Since Donald Trump assumed control of the federal government’s executive branch, millions of Americans have become fearful that he will fulfill his pledge — repeated many times during last year’s campaign — to conduct mass deportations of undocumented immigrants. Already, Trump has issued an executive order that all but eliminates Immigration and Customs Enforcement priorities that until then put serious criminals first in line for deportation actions. As a result, honest and hardworking people who came to America as children with their parents are now considered as much a priority for deportation as individuals with extremely serious criminal records. Just the very act of entering the United States without authorization or staying here after the expiration of a visa is now being prosecuted as a crime that unjustly merits deportation. We are prepared to lead the resistance to Trump’s immoral anti-immigrant policies. We are a city of immigrants within a nation of immigrants. About one-third of New York City residents were born outside the United States. Their contributions are vital to our civil society.
