable clothing and gear when performing operations, but are often in plainclothes, even during operations.

for reasons above, it might not be obvious that ICE is in your area or that a car you see is involved with ICE operations. FAMILIARIZE YOURSELF WITH LOCAL COMMUNITIES. trusted nonprofits and people who work with undocumented and nonstatus people will often be keeping tabs on ICE. law enforcement in some areas may know as well. find out if ICE is in your area through vetting sources and then keep tabs on them too.

try to provide information in as many languages as you can.

tell people: ICE NEEDS A JUDICIAL WARRANT TO ENTER YOUR HOME--not one signed by a higher up ICE official, it MUST be signed by a judge. ICE may insist that they don't need a warrant, that they operate differently. they are using scare tactics.

lastly, regardless of your immigration status: KNOW YOUR RIGHTS. you can access the Immigration Legal Resource Center's red cards page, which can express your rights in a legally defensible way when ICE comes to your door. print some for your community. distribute them to people. they can be a useful resource! (https://www.ilrc.org/red-cards-tarjetas-rojas)

stay safe and protect each other, especially the most vulnerable groups among us.

[smitethestate]

So in terms of what we need to look out for first with the new Trump presidency, I think the first threat to a huge number of people is going to be mass deportation efforts.

One thing to consider about Trump and Project 2025 is that Trump's first priorities will be himself, his money, his power, and his ego. He doesn't care about anyone or anything but himself. He doesn't care about Project 2025. So what comes first will be about his image and what the people who can bribe him the most want.

Immigration is a huge thing with him, tied up in his ego and his racism. All immigrants, even those who have gained US citizenship, are at risk.

If you are an immigrant or have loved ones who are, look up organizations like the Immigrant Defense Project. Find immigrant defense lawyers in your area. Know your rights and which of them will be stripped when he invokes the Alien Enemies Act on 1798. The ACLU and other human rights orgs will be fighting him every step of the way, but prepare for anything. He will be giving ICE a lot more power. He says he won't tag in the military for this but don't believe a word he says, ever.

For the rest of us, if you're looking to help, you can join or revive local groups that work to alert people to ICE arrests and move to intervene. Forming crowds around arrest vehicles has worked many times to stop arrests from happening. That rules.

If you can't or don't want to join an org, get in touch with your immigrant neighbors, coworkers, etc. Start chatting with them, let them know you want them to stay and you're available to help. We must be in community with our migrant neighbors to effectively help them.

Start thinking about what you're willing to do. All the way to do you have an attic or other hidden space in your home where you can hide people? Are you willing and prepared to be arrested? Defying the government puts you at risk of imprisonment, and you need to be prepared for what that means, both in a practical sense and mentally/emotionally.

Speak with your partners, roommates, friends, and comrades about this. Know who is at the most risk to be arrested and what they will likely experience in prison. For example, BIPOC and disabled people are at a much higher risk when dealing with police and ICE agents. Under no circumstances would I recommend trans women/transfemme folks risk jail or prison time. Be prepared to risk sustaining psychological trauma. Draw and maintain the boundaries you need around any activism, resistance, or revolutionary activity.

I'll go more in depth on what migrants have to expect during the first 100 days of the second Trump term in a later post.

Please add more ideas and resources below if you have them, or make your own post and alert me so I can boost.

[buttclench-ryugazaki]

i think the english localization making phoenix american actually really works, ie breaks the narrative less when taking ryunosuke into consideration. as we know, phoenix was written as Just Some Fucking Guy who becomes a renowned lawyer, but then retroactively making his great grandpa a legal legend who toppled the british judiciary somewhat lessens phoenix's charm as a complete rando. it can inadvertently support the vague idea that lawyering is in the naruhodo clan's blood, y'know what i mean? because ancestor veneration is valued in east asia, it's likely that ryuichi's parents would have put emphasis on ryunosuke being an admirable and aspirational figure. the naruhodos would have their in-house altar and be able to visit his grave and read about his exploits in whatever japanese public archives, on top of recounting their own personal memories of ryunosuke. retroactively, this makes it peculiar that ryuichi or any other lawyer never acknowledges his pioneer great grandfather

but the east asian diaspora tends to have a different relationship to its ancestors because our parents had no choice but to leave everything behind. we don't have access to those things anymore. some of us can't even speak the language, which is obviously a huge barrier. phoenix as a descendant of japanese immigrants would be far enough removed (temporally, geographically, and culturally) from ryunosuke and his legacy that i find it totally plausible that phoenix would never mention him. it would make sense if phoenix were mostly ignorant about who his ancestor even is because that's just realistic to the second-onward generation immigrant experience

