May Newsletter
May 9, 2025 • 11 Iyyar 5785
TASTE OF HONEY
It isn't easy to keep up with the Trump administration’s consistent attacks on immigrants and the actions of ICE. I find it hard to know what to follow while these groups dismantle processes and access to basic human rights that so many of our ancestors benefited from.
What I do know: Individual AND collective advocacy and action can make a difference at the individual and community levels! I am so grateful for JCIJ's work that ensures justice for our fellow community members while reminding my newsfeed-addled soul that together we can create meaningful change.
Seemingly small actions add up: I feel like I'm reclaiming my civic voice when I react to action alerts from JCIJ, contact my representatives, and receive actual responses. Seeing the tangible effects of this JCIJ’s accompaniment programs and advocacy, like the millions of dollars of wins for migrant support in the last legislative session, feels even more powerful.
This administration continues to attempt to attack immigrants, and the work to fight them must continue, too. Sustaining organizations like JCIJ that engage in this vital work IS taking action. So, I’m asking you to take action with me and GiveBIG to JCIJ today, while donations are doubled with a $2,500 match from generous donors!
– Kendra Berry, JCIJ volunteer
TAKE ACTION
Send a Letter to Congress!
Let’s continue to pressure Congress about the abducted men who have been sent to El Salvador. This includes Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported there. The administration has admitted it was an "administrative error," but they are refusing to facilitate his return, in open defiance of an order from the US Supreme Court. This is an attack on the rights of both citizens and non-citizens.
Send an email to your Senators and Representatives. Congress is debating a budget which would cut Medicaid and SNAP to pay for billions of dollars of mass deportations and immigration enforcement. Tell your members of Congress to vote no on the proposed budget.
Phonebank with OneAmerica on May 14! Call members of Congress from Washington State to tell them to stand with our communities and vote NO on the Budget.
RECRUITING NEW JCIJ BOARD MEMBERS!
JCIJ is recruiting new Board members with specific skill sets to help grow JCIJ’s impact and sustainability. If you are interested and have capacity for monthly Board meetings and some work or prep between meetings, please reach out to team@jewishcoalition.org.
EVENTS
Engage with JCIJ Training | May 28
Join the Jewish Coalition's May 28th training to learn about the work of JCIJ and the many ways to get involved, volunteer, and take action for immigrant justice in this critical moment.
Free virtual training is open to all, and all are welcome! Register at tinyurl.com/engagejcij to receive the Zoom link.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact team@jewishcoalition.org.
COMMUNITY EVENTS
Bend the Arc: Immigration, Antisemitism, and Safety for All of Us | May 20
Millions of people have rallied in the streets to resist Trump's authoritarian administration, including at May Day events across the country. On this call, you’ll learn more about our work to dismantle antisemitism, protect our immigrant neighbors, and defeat Trump’s authoritarianism.
You’ll hear from Bend the Arc staff with:
Updates on the political landscape, including upcoming legislative fights
Our analysis on why we do this work as Jews, including how the fights for immigration justice and dismantling antisemitism are intertwined
Concrete ways you can join us to fight deportations and change the story of Jewish safety
VOLUNTEER
JCIJ supports two free legal clinics!
A Monday afternoon TPS (Temporary Protected Status) and Employment Authorization legal clinic in Tukwila from 11:40am - 4:30pm for Spanish speakers. Proficient Spanish-speaking volunteers are needed, but fluency is not required. No legal experience required. We have a wonderful team of dedicated volunteers (weekly commitment not required). Join us! Email Ellen K. at ellenkley@gmail.com.
A monthly day-long Asylum Clinic. This clinic is held on weekends. We are seeking immigration lawyers or paralegals; non-immigration lawyers and paralegals; and people who have sufficient fluency in Spanish, Lingala, French, Haitian-Creole or Portuguese to serve as interpreters. Volunteer at tinyurl.com/jcijvolunteer.
RESOURCES
NWIRP Resources | Northwest Immigrant Rights Project
Check out webinars by the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project that help provide recommendations and grounding in the reality of this moment and impacts on immigrant rights.
Informational videos and PowerPoint slideshows from NWIRP and Seattle Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs (OIRA) in English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese for asylum seekers to help navigate the immigration court and asylum process.
Know Your Rights Resources - When the government arrests or tries to arrest someone, or when a government official or police officer "just wants to talk," every person in the United States has certain basic rights. These rights apply to everyone, regardless of citizenship - and regardless of who is President.
If you are detained at the Detention Center in Tacoma, call NWIRP at 253-383-0519
Family Safety Planning Webinar hosted by Legal Counsel for Youth and Children (LCYC) and Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP)
Immigrant Safety Plan document (2025 version in English is available, Spanish is coming soon).
Webinar presentation slides — NWIRP’s “Immigration 101”
Resources for Deportation Defense | Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network
Four Deportation Defense Actions You Can Take Today highlights important steps we can take now to protect immigrant rights. Share widely!
Know Your Rights flyers and information in English, Spanish, French, Lingala, Portuguese, and Somali.
Additional flyers and resources about Keep Washington Working
Support the Fair Fight Bond Fund.
Know Your Rights App
This app developed by the National Korean American Service and Education Consortium (NAKASEC) is available for iPhones and is in 16 languages, including Asian languages, Spanish, Haitian Creole and Russian. It has the ability to read your rights out loud to an ICE or law enforcement agent and send a message to an emergency contact. It has other resources as well such as the ability to look up a consulate and a sample family preparedness plan. It will be ready for android phones soon.
