Trump’s mass deportation agenda is a nightmare. Some people - including me - warned about this when mass deportations were just a gleam in Trump’s eye (and a major feature of Project 2025).

Two years later, the nightmare has come true. We’ve witnessed U.S. citizens and targeted immigrants die at the hands of ICE and Border Patrol - whether on our streets or in ICE custody. We’ve had hundreds of immigration agents deployed at major U.S. cities and airports, stoking fear and often abusing their power. And the Trump administration is drastically expanding ICE detention centers across the country, holding immigrants in inhumane conditions. 

What’s making this all possible is the public money - our hard-earned tax dollars - being funneled into the mass deportation and detention machine. Under the Trump administration, Congress and federal agencies have already committed a total of $269 billion in federal funds to immigration enforcement from FY 2025 through FY 2029. This amount comes from two GOP-backed funding bills that redirected enormous funds from public services to mass deportation, plus the annual baseline budgets of ICE and CBP, as well as funding to other federal agencies like the Department of Defense helping to implement this dangerous agenda.

The beacon of hope in the midst of this nightmare is the increase in movement organizing to protect immigrant communities from the administration’s attacks. I remain steadfast and hopeful - despite these terrifying times - because of the deep care and commitment evident among those showing up to protect their neighbors and loved ones. This line of defense consists of ordinary people from all walks of life - parents walking kids to school, healthcare staff, faith leaders, restaurant owners and workers, climate activists, and street bystanders. We’re preventing agents from coming into our places of work and worship and taking to the streets to protest.

Here are three examples of what taking a stand against mass deportations and detention looks like:

1. An Immigrant Rights Coalition Mobilizes to Shut Down Detention Centers

There are more than 200 detention facilities currently in the U.S. -  at least 100 more than when Trump took office. Trump’s so-called Big Beautiful Bill allocated $45 billion just to create new detention facilities - about four times ICE’s previous annual budget.

Against this onslaught, Detention Watch Network has launched a new campaign called End the ICE Age. The campaign urges members of the public and members of Congress to support the “Melt ICE Act” that would redirect ICE funding, get ICE agents out of communities, and shut down and prevent the expansion of detention centers. End the ICE Age works in tandem with the Communities Not Cages campaign which uplifts local organizing and provides people the tools to fight against detention centers in their own communities. 

We’ve seen wins in places like Pennsylvania, which shut down plans for two detention centers in July due to pressure from local leaders and residents. 

2. Nurses Against ICE’s Partnership with Palantir

If you’re a well-known brand or company working with ICE, chances are that people know about it. That’s definitely the case for tech giant Palantir. Palantir provides an app that has helped ICE locate immigrants for arrest and detention, which includes improperly obtained Medicaid data containing patients’ immigration status and address - even encompassing personal information of citizens and legal residents. 

The National Nurses United, a labor union of 225,000 members, has been taking a stand against Palantir collaborating with ICE. In late August, hundreds of registered nurses, from Los Angeles, California to Portland, Maine, stopped traffic to proclaim, “Palantir Out!” These nurses displayed dozens of baby shoes on the street, representing the thousands of babies who have been detained since Trump took office. They joined in other protests honoring the lives that we've lost to ICE, including Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, and launched a week of action for Alex Pretti.

3. Climate Advocates Say No to Authoritarianism and ICE Agents 

The Sunrise Movement, known for popularizing the Green New Deal, is no stranger to pushing back against harmful leadership and policies. This youth-led movement working to advance climate action has shifted to fight authoritarianism since the beginning of this administration. 

This year, Sunrise has been vocal about “ICE Out For Good” with focus on refusing the presence of ICE agents in communities. Sunrise acknowledges that climate activists must oppose ICE because fossil fuel companies, along with ICE, are all part of the same power web threatening American democracy. 

Over the last couple of months, the Sunrise hub in Minnesota has been protesting outside hotels hosting ICE agents. And the response? ICE agents have gone undercover and joined Sunrise meetings and online group chats, convincing group members to engage in confrontational tactics - all the while Sunrise stresses its complete nonviolent approach to organizing.

One of my favorite quotes goes, “Hope is a discipline.” To me, hope is a practice that demands moments of calibration to assess what we and others need of ourselves at the moment. I’m inspired by people across issue areas and walks of life prioritizing the need to protect our targeted community members.

We must continue the fight to shut down detention centers, resist partnerships of companies working with ICE, and redirect money from family separation and into family needs. Our democracy is counting on it.