Today marks 18 years since I immigrated to the United States. Eighteen years of building a life, raising my children, and contributing to a country that welcomed me. But if I were arriving today, I don't know if I’d feel that same safety and warmth.

What I’ve seen in recent months has shaken me deeply. Families like mine—immigrant families, parents, workers—are being targeted, detained without warning, and deported without due process. [1] 

This is a direct violation of the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution [2], which guarantees due process of law to all people in the United States—regardless of nationality, immigration status, or past criminal history. In a recent decision, the U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed that under the Alien Enemies Act, every person must be given proper notice and a fair opportunity to challenge their removal.

The  disappearances of immigrants—many sent to foreign prisons without a chance to defend themselves—blatantly violate this ruling. This is not just a legal crisis. It is a moral one.

*Tell Congress to uphold the law, to protect families, and to stop the Republican-led efforts to fund human rights abuses and mass deportations,, by cutting the programs we use that matter the most like: Medicaid, Social Security, childcare and Head Start, SNAP, K-12 education, and more. 

Just two weeks ago, I visited a detention center in Costa Rica and a holding facility in Panama. I met people who had been abruptly taken from their communities—some while grocery shopping, some dropping off their children at school, others simply on their way to work. They were deported without a hearing, without justice.  

One of them was María. She had a valid work permit and legal status through asylum. Yet, as she left the preschool where she taught, ICE agents detained her and put her on a plane to Panama, a country where she had no ties, no home, and no idea she’d even be sent to until the plane landed.

And María is not alone. People like her—and like Kilmar Abrego Garcia [3]—are being ripped from their families and communities.  Students and scholars who are legally in the U.S. are being deported because of political speech. Raids are happening in schools [4] and homeless shelters.[5]

Now the U.S. Congress is considering a budget that would supercharge the Trump administration’s ability to scale up its assault on immigrants and further damage our rule of law, hurt our economy, and pay for it by massive cuts to Medicaid, Social Security, SNAP, and HeadStart, and other programs for our children and families.

Tell your Members of Congress: Our tax dollars must NOT be used to fund human rights abuses, mass deportations, and an assault on our rule of law. 

What’s happening? If it passes, the Republican-led budget bill that is currently in Congress would give the Trump administration nearly a blank check for more human rights abuses, detention, mass deportations, and more cruelty. The money would be used, among other things, to contract with private prisons in the U.S. and notorious prisons abroad to indefinitely imprison immigrants.

Additionally, the administration wants to pour money into incarcerating immigrant children. This practice has been called dangerous and traumatizing by every credible medical and child welfare group out there. The American Academy of Pediatrics warns that even short stays in detention can cause long-lasting trauma for kids. [6] 

Join us in calling on Congress to say NO to a Republican-led budget that fuels human rights abuses and mass detention, paid for by cuts to Medicaid and other programs that lift families and the economy! 

Moreover, immigrants are critical to our communities, our economy, our families, our small businesses, and the care workforce.  Nearly 40 percent of home care workers are immigrants. Cuts to Medicaid to fund human rights abuses and mass deportations would deal our healthcare infrastructure a double blow, making it even harder for families to find the care they need. A budget that prioritizes mass deportations instead of Medicaid is a waste of taxpayer dollars and hurts our aging parents, hardworking caregivers, and communities.

Join us today in telling the Republican-led Congress they must not cut Medicaid, Social Security, and other programs for families to pay for horrific and cruel policies. 

References:

[1], [2], [3] https://action.momsrising.org/go/84126?t=15&utm_campaign=outreach&utm_medium=email&utm_source=actionkit&ak_proof=1&akid=20791%2E3444885%2E4AaJrP

[4] https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2025/03/26/ice-detain-dc-elementary-school-worker/

[5] https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2025/03/22/ice-just-visited-a-san-diego-homeless-shelter-new-rules-say-how-thats-supposed-to-go/

[6] https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/139/5/e20170483/38727/Detention-of-Immigrant-Children?autologincheck=redirected