As President Trump takes the podium for the 2026 State of the Union address, we anticipate a lot of hateful rhetoric and distorted talking points that will leave out the shameful authoritarian policies that are tearing the fabric of American life and threatening U.S. democracy. As Congress is locked in negotiations over Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding for the 2026 fiscal year, the administration continues to use the $170 billion windfall shelled out last summer to terrorize communities and expand its mass detention system to unprecedented capacity.
Here are five important issues that the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) urges elected officials to speak out about, and actions anyone can take to demand that our government end its attacks on our communities and prioritize the health and wellbeing of all Americans.
1. End arrests without due process
Thousands of people, including U.S. citizens, have been taken from their homes and neighborhoods in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) orchestrated mass-arrest operations in Los Angeles, Chicago, Charlotte, Minneapolis, and other cities. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol agents, together with federal agencies from numerous other agencies, are targeting people based on where they work, what they look like, and the languages they speak. Federal courts have ruled that thousands of warrantless arrests carried out as part of these sweeping operations violated people’s due process rights. ICE and Border Patrol operations continue to destabilize communities, separate families, and put at risk tens of thousands of people who are now trapped in the expanding, increasingly deadly, immigrant detention system or who have been deported to countries where they face danger. NIJC continues to demand the release of people detained without due process, filing dozens of successful habeas corpus petitions and appearing in federal courts numerous times since the summer to demand that the Trump administration abide by a nationwide consent decree restricting warrantless arrests.
2. End child and family detention
Hundreds of children, from babies to teenagers, and including U.S. citizens, have had their worlds torn apart by ICE and Border Patrol mass-arrest operations. Thousands are now locked up with their parents, including at the notorious Dilley Family Detention Center, where they are vulnerable to an extremely contagious measles outbreak and medical neglect that nearly resulted in a toddler’s death. A growing movement is demanding an end to ICE detention of children, which has increased six fold under this Trump administration. Thousands of children have also spent months alone in federal shelters because the Trump administration refuses to allow them to reunite with family members or sponsors, and uses children as bait to arrest and deport would-be sponsors who step forward to offer care. NIJC has worked to defend against these attacks on children, providing know your rights trainings and challenging abusive practices in court.
3. Protect refugees
Refugees are facing a range of attacks, including the threat of Trump administration officials reopening and rescinding their legal status in the United States. Driven by cruel policies orchestrated by Steven Miller, individuals and families already granted legal protection are being ordered to appear at government offices for reinterviews. During these new screenings, they are forced to share, once again, traumatic memories of the violence and persecution they fled—and again face the threat of deportation to their home country or a third country. NIJC and our partners have been working to support refugee communities to prepare for potential re-interviews and to defend against the administration’s blatant abuse of power.
4. Defend access to asylum
Asylum seekers have long been in crosshairs of this administration, which is creating more new barriers to due process for people who are unfairly denied fear-based protection in the increasingly politicized immigration courts. A terrible proposed rule would substantially upend practices at the appeals court that reviews immigration judges’ decisions, including those relating to legal status and possible deportation. The proposed rule would give individuals only 10 days to request an appeal of a deportation order and then allow the Attorney General-appointed board members to dismiss most appeal requests without even reviewing them. Individuals allowed to proceed with their appeals would have to do so on such a rapid timeline that most would be unable to find legal counsel. The process would be untenable for thousands of people who appeal their cases from inside ICE detention centers. NIJC recently led a letter with 116 other organizations in speaking out to oppose the rule and challenge the Trump administration’s decision to only allow 30 days for public comment before implementing these disastrous changes.
5. Fund communities, not guns and cages
As Americans struggle to cope with rising health care and food costs, DHS is spending millions to purchase military-grade guns and ammunition, used by masked federal agents to terrorize our communities. The administration is also lining the pockets of private prison companies with new detention contracts, including for industrial warehouses in towns across the country that ICE plans to use as detention internment camps to hold upwards of 80,000 people. There is already a national crisis within the existing detention system, which currently holds an average of 70,000 people; seven people have died in ICE custody in 2026 alone, on top of the 32 deaths in 2025. Seventeen people also died in Customs and Border Protection detention since January 2025. Members of Congress have pushed back, conducting unannounced visits to facilities to demand accountability, carrying out field hearings, and pushing legislation to end inhumane practices and private detention. Members have also introduced legislative proposals to end immigration detention for good. Thousands of people have joined NIJC and groups across the country to demand that Congress oppose new funding for ICE and Border Patrol, redirect funds away from detention and deportation, and demand an end to the violence being waged by these agencies. As a result, Congress has refused to approve annual funding for DHS as heated negotiations continue over ICE and Border Patrol funding levels and impactful reforms.
Congress must continue to hear from us!
Regardless of what the president tells Congress tonight, we must continue to hold Congress accountable to fight for our families and neighbors and demand policy changes that stop ICE and Border Patrol’s violence against our communities.