To: U.S. Mayors

Tell U.S. Mayors: Protect Undocumented Immigrants - Declare Your City a Sanctuary of Safety! #He...

Trump has ramped up his deportation regime, and anti-immigrant harassment is already out of control. In addition to ending DACA, Trump's ICE agents have been tearing apart families and communities, and Jeff Sessions is now suing California over its sanctuary policies—a chilling warning to cities and states nationwide.

Local and state officials must declare America’s cities as sanctuaries of safety and bar local police from doing the work of immigration agents. If your city is not already, declare it a sanctuary city. And if it is, commit to do everything in your power to maintain your sanctuary status and protect your undocumented residents from the Trump administration.

Why is this important?

Mayors across the country must stand with their undocumented immigrant residents in this moment of crisis.

Undocumented Immigrants like me are under attack—from Trump's assault on DACA, ICE's ruthless deportation machinery, and now Jeff Sessions' lawsuit against California's sanctuary laws.

In a sanctuary city, officials implement policies to restrict local police from turning immigrants over to federal immigration agents and declare in no uncertain terms that immigrants are welcome. Without them, undocumented immigrants like me and my family are left vulnerable to racial profiling, detention and deportation.

We salute the mayors of cities like Seattle, San Jose, San Francisco, and Oakland who have been strong in standing with their undocumented residents. Oakland's Mayor Libby Schaaf even took the courageous step of warning her residents of ICE round-ups, which may have saved hundreds of immigrants from being torn from their families.

But we know that Trump, Sessions, and ICE are turning up their aggressive tactics—ICE agents have sought to enter houses of worship, targeted immigrant rights leaders, and detained immigrants whose status should have been protected, in addition to ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians and El Salvadorans.

In the face of Trump's aggression, city and state leaders can—and must—be strong. This is just the beginning —we can make our cities and states safe for all!