[saywhat-politics]

Jan. 27, 2025, 1:00 PM MST

By Laura Strickler

A group of Quaker congregations is suing the Department of Homeland Security for changing a policy that prevented Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from carrying out operations in so-called “sensitive locations” such as houses of worship, playgrounds, schools and hospitals without approval from supervisors.

The policy, which had been in place under multiple administrations — including during President Donald Trump’s first term — was rescinded last week.

The lawsuit, which was filed in federal district court in Maryland on Monday, alleges, “The very threat of that [immigration] enforcement deters congregants from attending services, especially members of immigrant communities,” and argues that attending religious services is at the heart of the “guarantee of religious liberty.”

Faith leaders, local officials and educators have objected to the policy reversal and have been vocal about their opposition, but the suit appears to be the first from a faith-based organization challenging the change in court.

“A week ago today, President Trump swore an oath to defend the Constitution and yet today religious institutions that have existed since the 1600s in our country are having to go to court to challenge what is a violation of every individual’s constitutional right to worship and associate freely,” said Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, which is providing the lawyers representing the Quaker groups.

Perryman said the lawsuit addresses more than churches that act as sanctuaries. “The troubling nature of the policy goes beyond just houses of worship with sanctuary programs — it is that ICE could enter religious and sacred spaces whenever it wants,” she said.

Noah Merrill, secretary of the New England Yearly Meeting of Friends, one of the plaintiffs in the suit, told NBC News in an email: "Quaker meetings for worship seek to be a sanctuary and a refuge for all, and this new and invasive practice tangibly erodes that possibility by creating unnecessary anxiety, confusion, and chilling of our members’ and neighbors’ willingness to share with us in the worship which sustains our lives. This undermines our communities and, we believe, violates our religious freedom."

According to the lawsuit, the policy that protected “sensitive locations” from immigration enforcement without prior approval dates back to the early 1990s. It was meant to allow undocumented people to operate freely in certain public areas with the idea that doing so would ultimately benefit not just them, but also the larger community — for example, by allowing children to be in school during the day, and letting sick people visit hospitals without fear of deportation.

[toopsy]

hello american tumblr user. i see that you have reblogged the nazi getting punched gif and the clip of the nazi flag being ripped. that is all well and good. but have you checked in on friends and family members affected by trumps executive orders? have you offered any tangible help?

this is not to say that showing your support for anti fascism is bad, but it needs to be paired with action.

posting about trump removing the price cap on prescription drugs does nothing if you are not also sharing resources with your diabetic friends like the American Diabetes Association's article on how to keep insulin costs manageable, or pharmacy discount cards like SingleCare or GoodRx.

instead of publicly posting about friends/family members that youre worried about due to the ICE raids, consider sharing things like the ACLUs article on immigration rights and what to do if youre being detained. PRIVATELY reach out to any undocumented people you know and advise them to carry a red card so that they can quickly and easily advocate for themselves. maybe even do some research yourself and find some local immigration lawyers that they can use if they ever need it.

this is not a post meant to guilt you, it is a post to remind you that there are a lot of ways that you can make a difference. start locally, with people that you can reach and give tangible assistance. does your friend group have a discord? make a resources channel and share things there. take care of your local community as best you can. that will do more good than a tumblr post will.

