A new report gives communities the tools necessary to help their new American neighbors feel safe and welcome. Written by Katherine Culliton-González, Senior Counsel at Demos and Joanna E. Cuevas Ingram, Associate Counsel at LatinoJustice PRLDEF, the report details the kinds of policies and practices communities can adopt to better welcome and protect immigrants on the state and local level. These policies include prohibiting immigrant enforcement in public schools, hospitals, and churches, allocate public funds for legal services for undocumented immigrants, and prohibiting the release of immigration statuses to federal authorities. The report also encourages communities to create inclusive programs for identification cards and healthcare as well as protect immigrants from discrimination.
While no one can be sure what kinds of legal protections may be available for immigrants after President-elect Trump begins to enact his desired policies, the report does explain the most likely types of protection that may be legally available for immigrants. It also outlines the rights of local communities to establish inclusive democracies, constitutional protections against racial profiling, and protections that are applicable to schools.
You can read an English version of the report here or the Spanish version here.
