A Letter on Immigration Resources from our PERC Program

Over the past few days, many of us have seen the footage: families being separated, violence carried out without regard, communities living in fear. Children are being exposed to trauma that will have lifelong and generational impacts. ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is actively mobilizing in our area, and our immigrant communities are under direct threat.

Like many of you, I’m scared, angry, overwhelmed, and unsure what to do next. The fear and violence is happening now and already shaping how our communities show up, survive, and try to heal. 

If you feel helpless, you are not alone. I am also navigating the tension between wanting to do more and needing to stay safe. For many of us speaking out can come with serious risks.

That is why I’m calling on our broader community, colleagues, partner organizations, friends, and anyone with access to power or privilege in your spaces to step up.

We are at a critical moment. Your neighbors, clients, loved ones, and community members need you to act. Justice is not given freely, it is demanded and defended. And it requires all of us.

Mental health work is political. Birth work is political. Legal and community support work are political. The trauma caused by ICE raids, detention, and surveillance is already showing up in our work—and will continue to shape the needs of our communities for years to come.

We must respond with urgency.

If you work within an organization:

• Share the resources provided by the City of Seattle’s Rapid Response Program.
• Distribute Red Cards and Know Your Rights information.
• Organize or support community safety plans.
• Ask your organization to issue a public statement.
• Use your platform to advocate, educate, and mobilize.
  

If you are an individual:

• Share these resources on your social media, within your networks, and in community spaces.
• Print flyers and Red Cards to distribute locally.
• Offer to accompany others in public spaces, help with school pickups, groceries, or childcare.
• Stay informed, speak up, and reach out.

This cannot become normal. We must not look away. We must continue to witness and to speak out. We must demand justice, accountability, and protection for our communities.

To my fellow immigrants and impacted community members: cuidate. Please take care of yourselves. This is collective trauma. You may feel silenced, isolated, or angry. Know that you are not alone. You are not invisible. Your pain is real, and your survival is powerful. Our collective perseverance is resistance. 

Some of us want to do more but cannot act in visible ways without risking our safety. That does not make you less of a participant in the movement. There are still ways to resist. There are still ways to care for each other. There is still hope.

Please share widely. Let’s continue to show up for one another.

We keep us safe.

Resources came from the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs recent flyer, these orgs are currently doing active work in our state to support immigrants: https://welcoming.seattle.gov/oira-launches-rapid-response-program-partners-at-critical-juncture-in-immigrant-rights-landscape/ 
https://welcoming.seattle.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2025/06/RR-Program-Flyer-v3-6.3.pdf