Part 1 can be found HERE.
Part 2 can be found HERE.
What is this doing to our communities?
The administration promised reduced crime, a halt to illegal immigration, and greater prosperity for more American citizens. We don't yet know if that will be the end result. Right now these policies are separating families, militarizing our streets, and creating an environment of fear and insecurity in communities across the United States, including among those who are American citizens. Federal agents are literally snatching people from their cars and disappearing them into a detention rabbit hole (see part 1). Undocumented migrants (or those who live in mixed-status households, where one or more family members may be undocumented), are opting out of necessary aspects of their daily life for fear of deportation. This has a direct impact on public health and child health, local economies, and access to education.
For example, in DC, ICE detained four family members in August 2025, all employed at the same DC restaurant, as they left their apartment building for work. Two employees have resigned from the restaurant for fear of kidnapping and deportation. The chef of this restaurant, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of retribution, says he began taking Ubers to work instead of driving his own car because he is concerned about being followed, “I’m very concerned. I’m stressed. I’m panicked sometimes.”
A study recently conducted by Stanford University found on average a 22% increase in student absences in January and February 2025 in California’s Central Valley, compared with the same months in the previous years, and showcasing a link to the increase in ICE raids during that time. A professor involved in the study, Thomas S. Dee, said this is concerning not just for the missed instructional time, but also “the stress that’s being put on these young children and their families is serious, and the increased absences are a leading indicator of broader developmental harm.” The public should also be concerned about the lack of constitutional rights for migrant children. The Supreme Court of the United States affirmed in Plyer v. Doe (1982) that all children have a right to public education regardless of immigration status.
We are also aware of reports in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia metropolitan area (where Quixote Center is located), of family members no longer able to transport their children to school for fear of deportation, and local childcare workers unable to go outside with the youth in their care for fear of deportation. This will continue to impact not only immigrant families, but even U.S. citizens and people with legal status. With the Supreme Court’s recent 6-3 ruling on the case known as Vasquez Perdomo v. Noem, we have now entered a phase wherein our federal and local police forces have been given the green light to racially profile people in the name of Homeland Security. We will likely continue to see people opt out of daily life for fear of being kidnapped, even if they are U.S. citizens or have legal status.
The American Immigration Council highlighted three stories of the human impact of this administration’s policies. We encourage you to read these here:
- Axel, a DACA recipient trying to protect his community
- Ilia, young Russian dissident facing never-ending detention
- Kaelyn, going into debt to keep her partner from deportation to El Salvador
Dwindling Due Process and Human Rights Abuses
We are seeing, in real time, a lack of access to due process.
People from our communities are being taken off the streets by masked ICE agents who are not identifying themselves nor are they abiding by the Fourth Amendment of unreasonable search and seizure.
Our immigration courts are now operating with less access to bond than at any point in the last few decades. We are particularly concerned with immigration judges who are collaborating with ICE, facilitating arrest and immediate removals of asylum seekers by dismissing their court cases without a full hearing.
Families and children are being detained, a practice that has the potential for widespread abuse and inhumane conditions.
With more people in detention than ever before, we are concerned about human rights violations in overcrowded detention centers and holding cells.
As Quixote Center has written in the past, if due process is denied to some of us, it is denied to all of us.
While this administration continues to push the legal limits of immigration policies, our court system plays a crucial role, as judges issue stays on various policies and hold up due process. This type of protection is also limited, especially with the Supreme Court siding with the administration on recent rulings, and granting legal authorization of racial profiling.
How can we support one another?
The information in this report is shocking. And still communities across the country are showing up for their neighbors. Quixote Center is seeing the power of collective action, mutual aid, and ordinary neighbors stepping up to protect migrant people in our communities throughout the Washington, DC, metropolitan area.
For example, parents of school children who are U.S. citizens have offered school transportation to parents who have undocumented statuses.
In August, when DC students returned to school, a group of organizers in Ward 4 brought together volunteers to provide support for arrivals and departures to ensure students, parents, and staff were accompanied at high traffic areas. They shared spreadsheets via email, and volunteers showed up to support youth and parents as they returned for the school year. Free DC, an organization committed to the right to self-determination for the people of Washington, DC, also organized a back-to-school youth support campaign.
Powerful national advocacy organizations like CASA have recently come together to sue the federal government to hold them accountable for illegal arrests of community members, including those with legal status.
Local mutual aid group Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid in Washington, DC runs an ICE watch hotline and stewards resources to families in need. They have an excellent repository of immigrant resources for those in the Washington, DC metropolitan region.
Rapid response and community-based advocate groups in Prince George’s County and Montgomery County Maryland are providing direct support to family members whose loved ones have been kidnapped.
And this is not unique to the Washington, DC metropolitan area. People across the nation - from faith leaders to grandmothers to lawyers - are showing up to accompany and support migrant neighbors. Thank you for your continued efforts to show up for our migrant community members. We will continue to keep us safe.
There are many ways to take action. Tell us in the comments how you are supporting your community!
- Read the full report from the American Immigration Council and encourage the same from your friends, neighbors and family. Our collective knowledge about what is happening is powerful.
- Research organizations in your community to find out if they operate mutual aid or rapid response for immigrants and join in their efforts.
- Engage in nonviolent action that lifts up migrant communities on Oct. 3:
- Pax Christi USA (international Catholic peace movement) is holding a prayer vigil for the immigrant community at the Washington, DC ICE headquarters on October 3 at 2pm.
- Support migrant families impacted by this administration’s violence. Many families need funds for groceries and to support fees to hire a lawyer; no amount is too small to give.
- Write to Congress: Tell Congress to report on human rights abuses in the six countries accepting immigrants deported from the United States. From our friends at the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, “The risk of torture or abuse is high and an alarming concern.”
- Join a Coordinated Campaign: the Catholic Public Witness for Immigrants on Oct. 22 & Nov. 13 via Jesuit Refugee Services to lift up our immigrant brothers and sisters.
- Befriend your neighbors and give one another grace. Community is the way forward in this time of tumult.
Legislatively, our options are limited, as much of this is playing out in the courts. Quixote Center will keep our supporters informed about future opportunities to impact the budget. We also encourage you to vote, and to work locally to keep the upcoming 2026 elections free and fair.
Comments
Mercy Coogan (not verified)
Thanks for this thorough and clearly detailed overview. Depressing as the situation is today—and will be for some time to come—the center’s work (and that of like-minded groups) is invaluable. Resistance is NOT futile!
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