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Take Action

Citizens are necessary and often essential advocates for non-citizens, who can not always fully protest the infringements made on their civil liberties due to justifiable fears that their immigration status will be adversely affected by political activity. Those of us who can speak more freely can and should put the advantage and responsibility of our freedoms towards voicing their concerns.
Below are listed several ways to get involved in the fight for immigrants' rights and American civil liberties.


Flex Your Muscle as a Voter

The ACLU, Human Rights First, and Amnesty International USA all maintain action-alert mailing lists that allow you to send email letters about key civil liberties and human rights issues to your local decision makers, usually in two clicks or less.


Form or Join a Local Bill of Rights Defense Committee

See the national Bill of Rights Defense Committee site for more information on how to create civil liberties safe zones by organizing to pass local resolutions critical of the USA PATRIOT Act.


or Form or Join a Civil Rights Defense Committee

like the New Jersey Civil Rights Defense Commitee, which operates programs like know your rights training, emergency responders for rights abuses, and a hotline to report incidents of abuse.


Find a Church or Community Group that Visits Detention Centers in Your Area

One of the worst parts of being in long-term immigration detention is the tremendous isolation felt by many of the detainees, in particular those being held pending adjudication of their claims for political asylum, who often have no family or other contacts in the U.S. The bureaucracy of each privately run detention center or county jail under contract is different, however, so if you want to visit detainees, it's usually best to find a group that has already established relationships with the management and guards. In the New York area, the two largest groups that visit Wackenhut, Elizabeth, Passaic and Hudson are Sojourners, which is hosted by the Riverside Church, and First Friends, which can be reached through LIRS.


Become A Volunteer Lawyer or Convince Your Firm to Take on Pro Bono Immigration Cases

The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Human Rights First Legal Services of New Jersey, the Center for Constitutional Rights and other legal advocacy groups are usually looking for volunteer lawyers. The Immigrant Defense Project of the New York State Defenders Association can advise individuals or firms on taking pro bono immigration cases, and Pro Bono Net connects volunteer lawyers with cases and can advise firms on starting pro bono programs.


Donate Your TIme or Money to A Social Service Provider

For example, the following nonprofits provide legal services, emergency relief, counseling, classes and health services, among other things.


Connect with Your Local Grassroots Activists and Get Out on the Streets

A partial list of the many organizations working on immigrants rights in the New York area: