This weekend, members of our chapter marched against fascism at the No Kings actions with an estimated 7 million people nationwide. We draw hope and energy from being in community with others who share our commitment to challenging the violence of the Trump administration in every way we can. We also know that this work is ongoing, and that we must resist this regime every day with all of our collective power.
One way our chapter is showing up regularly to fight fascism is through our organizing for immigration justice. The SURJ NYC Immigration Justice Working Group organizes against deportation and immigration detention, and for a world without prisons or borders. Following the leadership of directly impacted members of our community, we are working to end immigration detention of, and by, New Yorkers through strategies including passing the Dignity Not Detention Act, which would get New York out of the business of immigration detention.
We know that immigration detention causes grave harm to individuals in detention and their loved ones. Just this week, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest (NYLPI) published a report chronicling “‘Severe and Systemic Deficiencies’ in Medical Care for Immigrants Detained at Orange County Jail.” We also know that detention enables the larger deportation pipeline, with individuals who have been abducted from their communities here in NYC then sent to local detention sites, including at 26 Federal Plaza and Delaney Hall in New Jersey, among other ICE jails in our area. Working to abolish immigration detention is crucial to the fight against fascism since fascism requires the demonization of, and violence towards, a group labeled outsiders.
In response, SURJ NYC members are taking to the streets at rallies and in acts of civil disobedience, demanding that New York State leaders take immediate action to pass Dignity Not Detention, along with another crucial sanctuary bill, New York for All. We are also turning out for weekly vigils, organized by our friends at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church and Indivisible Brooklyn outside the federal Metropolitan Detention Center, which is caging people for ICE. We have regular opportunities to write letters to detained community members and make calls to our state elected officials. Finally, many members are showing up for courtwatching and organizing in hyperlocal rapid response groups; to get connected to one please come to our next Immigration Justice Working Group meeting on 10/28.
In the spirit of defiance and solidarity that we saw at No Kings, we invite you to join us in showing up for immigration justice here in New York:
Come to a Tuesday evening vigil outside Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center
Join a Dignity Not Detention campaign phone zap to call New York State elected officials, demanding they hold a special session to pass DND
Attend SURJ NYC’s next Immigration Justice Working Group meeting, on 10/28, to get plugged into our long-term organizing.
In solidarity,
SURJ NYC