United We Dream

Campaigns

• 

  Prioritize the Safety and Health of ALL, Regardless of Immigration Status, in Coronavirus Response

  As the coronavirus continues to spread and cause harm, undocumented families face harsh risks as they seek to care for their loved ones and seek access to health care. Currently, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) continue to target undocumented people in our community. As a result of fearmongering and misinformation, AAPI individuals in our communities have been harassed, racially profiled, and physically attacked. But now is the time for unity and protection for all our people, regardless of immigration status. We join together to reject xenophobia and racism, which only worsen the effects of the pandemic and put immigrants at harm. Together, we demand that this administration and government at all levels respond swiftly and universally to protect and support everyone, including undocumented immigrants. We know that this is an evolving situation, but time is of the essence. We must take up solutions that center public health needs and that would immediately have a positive impact on immigrants thereby extending to the health of our nation as we pursue a course of action to “flatten the curve.” The following demands are not exhaustive and are likely to expand as we get new information: Please join with us to demand that President Trump: Suspend ALL immigration enforcement activities and operations. DHS must suspend deportations, immigration arrests, mass raids, detentions and enforcement in sensitive locations. Provide Free COVID-19 testing, treatment, and services for ALL, regardless of immigration status. Black, brown, undocumented and low income communities are more vulnerable to health and economic crises. Additional supports and/or stimuli that shore up the safety net and the economic security of those most in need–from food stamps to rent/housing assistance to unemployment insurance to paid leave among others–should be universally accessible without triggering any immigration penalties. Guarantee safe conditions and provide healthcare, testing and support to protect those in detention and prisons. Add your name now to ensure all people, regardless of immigration status, have access to care and support to face the COVID-19 pandemic!

  23,183 of 25,000 Signatures

  Created by Nestor Ruiz
• Tell U.S. Mayors: Protect Undocumented Immigrants - Declare Your City a Sanctuary of Safety! #He...

  Mayors across the country must stand with their undocumented immigrant residents in this moment of crisis. Undocumented Immigrants like me are under attack—from Trump's assault on DACA, ICE's ruthless deportation machinery, and now Jeff Sessions' lawsuit against California's sanctuary laws. In a sanctuary city, officials implement policies to restrict local police from turning immigrants over to federal immigration agents and declare in no uncertain terms that immigrants are welcome. Without them, undocumented immigrants like me and my family are left vulnerable to racial profiling, detention and deportation. We salute the mayors of cities like Seattle, San Jose, San Francisco, and Oakland who have been strong in standing with their undocumented residents. Oakland's Mayor Libby Schaaf even took the courageous step of warning her residents of ICE round-ups, which may have saved hundreds of immigrants from being torn from their families. But we know that Trump, Sessions, and ICE are turning up their aggressive tactics—ICE agents have sought to enter houses of worship, targeted immigrant rights leaders, and detained immigrants whose status should have been protected, in addition to ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians and El Salvadorans. In the face of Trump's aggression, city and state leaders can—and must—be strong. This is just the beginning —we can make our cities and states safe for all!

  131,244 of 200,000 Signatures

  Created by Greisa Martinez
• Tell Secretary Kelly: Bring DACA-recipient Juan back from Mexico!

  On February 17, Juan Manuel Montes was walking to a taxi stand in his hometown in California when he was approached by border officials and asked for his papers. Though Juan was legally authorized to live and work in America through the DACA program, he was deported to Mexico just hours later. This is a direct consequence to Donald Trump's mass deportation agenda and the acts of an unaccountable agency. Juan Manuel must be reunited with his family in California as soon as possible. Join us in demanding Secretary Kelly take immediate action.

  99,559 of 100,000 Signatures

  Created by Greisa Martinez
• Governors: Protect 800,000 from deportation. Defend DACA now!

  On June 29, 2017 Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, along with 9 other Republican attorneys general from Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia, as well as the Governor of Idaho, sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions calling for the Secretary of Homeland Security to phase out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). In their ultimatum to the Trump Administration, the attorneys general present two options: get rid of DACA or they will fight to destroy it in the courts. The letter goes on to state that the Trump Administration has until September 5th, 2017 to begin the phase-out of DACA: halting the renewal and issuing of new DACA or expanded DACA permits and calling for an ultimate end to the program. If the administration does not act on the letter’s demand, the attorneys general will expand the lawsuit they used to end DAPA (a sister program meant to protect Dreamers' parents and family members) to now add a challenge to DACA. This is a serious threat for hundreds of thousands of young immigrants, and it will take all of us raising our voices together to begin to turn the tide. DACA has allowed hundreds of thousands of qualified immigrant youth to gain legal protection, go to college, and support their families and communities. While Trump vowed he would leave Dreamers and DACA alone, a handful of states have now threatened to sue to try to end it themselves. As a DACA recipient myself, I believe in our power when we stand together. A handful of cynical Republicans want to trade our dignity and respect for cheap political points, but I am hopeful that our community and our allies will have our back. The first step in this fight is to ask Governors from every state to come out publicly defending -- instead of destroying -- DACA. They can use their power to make a strong case for why DACA is worth saving, but they need to hear from us that this is a critical priority.

