Indivisibles,

Call them detention centers or concentration camps -- whatever you call them, they’re inhumane, morally bankrupt, and political liabilities. Trump's trying to expedite construction of new camps, but because of the public outcry, he’s hoping to keep the whole business out of the headlines.

So let’s get loud about it. Let’s start with some facts and context.

Detention expansion is key to Trump’s goal of one million deportations. Last week, we finally got the Department of Homeland Security’s 161-page 2027 budget proposal. In it, DHS brags about a record-breaking 440,000 deportations last year, and promises to more than double that to one million of our neighbors deported annually. 

Deportation camps are central to how they get there. DHS itself says the new camps are “critical to meeting…[the] tasked goal of arresting and removing one million aliens per year.” Detention Watch Network’s toolkit explains that the agency is looking to construct a couple dozen to house upwards of 10,000 people each, often for months on end in cramped and horrific conditions.

These camps are moral abominations. Since Senator Jon Ossoff started an investigation into ICE’s camps last year, he's received more than a thousand “credible reports of human rights abuses": mistreatment of pregnant women, separation of children from parents, physical and sexual abuse, overcrowding, and unsanitary conditions. One grim statistic captures the scale of this horror: The death rate in ICE detention is increasing. In 2026, we’re seeing an average of more than one death every week.

These camps are also a political liability for Trump and his allies. The regime is trying to keep the escalation quiet because the more people hear about these camps, the more they oppose them. That backlash is a real problem for the GOP.

The peak number of detentions in US history came on January 24, the same day DHS agents murdered Alex Pretti for exercising his First Amendment rights to defend his neighbors. Public opposition exploded, the political winds shifted, and Trump made a tactical retreat. After their defeat in the Twin Cities, the White House advised Republicans to stop talking about mass deportations, and the number of detainees has dropped -- but the DHS budget proposal makes clear the regime still plans a massive escalation. 

Grassroots activists are throwing sand in the gears, though, successfully rallying public opposition to the camps, including in red states. We’ve seen successful grassroots and legal campaigns in Mississippi, Oklahoma, Utah, Texas, Virginia, New York, New Hampshire, Maryland, and Michigan -- in Tennessee, the opposition of GOP candidates for governor and two dozen local GOP officials successfully killed a project. 

On April 25, we're making a big stink. On Saturday, we’re joining Detention Watch Network and other partners on a national day of action against these camps. The regime can try to dramatically increase construction, but they can’t make us be quiet. As long as we have First Amendment rights, we intend to use them in defense of our neighbors. Read on for more ways to stand Indivisible with your community.

In solidarity,

Ezra Levin
Co-Executive Director, Indivisible

Your weekly to-dos

1. Keep telling Congress: Trump's war has to end. Despite his erratic announcements of victory/ceasefires/imminent war crimes, Trump's war on Iran grinds on, at the expense of thousands of lives across the region, the wholesale disruption of the world economy, and soaring costs for Americans. We must meet Trump's incompetence and inconsistency with a steady determination of our own to neither give up nor give in. Tell your Members of Congress: Either they do all they can to end the war that Trump and Israel launched, or the blood is on their hands, too. After sending an email via the above link, please call your representative and your senators.
   
2. Join Detention Watch Network's Stop ICE Warehouse Detention day of action (Sat, 4/25). The Trump regime is purchasing and converting warehouses to serve as concentration camps for the people ICE and Border Patrol disappear off the street -- but local communities are fighting back. Detention Watch Network's national day of action is this Saturday. Find an event (or sign up to host one) and get ready by watching last week's training call.
   
3. Join the May Day training mass call: No Work, No School, No Shopping. (Thurs 8pm ET/5pm PT) Indivisible and Grassroots Democracy are hosting a training on what “No Work, No School, No Shopping” means, and how you can tap into the day of economic disruption however is right for you. We’ll also dig into the strategy behind economic noncooperation and why we’re taking action now. Be sure to invite friends and family to join the call, too!
   