[thebisexualwreckoning]

Armand's backstory and how I, your local bengali vampire fucker and armand's 24/7 defence lawyer, am going to make him bengali and muslim while still keeping it showcannon accurate

(Note: this is not meant to be taken seriously and is very much just written because I was bored and had time on my hands and if i have gotten anything wrong please correct me)

One thing that always annoyed me about IWTV showcannon is the fact that armand pre-marius days were either left majorly unexplored or made absolutely no sense to the time period. Which, I find pretty surprising considering the care and sensitivity Louis' new backstory was handled with by the same creators and show writers.

We know 3 things about Armand and who he is as a character in regards to his ethnicity:

His birth is Arun

He is Muslim

And that he was taken from Delhi somewhere around the early 15th century

For the purposes of this essay, we are going to assume all of this is true and not something Armand made up to get sympathy from both Louis and the audience.

Armand's birth name being Arun, while incredibly lazy, does make his identity as a bengali man much easier to confirm. My own full blooded formerly bangladeshi grandfather has the name Arun and Arun continues to be an incredibly popular bengali name for boys to this day. The problem arises when it comes to his religion.

The thing about the name Arun is that it's an incredibly *Hindu* first name, given that it is quite literally one of the names for the Hindu god of the sun (Source: I'm Hindu and confirmed with my mom who is sitting beside me scrolling on facebook). While muslim people can have the name Arun, given that Bengal was still an independent kingdom around the time which Armand would have been born in, his parents being hindu would have been likely.

However, around a similar time, the Mughals were setting up shop in, you guessed it, delhi and the surrounding region. Now, my proposal is as such: During the same time period, many parents sold their children to zamindars (land owners) for money or food or land. Young Arun's parents did the same thing. Now, this zamindar either sells armand to someone else immediately after who takes him delhi or takes young arun to delhi himself where he either sets up shop with him or once again sells arun to someone else.

Seperated from his parents and newly immigrated indenture (because yes, mughal era punjab and bengal were different kingdoms and as such this would count as immigration) to a kingdom which had just gone through a major political upheaval and had a new ruler forcibly converting people to islam, arun, who has no ties to hinduism given that a. he is a child and b. his hindu parents very much just sold him into slavery, converts to islam as well as a safety tactic.

Thus child arun grows into teen arun and he has never known anything of his life before delhi but those first few years that he spent in bengal and has definitely had no contact with hinduism and has been a devout muslim for the vast majority of his life. Here is where things get a bit iffy. There are two ways how the rest of this can now go.

Route no. 1, armand's indenture is sold to the portuguese, the portuguese take him to europe, marius buys him, everything proceeds as it must.

Route no. 2, the overly complicated, book and show canon accurate version which requires some significant suspension of disbelief and handwaving to accomplish but i like it so i'm still writing down this crack theory. Also we're doing this in dot points now because i'm getting tired:

We know armand speaks crimean because daniel mentions it after he catches fake rashid praying

crimea was part of the ottoman empire during this time period.

the ottoman empire had relatively friendly relations with the mughals because they were afraid of babur.

crimean ottoman merchants buy armand's indenture

armand ends up in crimea

crimea and kievan rus, book armand's original homeland's complex relation means armand ends up in kievan rus.

Things proceed as they did in the books for how armand goes from kievan rus to under marius's hold

and that's all i have, this has been your local crack theorist on tonight's armand show. see you next time.

[nebraskas]

hey, would you mind finding a few of those resources on what to do in case of ICE? apparently there's been some spotted in Lincoln, Omaha, and Council Bluffs.

if anyone has any other resources, please let me know (especially in languages other than english).

remember, you don't know anyone undocumented. everyone you know is a US citizen/documented.

updated 1/29/25

Physical Resources:

Red Cards - print out cards to hand out with immigration rights information (various languages)

ACLU of Nebraska Red Cards

AILA Know Your Rights: If ICE Visits Your Home Flyers

Barrio Drive's posters and cards

Digital Resources:

Sanctuary Cities/Counties

Juntos Seguros - document ICE sitings (frequently down!)