  36,059 of 40,000 Signatures

  Created by United We Dream
• Congress: Don't fund Trump's deportation force and the wall

  Do not give in to Trump's hateful, anti-immigrant agenda. Tell Congress to refuse funding for Trump’s border wall and deportation force in any continuing negotiations. On January 25th, the longest Government shutdown in history came to a conclusion after 35 days. The deal that reopened the government formed a committee of Democrats and Republicans from both the House and Senate to come up with a deal that Trump will be content with. Trump is still demanding 5.7 billion dollars from taxpayers to pay for his border wall and to grow his Deportation Force, despite losing over 30 seats in the House of Representatives as a clear rejection of his policies. That’s why we are asking you to help stop this! In the next week, the committee tasked to come up with a compromise deal needs to hear directly from the public that we reject Trump’s mass deportation agenda and his racist wall. Add your name to hold Congress accountable. Congress should remain focused on funding priorities like education and healthcare and not play into Trump’s demands. Our demand is that they keep the government open and under no circumstance give him any more money to fund more detentions, more deportations, and policies that put more people at risk of deportations and being separated from their families!

  7,996 of 8,000 Signatures

  Created by Greisa Martinez, United We Dream
• Tell Miami Mayor Carlos: Don't bow to Trump. Protect immigrants in Miami!

  My hometown mayor in Miami, Carlos Gimenez, just announced on Thursday, January 26 that he plans to revoke Miami's status as a sanctuary city in the shadow of Trump's threats. This is gut-wrenching news for undocumented families living here. It's not too late for Mayor Carlos to stand up to Trump and do what's right. Trump and his administration are testing us. They want to see if we’ll give up our fight. We can't choose to simply bend to his threats; we must resist. Miami is an important fight for us to win and establish that immigrant families deserve dignity and respect. If enough of us sign this petition, Mayor Carlos will be empowered to resist Trump's demands.

  682 of 800 Signatures

  Created by Juan Carlos Carabantes
• ICE: Stop the Deportation of a Loving Father

  Erik Cortez-Sandeniz (A# 096-116-570) came to the United States from Mexico when he was nine years old. This is a letter from his oldest son, also named Erik. “My father grew up in Providence, Rhode Island and attended Central High School. He dropped out of high school to work and provide for his family at the age of seventeen. Since then, he has been the head of our household and has dedicated his life to taking care of his children and wife. He is now thirty-six years old and is in detention. My father grew up in a neighborhood filled with gangs. Like many other young people in his community, he became involved with the gang because that was what he knew. Despite his gang affiliation, he started working at the age of thirteen to provide for his family. One of his first jobs was helping in a local church. This country has been the only place my father has known. His whole family is here including his three U.S citizen sisters and U.S citizen mother and U.S permanent resident father, numerous of aunts and uncles and cousins, but most importantly he has his five U.S citizen children. I am his oldest son and I am nineteen years old. I just recently finished my first year at Brandeis University on a scholarship. His second oldest was recently accepted to Mass Maritime on a scholarship. Before being detained, my father saw his second son graduate high school but if he is deported he won’t see the rest of his children complete this important milestone. Two of his other children are in high school and his youngest just finished the 5th grade. He has been with my mother, his wife, for 20 years. If he does go back to Mexico, there's a possibility that he will be killed by rival gangs. He made mistakes, but I truly believe he has learned from them and moved on. He instilled in us the value of education that he learned from his experiences. My father grew up in circumstances that did not allow him to get an education, but he made sure that did not happen to us. He has two felony charges: one occurred when he was very young for leaving the scene of a car accident and the second for selling a gun to someone he thought was a friend and explained he needed a gun because his family was being threatened and was in danger. My father has provided and raised a wonderful family.” Please sign and ask ERO Assistant Field Office Director Todd Thurlow and DHS Deputy Assistant Secretary Esther Olavarria to release Erik from detention so that he can fight his case from home with his family.

  908 of 1,000 Signatures

  Created by United We Dream
• Release DACA-Eligible New Yorker Juan from Detention

