The onslaught of attacks from federal and state officials over the past few days has been overwhelming. And that is the goal – to sow fear, divide our communities and pit working-class people against one another, and terrorize localities out of taking action.
Our goal for these round-ups is to help you connect with key, timely information and resources from Local Progress and partners – and to help you focus on where local power can be effectively leveraged in this moment.
If you haven’t downloaded it yet, please review our policy toolkit, Protecting Our Communities and Fighting for Democracy in a Second Trump Administration. All of these recommendations remain valid despite the many EOs. We will be making updates to it in the next few weeks and will keep you posted. If you have questions about implementing these policies, please reach out to us at helpdesk@localprogress.org.
These strategies still remain the most powerful, local policy levers to resist the right-wing agenda– and LP members across the country are using them successfully. Just last week, member leaders in Allentown City, PA, led an effort to unanimously pass a ‘Welcoming City’ ordinance on immigration, blocking collaboration with ICE unless required by law.
Fund our Communities. Protect our Neighbors.
Congress is soon expected to consider H.R. 32 – the “No Bailout for Sanctuary Cities” Act – a bill that would force localities and states to choose between facilitating mass deportations or losing otherwise unrelated health, education, transportation, and other local funding. This bill is a blatant attempt to scapegoat immigrant communities and punish localities that stand up for them. We need local electeds to take bold action—this means speaking out, rallying your communities, and holding your members of Congress accountable. Check out our Fund Our Communities Digital Toolkit and accompanying talking points.
Draconian and Cruel Mandatory Detention Legislation Signed Into Law
Congress has vastly expanded immigration detention by passing the Laken Riley Act, which imposes mandatory detention, without possibility of bail, for any undocumented person (including DACA recipients, parents, or teenagers) accused of accused shoplifting, assaulting a law enforcement officer (a common charge against protestors), and certain other offenses. Under the Act, a person does not have to be convicted of any crimes to be forced into mandatory detention – even an arrest based on a false accusation is enough to detain someone indefinitely.
What can you do? The team at Interrupting Criminalization has mapped out a number of key actions, including:
- organizing to decriminalize offenses like shoplifting;
- pushing for pre-arrest diversion programs for shoplifting offenses that do not require arrest or admission of guilt or to facts amounting to shoplifting;
- calling attention to and engaging in community boycotts of stores like Walmart and Walgreens that engage in aggressive and discriminatory shoplifting enforcement through private security or police.
New Resource to Navigate and Respond to Attacks on Gender Justice
The National Women’s Law Center just launched a Federal Attacks → State Action Digest to support advocates and policymakers working to navigate the barrage of federal attacks against gender justice and keep their communities safe. This digest catalogues Executive, Administrative, and Congressional attacks on key gender justice issues; compiles resources for understanding and communicating about these actions; and provides examples of actions states and/or localities can take to minimize the impacts of these federal attacks and present a counter-narrative about what gender justice looks like.
Fighting Back Against the Trump-Musk Administrative Coup
The Trump Administration is working diligently to gut federal agencies, strip public resources, and consolidate power and money into the hands of a right-wing elite. Our partners are organizing against these and state-level attacks on public resources. Follow the folks at Indivisible, Center for Popular Democracy, and VOCAL-US for information on how local electeds and our communities can organize against these attacks.
Protecting Immigrant Workers in a Shifting Federal Landscape: Resources for Labor Enforcement Enforcement Agencies
The Workplace Justice Lab at Rutgers University has released two resources for local labor enforcement agencies to protect immigrant workers. This checklist provides practical guidance to reevaluate and adapt local enforcement practices, strengthen partnerships with organizations embedded in immigrant communities, and prepare for the challenges and dangers of enforcing labor standards in a climate of heightened fear and retaliation. Additionally, this brief provides information into how investigators can effectively analyze and investigate immigration-based retaliation cases.
Photo retrieved from April Gamiz / The Morning Call