PeopleOverPapers Padlet - document ICE sitings

Family Action Plan - prepare your family for various situations

ACLU Nebraska Help Page / ACLU Nebraska Solicitar Ayuda

ACLU Kansas Resources

NILC Resources (english, español)

UNO List of Resources

UNMC List of Resources

Latino Center of the Midlands Immigration Resources

Know Your Rights:

ACLU Nebraska Immigrant Rights

ACLU Iowa What to do if you're stopped by police, immigration agents, or the FBI

ACLU DC Immigrants’ Rights in Interactions with Law Enforcement

ACLU Kansas Know Your Rights: Immigrant Rights (english, español)

AIRRC Know Your Rights/Conozca sus Derechos (english, español)

NILC Know Your Rights/Conozca Sus Derechos (english, español) - has specific situations, such as for employers or doctors

ACLU DC مركز الحقوق والموارد المتصلة بالهجرة

Groups:

Immigrant Legal Resource Center (national)

National Immigration Law Center (national)

National Immigrant Justice Center (national) (english, español)

American Immigration Lawyers Association (national)

Legal Aid of Nebraska (NE)

Nebraska Appleseed (NE)

Center for Legal Immigration Assistance (NE)

Center for Immigrant and Refugee Advancement (NE)

Centro Hispano (primarily in Platte, Colfax, and Madison counties) (english, español)

Omaha Center for Refugee & Immigrant Services (Omaha, NE)

ACLU Nebraska (NE)

ACLU Colorado (CO)

ACLU Iowa (IA)

ACLU Kansas (KS)

ACLU Missouri (MO)

ACLU South Dakota (SD)

ACLU Wyoming (WY)

اَلْعَرَبِيَّةُ

ACLU DC مركز الحقوق والموارد المتصلة بالهجرة

Español:

CLU Conozca sus Derechos

AIRRC Conozca sus Derechos

NILC Conozca Sus Derechos

National Immigration Justice Center

NILC Recursos

NIJC Inmigrantes LGBTQ

Centro Hispano (principalmente en los condados de Platte, Colfax y Madison)

Latino Center of the Midlands Recursos

Local News:

‘This is just the beginning’: Fears persist in small Nebraska city amid rumors of ICE activity (1/28/25)

Omaha refugees impacted by President Trump’s executive order (1/27/25)

Grand Island schools plan to support kids as district issues statement on immigration (1/27/25)

Rumors swirl of immigration arrests in eastern Nebraska as federal authorities keep quiet (1/27/25)

Places to Donate/Volunteer

Share Omaha - various immigration groups

Any of the groups above have donation, volunteer, and shop pages to support them

[jjkbambi]

About the controversial takes, I’m so curious to know more about him. He was anti immigration, but his best friend Tracy is an immigrant and she posted a text where he was cheering her on for it. He seems to have somewhat dudebro opinions on the birth rate…seems like he at least low-key subscribes to the idea that women are too picky and/or not willing to take on the responsibility of being mothers, but himself seems to have had no long term relationship whatsoever (and no I definitely do not think he was an incel, he was in a frat and well liked) He seemed to look up to people like Musk and Thiel, but in his texts with Tracy he’s incredibly sensitive and supportive in an almost gay BFF way.

I wonder how he reconciles the injustice of the world and wealth distribution with his own privileged upbringing. Honestly, he has had a charmed life other than the back pain. Normal people cannot quit their jobs and fuck off to Hawaii permanently. Even now, he benefits from his family wealth because he has such high powered lawyers. And he definitely benefits from being white and attractive.

> a lot people are saying luigi gives off incel vibes, but i always thought he fell into the “nice guy” mindset. i feel like this is part of post grad depression for white men. as they graduate from an era of their peak — where they are heightened socially, (sometimes) evolved into greater careers with decent looks — they fall into this mindset where they think they’re a catch and struggle to find why women aren’t flocking to them.

> moving to hawaii as a white man ….? lol. LOL. ask literally ANY local what they think about that. even temporarily, weird thing to do. also many theories have come out presuming that he was into asian women, which we can assume aided in his decision to choosing hawaii (insaneeeee)

im not too familiar with his anti immigration takes?!??!! another anon said he was interested in voting for rfk but i cant find that anywhere lol. help?