  Juan de Jesus (A095-528-377) came to the United States from the Dominican Republic when he was two. Now, 27, Juan is a New Yorker with deep roots in New York and New Jersey. He graduated from Norman Thomas High School in August 2007, and worked at a bodega before his detention. His entire family is here, including his green-card holder mother Augustina, his four U.S. citizen siblings, and numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins. His U.S. citizen fiancé Alya Aboulhosn, whom Juan has dated since February 2013, attends all his court appearances and visits him in detention weekly. Juan is also a dedicated uncle to his two U.S. citizen nieces and U.S. citizen nephew. Juan has had a hard time getting good legal help. When he tried to regularize his status, an immigration “worker” Vincent Gonzales never followed up with his case. In July 2010, the NY Attorney General obtained a judgment of over $6.25 million against Mr. Gonzalez for engaging in the unauthorized practice of the law and defrauding thousands of immigrants. In August 2014, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained Juan after he was convicted for drug possession. The criminal defense attorney who represented him was recently indicted for attempting to bribe Manhattan court staff. In September 2014, Juan’s attorneys appealed his conviction. Under immigration law, while the appeal is pending, the conviction (a felony for DACA purposes) is not “final,” and, as such, does not disqualify him from DACA. But ICE refuses to release him until the court decides the appeal, which could take up to two years. The DACA guidelines provide that while in ICE detention, Juan cannot apply for DACA though he fully qualifies. Juan also has three possession of marijuana New York violations: two carry maximum penalties of only a fine and do not count as misdemeanors for DACA; and one counts as a non-significant misdemeanor for DACA. These NY violations do not disqualify him from DACA. Juan started using drugs in high school. Becoming homeless after his mother (at the urging of her then-boyfriend) kicked him out of her apartment exacerbated his drug use. If Juan is released, he is determined to stay clean, and has already been accepted into a drug treatment program in New Jersey where he will live with his fiancé. Juan is also seeking asylum. His hearing was scheduled for June 2015, but because the judge assigned to his case retired, the court rescheduled for December 2015. Juan will have been detained for over a year and four months before his hearing. He has already been in detention for ten months. His attorneys filed a habeas petition in federal court on June 16, 2015, so that Juan may be released while he fights his case. That petition is pending. Please sign and ask ERO Field Office Director John Tsoukaris to release Juan from detention so that he can fight his case from home with his family.

  815 of 1,000 Signatures

  Created by United We Dream
• ICE: Stop the Deportation of a Persecuted Asylum Seeker

  Shixin Lu is a 43-year-old asylum seeker and a mother of a 13-year-old daughter, Yuening Li. She is in danger of being imminently deported back to China, where she is almost certain to be detained and tortured by Chinese authorities solely because of her peaceful religious beliefs. Shixin and her husband, Austin, are practitioners of Falun Gong, a peaceful spiritual practice outlawed in China since 1999. Tens of thousands of practitioners have since been detained and tortured. Shixin and Austin were both victims of this abuse in the early 2000’s, but following their detentions, they concealed their religious beliefs and built successful careers in China. In January 2014, Austin and their daughter traveled to the United States, joined by Shixin a few weeks later. Shixin was forced to return to China in February after receiving news that her father was ill. While in China, Shixin started to receive threats to her family’s well being. In a panic, Shixin returned to the United States, where she was detained in ICE custody before applying for asylum. Her asylum claim was wrongly denied, despite the substantial proof of warnings from Chinese authorities. Shixin has been detained in county jail like a criminal for more than one year in Calhoun County Jail although ICE has power to parole ( release her) as she is neither flight risk nor danger to public and has a legitimate asylum claim. ICE Field office should use proper discretion and free her now while asylum appeal is pending!

  4,684 of 5,000 Signatures

  Created by United We Dream
• Stop the Deportation of My Loving Father

  Erik Cortez-Sandeniz (A# 096-116-570) came to the United States from Mexico when he was nine years old. This is a letter from his oldest son, also named Erik. “My father grew up in Providence, Rhode Island and attended Central High School. He dropped out of high school to work and provide for his family at the age of seventeen. Since then, he has been the head of our household and has dedicated his life to taking care of his children and wife. He is now thirty-six years old and is in detention. My father grew up in a neighborhood filled with gangs. Like many other young people in his community, he became involved with the gang because that was what he knew. Despite his gang affiliation, he started working at the age of thirteen to provide for his family. One of his first jobs was helping in a local church. This country has been the only place my father has known. His whole family is here including his three U.S citizen sisters and U.S citizen mother and U.S permanent resident father, numerous of aunts and uncles and cousins, but most importantly he has his five U.S citizen children. I am his oldest son and I am nineteen years old. I just recently finished my first year at Brandeis University on a scholarship. His second oldest was recently accepted to Mass Maritime on a scholarship. Before being detained, my father saw his second son graduate high school but if he is deported he won’t see the rest of his children complete this important milestone. Two of his other children are in high school and his youngest just finished the 5th grade. He has been with my mother, his wife, for 20 years. If he does go back to Mexico, there's a possibility that he will be killed by rival gangs. He made mistakes, but I truly believe he has learned from them and moved on. He instilled in us the value of education that he learned from his experiences. My father grew up in circumstances that did not allow him to get an education, but he made sure that did not happen to us. He has two felony charges: one occurred when he was very young for leaving the scene of a car accident and the second for selling a gun to someone he thought was a friend and explained he needed a gun because his family was being threatened and was in danger. My father has provided and raised a wonderful family.” Please sign and ask ERO Assistant Field Office Director Todd Thurlow and DHS Deputy Assistant Secretary Esther Olavarria to release Erik from detention so that he can fight his case from home with his family.

  59 of 100 Signatures

  Created by United We Dream