You watch as Trump’s bombastic language fuels racist and bigoted actions. Hate crimes are up. Workplace violence is up. But under new leadership, Justice Department investigations are way down. In massive raids, people with brown skin or accents are swept up by ICE and summarily deported — often without meaningful access to thoroughly overburdened immigration lawyers. Health departments are losing funding and stretched beyond capacity. There are many, many needs.
You want to help, so you call a well-connected friend and arrange to meet her for coffee. She tells you of several efforts she knows about. “There are mutual aid groups popping up all over. Some are just online spreadsheets where people post needs and things they can offer. Others are very extensive, with full-time volunteers actively seeking resources within the community.” She pauses to drink some coffee. “Because Trump has pulled government funding wherever he can — and even gone after nonprofit funding sources — there are some projects raising funds across multiple movement sectors as a kind of ‘just in case’ fund. People are motivated to give right now.”
She then pauses and almost whispers the last, “And then there is the new Underground Railroad. It’s a system of helping people find new homes in other states. Its work is mostly legal — but they help find new homes for people being doxxed by the right or for high-profile whistleblowers. Largely it’s been helping undocumented folks find safe places to be — sometimes sanctuary cities, sometimes other places away from ICE.”