[insert-witty-user-name-here]

One more thing, if you have capacity, please consider donating to advocacy organizations working to protect our rights.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news on an already bad news day, progressive advocacy organizations have seen their funding slashed since the election.

Lots of folks know about big orgs like the ACLU, HRC, BLM, Planned Parenthood, Amnesty International, and Trevor Project. These are incredible orgs doing good work.

Here are some smaller national orgs that don’t always get attention but are doing important work and could use some extra money:

Arab American Institute

Asian Americans Advancing Justice| AAJC

Autistic Self Advocacy Network

Black Alliance for Just Immigration

Black Voters Matter

Equality Federation (specifically donate to your local chapter! Organization serving LGBTQ+ people)

Immigrant Defense Project

Lambda Legal (legal agency for LGBTQ+ individuals)

Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

League of Conservation Voters (environmental protection organization)

Mexican American Legal Defense Fund

Advocates for Trans Equality

National Council of Jewish Women

National Disability Rights Network

National Immigration Law Center

National Women’s Law Center

Native American Rights Fund

REFORM alliance (justice reform organization)

Reproductive Freedom for All (formerly NARAL Pro-Choice)

Sierra Club (environmental protection organization)

Advocacy organizations could really use your support to fight these upcoming attacks.

Where we saw an outpouring of rage and support in 2016 from big political donors, that sadly hasn’t happened this time.

Last, noting local organizations are always best to donate to though can be harder to find.

If you’ve got time, I’d do some research and type into a search engine your state or city+ issue you care about+ advocacy organization. Browse their website and social media and see if they fit your vibe!

Wait there are even more awesome orgs doing awesome work if you have a specific interest! Give these groups a follow.

American Atheists

American Humanist Association

CASA (specifically donate to your local chapter! Organization serving immigrants)

Common Cause (multi-issue)

GLSEN (formerly Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network)

Interfaith Alliance

Jewish Council for Public Affairs

LatinoJusticePRLDEF

League of Woman Voters (specifically your local chapter)

MomsRising (multi-issue, just moms who want to protect their families 🩷)

PGLAG (formerly Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays)

Public Citizen (multi-issue)

Red, Wine, and Blue (group of moms who fight book bans locally)

Sikh Coalition

The Arc (organization that serves the disability community)

The Innocence Project (justice reform organization)

The Sentencing project (Justice reform organization)

Voto Latino

YWCA (specifically donate to your local chapter, organization that serves women)

Unite Against Book Bans

United We Dream (organization to protect DACA)

Union of Concerned Scientists (environmental protection)

Zinn Education Project (organization that supports an accurate teaching of history)

I hope this massive list also helps shed some light on how many brilliant people there are in this movement ready to fight for the rights of everyone.

Onwards. ❤️

[twosides--samecoin]

-> Did you know there's 41 million immigrants in the USA, and laws are being passed that require the DHS to deport a migrant on accusation of an alleged crime, without due process or conviction?

Sign this pre-written (but editable!) message addressed to U.S. Representatives and Senators. Let them know you don't stand for mass deportations.

-> Did you know there is a list of immigration-focused pro bono legal service providers by state and territory?

Executive Office for Immigration Review

-> Did you know members of Navajo & other Indigenous/First Nation communities are being detained in immigration sweeps?

Donate to Navajo Nation DNA People’s Legal Services & NavajoStrong.

-> Did you know migrants in the USA don't have the right to seek representation from a lawyer?

Donate to the ACLU Immigrant Rights Project.

-> Did you know there are lists of pretrial and bail funds by state?

Check out the National Bail Fund Network.

-> Did you know LGBTQ people in the USA are 3x more likely to be jailed?

A donation to the LGBTQ Freedom Fund works to secure the safety and liberty of individuals in jail and immigration detention.

Not sure what else you can do? Look out for members of your community. Give to local food banks. Ask a librarian about what services need people donating their time. Challenge rhetoric through leading by example & speaking up for people who can't. Share mutual aid posts.