4. Join Indivisible’s phone banks for Jasmine Clark in GA-13 (Wed & Thurs, 5:30pm ET/2:30pm PT). Join us as we make calls to voters in GA-13 in support of Indivisible endorsee Jasmine Clark ahead of the May 19 Democratic primary. Help us send a real fighter for families and defender of democracy to Congress and replace a checked-out representative who didn’t even cast a vote against Trump in the 2024 election! First-time dialers and phonebank pros are welcome to join; we'll have a short phonebanking training at the start of each event for anyone who needs it. (Paid for by Indivisible Action. Not authorized by any candidate or committee.)

P.S. Last week's dramatic, nonviolent, and democratic end to Viktor Orbán's 16-year authoritarian rule in Hungary was a spectacular victory for the brave Hungarians who never stopped fighting back; it also unambiguously confirmed that pro-democracy people power can unseat a wannabe-king. If we're going to follow in their footsteps, though, we'll have to commit to the long haul, just as they did. Indivisible is in this fight until we win, and we know you are too. Please chip in, if you can, to support us in this marathon fight for true democracy.

Solidarity in Action: Centering Immigrant Voices in Movement Spaces

Please join us next Monday, April 27, for the next installment in Indivisible’s Solidarity in Action Speaker Series, where we look at solidarity not as a value to discuss, but as a practice to learn.

This month’s panel features speakers from United We Dream, Florida Immigrant Coalition, and Fair Immigration Reform Movement. Together, we'll learn about the history, resilience, and leadership of immigrant communities in the US, examine systemic challenges immigrants face, and explore ways to practice accountable allyship and support immigrant-led work.

Register for the panel discussion on Mon, April 27 (7pm ET/4pm PT).

Solidarity in Action provides a space to listen to and learn from others’ lived experiences and practice building power together. Fighting injustice and building the inclusive world that reflects our values is up to all of us -- and it is crucial to center people and perspectives long impacted by systemic inequity and oppression.

 IndivisiWIN of the Week

Last week, a federal judge for Washington County, MD blocked any further construction on an 825,000-square-foot warehouse the Trump regime plans to turn into a concentration camp for 1,500 people. The ruling came in response to a lawsuit by the state of Maryland and specifically cited the center's potential environmental impacts.

Hundreds of protestors filled the courtroom gallery and overflow rooms at the courthouse in Baltimore on Wednesday; whoever didn't fit in the building rallied outside it. Among them were members of Washington County Indivisible, who have been at the forefront of this fight.

Indivisible member Laura Spivak lives less than five miles from the site. “As a mother," she told a reporter, "it strikes fear in my bones. As a Washington County resident, it turns my stomach. But as an immigrant? It breaks my heart.” 

The fight isn't over, but blocking ongoing construction as the suit works its way through the courts is a critical victory in the meantime.

One rally attendee, Carrington Scott, came because he'd seen a call for folks to show up; he had two friends with him. “It’s years of oppression on the immigrant and working class community across this country,” he said. That's a win, too -- when we choose to be visible, it grows the movement.

Indivisible endorses Analilia Mejia in NJ-11 and Randy Villegas in CA-22

As we work to build a Democratic Party that’ll fight authoritarianism in Congress as hard as everyday activists are, we’re proud to announce our newest endorsed candidates: Analilia Mejia in NJ-11 and Randy Villegas in CA-22. Both are already endorsed by a super majority of Indivisibles in their districts and have won the support of national and local progressive leaders.

Mejia has deep experience as a union organizer, director of the New Jersey Working Families Alliance, and deputy director of the United States Women’s Bureau in the US Department of Labor. Villegas's campaign is a natural extension of his life-long engagement with and commitment to his community, as an activist and educator, rooted in the government neglect he saw firsthand as he grew up in Bakersfield, CA.

Both are focused on making life more affordable for working families, pushing back on the Trump agenda, and rejecting the go-along-to-get-along status quo in Washington -- the kind of fighters we need!

You can learn more about and support all Indivisible Action’s endorsed candidates here. 

Paid for by Indivisible Action. Not authorized by any candidate or committee.

 Upcoming events for you

These nationwide events, calls, and training sessions are coming up soon. For even more Indivisible happenings, check out our national calendar and get in touch with Indivisible groups near you!

Follow us on Bluesky, Mastodon, and Threads to keep up on the latest information, and text “INDIVISIBLE” to 59798 to opt-in to our text messaging program, where we send rapid response actions a few times a month.