Families across the country are grappling with the forced detention and disappearance of their loved ones. If someone you love has been detained, please know: you are NOT alone.
Our Know Your Rights guide, “What to Do if You or a Loved One Is Detained,” walks families through the immediate steps that you can take in this moment.
Help is still available! Hit our bio link to access our full guide. 🔗
Con la amenaza de ICE en nuestras comunidades, AHORA es el momento para que revisen sus planes de seguridad y cómo pueden defender sus derechos en caso de una detención.
Aquí está nuestro recurso de Conozca Sus Derechos que describe los 5 pasos más importantes que las personas pueden comenzar a hacer ahorita.
No lo olvide: también puede acceder a más recursos como este en la página de 'Conozca Sus Derechos' de nuestro sitio web (enlace en la biografía ☝️).
Local law enforcement still has a choice- they DO NOT have to do the bidding of the Trump administration's mass deportation campaign.
Another model: In Illinois, we've shown that another path is possible when trust and community needs are prioritized over programs like 287(g).
Watch NIJC's Azadeh Erfani break down why it's vital to keep local law enforcement from colluding with federal immigration agencies.
Thank you @repdeliaramirez , @repchuygarcia , @repsylviagarcia , and our other elected officials for convening this shadow hearing.
What the Trump administration called enforcement, immigrant communities experienced as separation, trauma, and violence. As the first step toward a civil lawsuit, MALDEF is working alongside @uchicagolaw@macarthurjustice@immigrantjustice to seek justice. Read more at the link in our bio. 📸: Jim Vondruska
For many children seeking safety, navigating immigration court alone would be nearly impossible.
NIJC’s Hillary Richardson shares how funding for @ilaccess2justice 's statewide network helps NIJC provide free legal representation to vulnerable youth and families across Illinois, and why our communities need this support now more than ever.
TAKE ACTION | Watch to learn more and hit our bio link to SIGN the petition telling the Illinois General Assembly to fund Access to Justice!
LISTEN: CLIENT STORIES
On September 30, in the middle of the night, DHS and other federal agencies violently raided an apartment building in the South Shore neighborhood of Chicago, breaking down doors, waking people from their beds, holding them at gunpoint, and parading them out of their homes. Yesterday, we filed FTCA complaints against the federal government on behalf of 18 impacted individuals whose human rights were violated during this violent immigration raid.
Two of our clients have bravely chosen to speak out about their experiences that night. Listen to their stories here and help us uplift their voices.
BREAKING: NIJC and our partners filed claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act seeking compensation on behalf of 18 people brutalized and traumatized by federal agents during a military-style raid on their apartment building in Chicago.
“The U.S. government has no right to inflict this level of emotional distress and property damage and then just walk away," said NIJC Senior Litigation Attorney Allena Martin in a statement. "Seeking compensatory damages is a necessary step toward righting the wrong these members of our communities, including families with young children, experienced that night.”
The 18 people have filed their complaints collectively to pursue remedies for their individual harms and to hold the entire system accountable. Together, they bring these actions to demand that no government agency acts with such blatant disregard for civil and human rights again.
Click our bio link to read more. ☝️
Shout out to our partners @MALDEFian , @uchicago Immigrants' Rights Clinic, and @macarthurjustice .
📍CHICAGO
Today, a coalition of civil rights organizations, including the MacArthur Justice Center, submitted administrative complaints under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) on behalf of 18 individuals who were unlawfully arrested and brutalized by federal agents during a military-style raid on their apartment building last fall during Operation Midway Blitz.
Read more at the link in our bio.
FOODIE TIME 🍲🥘: NIJC's annual team potluck is one of our favorite traditions! 😊 Staff brought a wide array of home-cooked dishes, cultural favorites, and traditional staples to share with one another. It was a wonderful time celebrating community together.
🗣️FUND CARE, NOT ICE!
Republicans are pushing $70 billion into ICE and Border Patrol while families are struggling to afford health care, groceries, gas, and utilities. ICE is a death machine. This bill hands them another blank check to expand harm in our communities. Since Trump took office, at least 49 people have died in ICE custody because of neglect, abuse, and inhumane conditions. That’s one life lost every 10 days.
On May 20, hundreds of immigrants, allies and working families affected by the cuts on SNAP, Medicaid and ACA are coming together in D.C. to say enough! We need you there with us. Sign up at the link in bio.
IMPORTANT CASE UPDATE ⚖️ : The Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued a decision affirming the extension of the Castañon Nava consent decree and the release of people who have been unlawfully arrested by ICE & Border Patrol officers.
“Today’s ruling essentially keeps us on the path we have been on since the appeals court allowed key parts of the district court’s ruling to stand last November. ... Through this process we have secured release for 175 people and forced the government to return bond payments or lift conditions of release for 168 others," said Keren Zwick, NIJC's Director of Litigation. "We intend to continue reviewing documents and conferring with the government with the goal of giving as many people as possible the opportunity to return to their homes and families in the United States.”
Click our bio link to read more in NIJC's statement with our partners @acluofil (Roger Baldwin Foundation of ACLU, Inc), @icirr_il , and @ocadchicago .
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib @reprashida recently introduced the Ban Warehouse Detention Act, which would prohibit DHS, including ICE, from establishing, operating, expanding, converting, or renovating any warehouse or similar building or structure for the purposes of detaining people. The bill would also prevent the administration from establishing any new immigrant detention models.
All immigration detention is inherently inhumane and rife with abuse, and yet the warehouse model currently being pursued by ICE is particularly horrifying. People are not commodities to be shipped, discarded, and profited off of. Local communities are making it clear from coast to coast – they don’t want detention centers or warehouse detention, and they will fight tooth and nail to block ICE. Communities want elected leaders to champion projects that bring investment to support all families like education, healthcare and housing for everyone to thrive, not immigration detention. #communitiesnotcages
*As of May 7 there have been 18 deaths in ICE custody in just four months of 2026*
On camera: Marisol, sr. advocacy manager at @detentionwatch .