[pepperf]

Lawyers’ offices shut down, high street shops were boarded up, GP practices closed early and MPs were told to consider working from home as 41 of the 43 local police force areas in England and Wales braced for potential disorder. About 6,000 riot-trained officers were drafted in to tackle the expected rallies and an estimated 30 counter-protests after immigration law firms and refugee centres were listed as potential targets in a far-right chat group on the encrypted messaging app Telegram. But instead, thousands of counter-protesters took to the streets of Liverpool, Birmingham, Bristol, Brighton and London to protect their communities. At 7pm in Liverpool, hundreds of people formed a human shield outside a targeted church that hosts an immigration advice centre while women held banners saying: “Nans against Nazis”. Similar scenes were witnessed in the east London boroughs of Hackney and Walthamstow as thousands of local people and anti-fascist activists came together and held placards saying “we are one human race” and “unite against hate”. In Brighton, the handful of anti-immigration protesters who gathered outside a targeted law office were surrounded by police for their own protection after they were outnumbered by about 500 counter-protesters who chanted: “Off our streets, Nazi scum.” Later, the gathering took on a street carnival atmosphere with a samba band and loud singing. But tensions flared in Aldershot in Hampshire after a group chanting “stop the boats” clashed with protesters holding “stand up to racism” placards who had been chanting “refugees are welcome here”. Dozens of police officers rushed onto the road to stop the groups from getting too close to each other. There were also reported skirmishes in Blackpool. Northamptonshire police said three people had been arrested for public order offences in Northampton, and were in custody, and no members of the public or police had been injured. The Metropolitan police said eight people had been arrested in Croydon for assaulting emergency workers, possession of offensive weapons and other offences after about 50 people gathered “to cause disruption and fuel disorder”. “They’ve dragged and thrown objects down the road and thrown bottles at officers. This is not linked to protest, this appears to be pure anti-social behaviour,” the force added on X. But by 9pm few far-right protesters were seen at the alleged targeted sites, although counter-protests continued to grow. A police source with knowledge of law enforcement’s view of the national picture said “no significant public order issues” had been reported by mid-evening, with no known events where counter protesters and the far right had turned up at the same time. The source said: “It’s not looking as widespread as expected yet but still very early.” Some 15 events across England and Wales were known of by police, mostly involving counter protesters. It was believed some far right led gatherings were taking place, though on a much smaller scale than expected.

Keep racists afraid!

[mswyrr]

“As some of you know, Skokie, Illinois once had one of the largest populations of Holocaust survivors anywhere in the world. In 1978, Nazis decided they wanted to march there.

“The leaders of that march knew that the images of Swastika clad young men goose stepping down a peaceful suburban street would terrorize the local Jewish population – so many of whom had never recovered from their time in German concentration camps.

“The prospect of that march sparked a legal fight that went all the way to the Supreme Court. It was a Jewish lawyer from the ACLU who argued the case for the Nazis – contending that even the most hateful of speech was protected under the first amendment.

“As an American and a Jew, I find it difficult to resolve my feelings around that Supreme Court case – but I am grateful that the prospect of Nazis marching in their streets spurred the survivors and other Skokie residents to act. They joined together to form the Holocaust Memorial Foundation and built the first Illinois Holocaust Museum in a storefront in 1981 – a small but important forerunner to the one I helped build thirty years later.

“I do not invoke the specter of Nazis lightly. But I know the history intimately — and have spent more time than probably anyone in this room with people who survived the Holocaust. Here’s what I’ve learned – the root that tears apart your house’s foundation begins as a seed – a seed of distrust and hate and blame.

“The seed that grew into a dictatorship in Europe a lifetime ago didn’t arrive overnight. It started with everyday Germans mad about inflation and looking for someone to blame.

“I’m watching with a foreboding dread what is happening in our country right now. A president who watches a plane go down in the Potomac – and suggests — without facts or findings — that a diversity hire is responsible for the crash. Or the Missouri Attorney General who just sued Starbucks – arguing that consumers pay higher prices for their coffee because the baristas are too “female” and “nonwhite.” The authoritarian playbook is laid bare here: They point to a group of people who don’t look like you and tell you to blame them for your problems.

