We're proud that NIJC's Stephanie Ortega, Legal Supervisor with our Immigrant Legal Defense Project, is one of 18 women who've been selected to receive Cook County's storied Unsung Heroine Award! Congrats!🏆
https://www.cookcountyil.gov/service/peggy-montes-unsung-heroines-award
“They used all of these resources and frankly brazenly violated the Constitution...” said NIJC’s Mark Fleming to @nbcchicago.com on the impact of ICE's South Shore raid.
Watch this video unpacking lies that the administration told to justify unlawful raids against our community members:
Conditions at the Dilley Family Detention Center are abhorrent: parents and children face neglect and outright cruelty. Over a decade of research and experience show that family detention is inherently inhumane. Taxpayer dollars should not be used to jail children and families. #EndFamilyDetention
Laura Cholula, senior attorney with NIJC’s Know Your Rights Team, recently attended @ramirez.house.gov's Power of the People Summit, joining more than 80 leaders, advocates, and organizers to build coalitions in our shared work to legislate and litigate in defense of our communities. 😊
The US government already spends $160 million/year to operate the Dilley detention center. Now billions more have been proposed to expand detention nationwide. Congress must reject more funding to expand detention and #EndFamilyDetention.
Send a message:
immigrantjustice.org/StopICE
Children do not belong in immigration detention. They belong with their families and free.
#EndDetention #FamiliesBelongTogether
It has been long established that the cruelest policies, including family detention or family separation, do not deter migration, they only harm families who are hoping for a better life.
www.americanprogress.org/article/fami...
In 2017 @ameracadpeds.bsky.social released a report after pediatricians visited family detention centers and observed conditions below basic standards of care. It describes the long-term medical consequences of the toxic stress children experience in detention. publications.aap.org/pediatrics/a...
Doctors who were subject matter experts for the DHS civil rights office wrote a whistleblower letter in 2021 stating that “any amount of detention can be harmful to children.” int.nyt.com/data/documen...
In 2016, ICE's own advisory council concluded that “detention is generally neither appropriate nor necessary for families–and that detention or the separation of families...are never in the best interest of children.” www.ice.gov/sites/defaul...
In January 2026, protesters advocating for an end to this cruelty were met by police in riot gear, using pepper spray.
www.tpr.org/border-immig...
A 2-month-old, sick with bronchitis, was deported to Mexico with his family with only the $190 in their commissary account.
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
The youngest of those detained at Dilley are facing horrifying medical neglect—Amalia, an 18-month-old, was hospitalized with respiratory failure, only to be denied her daily medication when she was returned to Dilley days later. www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
Following the @micarosenberg.bsky.social @propublica.org story, Dilley guards raided cells to confiscate and destroy the children’s letters and drawings, denying them the ability to express themselves and bring light to the cruelty of their treatment. www.sacurrent.com/news/san-ant...
Let's start by hearing from the kids themselves: @micarosenberg.bsky.social at @propublica.org recently published the voices and letters of children detained at Dilley. “Since I got to this Center all you will feel is sadness and mostly depression.” www.propublica.org/article/life...
As members of Congress & advocates demand families be released from Dilley, here's a 🧵on the history of family detention, what’s happening, why it’s awful, and what we should be doing differently. #EndFamilyDetention #FamiliesBelongTogether
Conditions at the Dilley Family Detention Center are abhorrent: parents and children face neglect and cruelty. Over a decade of research and experience show that family detention is inherently inhumane. Taxpayer dollars should not be used to jail children and families.
@fams2gether.bsky.social
A federal judge recently ordered the release of at least 32 people who were unlawfully arrested during ICE’s dragnet campaign in Chicago. Our legal team is working to ensure that people have their freedom restored. More by @blockclubchi.bsky.social:
Families nationwide are being torn apart as their loved ones are disappeared into detention centers and denied their rights. If someone you love is detained, you’re not alone.
Our Know Your Rights guide shares urgent steps to take now: https://immigrantjustice.org/kyr-detained
"It is unconscionable that our elected leaders would continue to give money to agencies that have been wreaking havoc on communities across the U.S."
Read this powerful op-ed in @thehill.com by @detentionwatchnetwork.org's Setareh Ghandehari urging Congress to slash ICE & Border Patrol funding:
Kristi Noem’s tenure was marked by dehumanizing immigrants & undermining oversight, but firing her won't fix the myriad problems w/ DHS & its terrorizing treatment of our communities. We continue to demand not 1 more dollar for ICE & CBP!
Read NIJC's statement:
![This image contains a script for a phone call to a senator or representative. It reads: "Hello, my name is [your name], and as a constituent I urge [Senator or Representative name] to oppose any legislation that expands immigration detention and gives ICE or Border Patrol more money to detain and harm our community members." The phone number (202) 224-3121 is at the top. At the bottom, there is a logo for the National Immigrant Justice Center.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:keijnig54v5rx3mlzucl3gf3/bafkreiakknmemsk3gfv2xikkoakiyj3x6zh7zotgodatmvwtg5rf6nsx5a)
THIS WEEK the House is again voting on more funds for ICE & Border Patrol. Our pressure has been working! Tell Congress to reject more funds to terrorize our communities.
TAKE ACTION NOW: Call (202) 224-3121 & send a message to your Senators & Reps now: https://immigrantjustice.org/StopICE
TAKE ACTION: Tell Indiana's Gov. Braun to VETO Bill SB 76!
SB 76 would expand ICE cooperation in Indiana and weaken due process.
Sign the petition & let your voice be heard: https://action.aclu.org/petition/in-stopsb76petition
As Indiana Senate Bill 76 moves to the governor’s desk, we're keeping the pressure on! Watch Lisa Koop, NIJC's director of legal services, at a town hall on immigration:
José Luis Téllez Fernández was at his landscaping job when ICE unlawfully arrested him without a warrant, violating the Castañon Nava consent decree. Now, after much advocacy, he's finally home and reunited with his loved ones.
More coverage from @blockclubchi.bsky.social:
Indiana’s SB 76 could increase cooperation btwn local officials & federal immigration, raising concerns about students' wellbeing in public schools. NIJC's Lisa Koop talks to @chalkbeat.org: https://www.chalkbeat.org/indiana/2026/02/18/indiana-immigration-bill-sb-76-could-impact-k12-schools
SAVE THE DATE 📅: Join us for the 27th Annual NIJC Human Rights Awards honoring @ilattygeneral.bsky.social, Jenner & Block LLP and corporate, civic, and community leaders!
RSVP here: immigrantjustice.org/HumanRightsAwards
Yesterday, NIJC’s policy team and our allies took to Washington, D.C. for a day of action with one message for Congress: Not one dollar more for ICE & CBP. Shout out to all of our community partners for standing strong.
Watch us in action: https://www.youtube.com/live/juTZ9OfBOx0...
📢 BREAKING NEWS: NIJC & other legal services organizations are suing to stop an attempt to eliminate judicial review in immigration cases – a decision that would put due process & countless lives at risk.
Read our full statement here:
Congress let DHS funding lapse & it is negotiating a spending bill right now. We must demand that ICE & Border Patrol don't get one more dollar to terrorize our communities.
TAKE ACTION: Call (202) 224-3121 & send a message to your Senators & Reps now: https://immigrantjustice.org/StopICE
