The Leadership Team of the LWV Immigration Discussion Group met on April 29, and here’s a summary of the discussion with action items:
WHAT TO DO:
LITIGATE, LEGISLATE, FOLLOW GROUPS ON SOCIAL MEDIA, AGITATE
PROTESTS:
- The website https://www.mobilize.us/ lists protests and events throughout the country. You can put in your address to get local events. There will be many May Day protests in support of immigrants.
LITIGATION:
There are so many immigrant-focused major lawsuits challenging the Administration that it’s hard to be on top of them all. Making their way through the judicial system will take time, but, in general, we are encouraged by the number of lawsuits as well as the response of the judiciary.
The Just Security Litigation Tracker is a great source of the most current information. You can select the topic of immigration and find summaries, as well as deeper information (complaints, opinions) at https://www.justsecurity.org/107087/tracker-litigation-legal-challenges-trump-administration/.
On specific cases, you can put in the name of the case and get a summary. Further below are some noteworthy cases. The link after each is to the Court Listener page which has ALL filings. We suggest looking at the Just Security Litigation Tracker first.
LWVUS ACTION:
STATE & LOCAL ACTION AND EVENTS:
See this short clip of the Super Mega Marcha 2025 in Dallas for immigrant rights, which took place March 30 (LWV member Nancy Kral is briefly interviewed): Link to video. The clip includes discussion by Texas LWV members about Texas now having its own state DOGE and about the targeting of immigrant rights groups.
POLITICS:
The group discussed writing to officials (national, state, and local) to appreciate their work and ask them to support immigrant rights and issues; important 2025 fall elections, including governors in New Jersey and Virginia; contacting friends in other states, especially those with significant elections or potential swing elected officials; concerns about the national budget and extent of funding for detention and ICE; and the role of election laws in affecting election outcomes and the treatment of immigrants.
OTHER DISCUSSION:
The group also discussed due process and how many people think this is for citizens only. The conversation touched on the extent of the President’s refusal to allow judicial review of immigration cases based on “national security” or “national emergency,” and the unconstitutionality of military at the border. People shared concerns about ICE and DOJ arresting people for hindering immigration enforcement and about ICE being able to lawfully arrest, but also being mindful of what is unlawful. This article discusses polling about how Americans like what Trump is doing on border security, but not on deportation.
POTENTIAL INDIVIDUAL ACTION:
American Families United (AFU) represents roughly 51,000 U.S. citizens with undocumented spouses. AFU is arguing for passage of the bi-partisan AFU ACT, HR 2366, that would provide "long-overdue relief for American families facing or living with separation due to outdated immigration policies." A 15-minute video, “A BORDER AND 10 YEARS APART" by Angela Zhang profiles these issues.
Here is the "AFU Champions” link for sending letters of individual support for the AFU Act, HR 2366, to your Senators and Member of Congress. AFU is fiscally sponsored by the American Business Immigration Coalition.
LWV OF WASHINGTON PASSES POSITION ON WELCOMING IMMIGRANTS:
The LWV of Washington State Board recently passed an immigration position on which their June Convention will vote. The hope is that, if passed at the State level, the 2026 National Convention will consider voting to accept the State position “by concurrence” as a National position. For further information, see https://lwvwa.org/immigration.
NEWSLETTER:
The leadership team will continue to put together a monthly newsletter to share information that they hope is useful to all. Feedback is welcome.
RESOURCES
NOTES FROM PRIOR LEADERS’ MEETINGS ALSO HAVE RESOURCES:
December: LINK
January: LINK
February: LINK
March: LINK
IMMIGRATION DISCUSSION GOOGLE GROUP WEBSITE
The group want to thank those who have put useful information on the Google Group website for all to read. The link to that website is https://groups.google.com/g/lwvus-immigration-discussion-group and people can access all the past postings.
For those who are not on Google Group distribution list to receive emails, please contact Jane Andrews LWV of San Diego at jmlandrews@gmail.com to have your name added. Please also let us know which LWV and part of the country you are from.
The Leadership of the LWV Immigration Discussion Group meets monthly on the last Tuesday and its next meeting is on Tuesday, May 27 at 11am ET/8am PT. They hope to develop new talks and ideas for action for the year ahead. If you would like to participate/visit, please contact Jane Andrews at jmlandrews@gmail.com.