LOCAL NEWS
A call to action against mass deportations | Seattle’s Child
Read a powerful Op-Ed by Catalina Velasquez, Executive Director of the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network.
“The reality facing undocumented families in King County is stark and increasingly dangerous. Washington is home to approximately 234,000 undocumented parents, 17,000 of whom reside with at least one non-U.S. citizen child. These families now live in constant fear, with children afraid to go to school, parents afraid to seek medical care, and entire communities retreating into the shadows.”
34 International Students In Washington State Deleted From Federal Database | KUOW
Visa information for at least 34 international students in Washington has been deleted from the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), which leaves them open to charges of being unlawfully present in the U.S. ICE did not respond to questions from KUOW, stating that plans to arrest or detain students is up to the State Department.
Judge Temporarily Blocks ICE From Detaining Or Deporting UW Student | Seattle Times
Attorneys representing international students say the recent terminations of visas held by international students appear to rely on data from law enforcement or immigration databases, such as SEVIS, and often happen without formal charges or convictions. A federal judge in Tacoma ordered the government to temporarily reinstate one student’s legal status, blocking U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from detaining or deporting him.
Trump backs down in legal fight over canceling international students’ status records | CNN
The Trump administration is reinstating the SEVIS records for students who have sued the administration over their terminations [April 25]. The administration said, “ICE is developing a policy that will provide a framework for SEVIS record terminations.” This action does not affect the Department of State’s cancellation of student visas.
Judge bars Trump from denying funds to ‘sanctuary’ cities like Seattle | Seattle Times
A federal judge in California issued an injunction on April 24 stopping the Trump administration from denying federal funds to cities based on their immigration enforcement policies.
FEDERAL NEWS
Deportations Under Alien Enemies Act Blocked | New York Times
Deportation Block Extended | Washington Post
“The Supreme Court temporarily blocked the Trump administration early Saturday [April 19] from deporting another group of Venezuelan migrants accused of being gang members under the expansive powers of a rarely invoked wartime law.”
On April 22, a district judge in New York extended by two weeks a requirement that immigration officials give notice and opportunity for a hearing to people targeted for removal; he will decide whether to impose longer-term restrictions on use of the Alient Enemies Act.
A district judge in Colorado granted the ACLU’s request [April 22] to temporarily block removals from her district and required the government to provide a 21 day notice to people deemed removeable under the act.
Judge Allows Requirement That Everyone In The US [Undocumented] Must Register To Move Forward | Associated Press
The ruling is based on technical issue of plaintiffs’ standing to pursue their claims; the judge did not rule on substance. Details of implementation are unknown; however, registration will be mandatory for people aged 14 and older and Canadians who are in the U.S. for more than 30 days. “This disappointing ruling unfortunately means that, for now, Trump’s scheme to force people into an impossible choice moves forward. As we weigh next steps in our case, we urge affected community members to consult with an immigration attorney to better understand the consequences of registering or not,” said Nicholas Espíritu, deputy legal director at National Immigration Law Center.
Federal Judge Sides With Trump In Allowing Immigration Enforcement In Houses Of Worship | Associated Press
The ruling is also based on the technical issue of plaintiffs’ standing to pursue their claims; the judge did not rule on the substance of the issue.
Judge Will Halt Trump Administration From Ending Humanitarian Parole For People From Four Countries | Associated Press
A federal judge said she would issue a stay on an order for more than 500,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans to leave the country by April 24, at which time their work permits would be terminated and they could be subject to deportation. They are here legally on (temporary) humanitarian parole with two-year permits to live and work in the U.S. while they find other legal pathways to remain in the U.S.
Immigrants Prove They Are Alive, Forcing Social Security To Undo Death Label | Washington Post
“Immigrants falsely labeled dead by the Social Security Administration are showing up at field offices with documents proving they are alive, leading staff to reinstate nearly three dozen people over the past week, according to records obtained by The Washington Post.” Over the objection of senior Social Security staff, the U.S. DOGE labeled over 6,000 people, mostly Latino immigrants, as dead to pressure them to leave the country. Top officials at the agency warned this action was illegal because it violates privacy laws and involves the purposeful falsification of government records.
U.S. Supreme Court to hear case on Trump’s birthright citizenship order | Washington State Standard
Oral arguments are scheduled for May 15 on a potential revisiting of the Court’s interpretation of the 14th Amendment. Ratified in 1868, it states that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” The Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898) that the 14th Amendment guarantees any child born in the United States is entitled to U.S. citizenship, even if their parents are not citizens.
What to Know about Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia | New York Times
A federal appeals court in Virginia reaffirmed that the Trump administration must actively seek the release of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia from the Salvadoran prison where he was sent; the Justice Department has acknowledged that he was flown to the prison in error. This was the third judicial order, including one from the Supreme Court, directing the White House to “facilitate” his release and provide him due process. The Trump administration has tried to avoid complying with these court orders.
Be in touch with the Jewish Coalition for Immigrant Justice NW
at team@jewishcoalition.org and learn more at jewishcoalition.org.
Follow JCIJ on Facebook and Instagram.
Donate to build Jewish Coalition’s advocacy, accompaniment and community engagement.
Volunteer for or learn more about accompaniment, legal support, observing ICE flights, tutoring, interpreting, crafting JCIJ communications, and supporting immigrant-led partners.