“I just have one question: What comes next? After we’ve discriminated against, deported or disparaged all the immigrants and the gay and lesbian and transgender people, the developmentally disabled, the women and the minorities – once we’ve ostracized our neighbors and betrayed our friends – After that, when the problems we started with are still there staring us in the face – what comes next?

“All the atrocities of human history lurk in the answer to that question. And if we don’t want to repeat history – then for God’s sake in this moment we better be strong enough to learn from it.

“I swore the following oath on Abraham Lincoln’s Bible: “I do solemnly swear that I will support the constitution of the United States, and the constitution of the state of Illinois, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of Governor .... according to the best of my ability.”

“My oath is to the Constitution of our state and of our country. We don’t have kings in America – and I don’t intend to bend the knee to one. I am not speaking up in service to my ambitions — but in deference to my obligations.

“If you think I’m overreacting and sounding the alarm too soon, consider this:

“It took the Nazis one month, three weeks, two days, eight hours and 40 minutes to dismantle a constitutional republic. All I’m saying is when the five-alarm fire starts to burn, every good person better be ready to man a post with a bucket of water if you want to stop it from raging out of control.

“Those Illinois Nazis did end up holding their march in 1978 – just not in Skokie. After all the blowback from the case, they decided to march in Chicago instead. Only twenty of them showed up. But 2000 people came to counter protest. The Chicago Tribune reported that day that the “rally sputtered to an unspectacular end after ten minutes.” It was Illinoisans who smothered those embers before they could burn into a flame.

“Tyranny requires your fear and your silence and your compliance. Democracy requires your courage. So gather your justice and humanity, Illinois, and do not let the “tragic spirit of despair” overcome us when our country needs us the most."

[darkmaga-returns]

A left-wing group that serves as the lead contractor for a massive federal immigration contract claims the immigration system is "intentionally designed" to exploit "Black and brown people," opposes the use of police officers for "immigration purposes," and says "no immigrant should be detained."

Acacia Center for Justice, based in Washington, D.C., is one of the largest federal immigration contractors, overseeing a $769 million program that provides lawyers for unaccompanied alien children and adults in immigration court hearings and deportation proceedings.

The group says its aim is to provide due process rights for illegal aliens. But it also calls for a radical upheaval of the immigration and deportation system—goals that are starkly at odds with the Trump administration's objectives.

Launched in 2022, Acacia Center argues that "no immigrant should be detained" and that electronic surveillance to track illegal aliens "must be abolished." According to the center, "the use of local law enforcement for immigration purposes … must be dismantled."

It maintains that the immigration detention and deportation system is "intentionally designed to exploit, exclude, criminalize, detain and deport" people deemed to be "undeserving of inclusion in our national fabric, particularly Black and brown people."

[angelofthemornings]

So recently a group IRL had the ACLU talk to us about what to do in case of a raid. Here are some highlights:

1. You are allowed to film ICE.

2. Do not, under any circumstances, touch an ICE agent. This is a felony.

3. A nationwide deportation defense hotline number is 1-844-363-1423 and there might be similar hotlines in your area. If you live in the Greater New Haven CT area, call 475-323-9413 to report a raid or ICE sighting.

4. Do not let ICE in without a warrant.

5. Do not answer their questions or sign anything without a lawyer present. ICE does not have to provide you with a lawyer, unlike the police. It may be useful to have a list of free or low-cost immigration lawyers ready. To find a list like this, contact one of these organizations recommended by the ACLU.

6. A good thing to Google for more localized assistance (like phone numbers to hotlines like the one mentioned above) is "rapid response immigration [your area]"

7. If you live in Connecticut, please consult the Family Preparedness Plan if you might be subject to immigration enforcement. This is a good template for things you want to have if you live in another state - for instance, a Standby Guardian Designation form will let someone you trust temporarily take care of your children for you if you're in trouble. This packet is available in several languages (Arabic, Haitian Creole, Polish, etc.)

8. Stay strong, we love you