When NOW launched the Unlock the Future campaign last year, we were responding to the crisis Donald Trump manufactured at the border. Instead of following the law regarding immigration cases, he locked up thousands of women and girls seeking refuge from sexual violence, assault and poverty in  prisons, where they were again denied their most basic human rights.  

Trump’s racism and xenophobia was on display again this week, when his Administration asked the Supreme Court to allow the Census Bureau to remove undocumented immigrants from the count of population totals.  As I said in my statement earlier this week, this is a s blatant attempt to enshrine racism within the gears of government, and NOW will always speak out for communities when those in power try to silence them. 

The last four years we have seen an increase in legitimizing hate speech and prejudice, which continue to   feed and protect the structural racism deeply embedded in our society. As this article in The Hill reminds us, we must continue to speak out against bigoted immigration policies because they uphold the same systemic racist traditions of restriction and oppression. And as immigration law teaching fellow Nickole Miller argues in her recent op-ed, in order to truly embrace equality for all we must challenge ourselves to find real solutions and new policies for asylum seekers and immigrants searching for protection. 

We must unlock the future for all of those who have been targets of structurally racist policies and beliefs, from immigrant families, women and children to Black Lives Matter protesters, the LGBTQIA+ community and so many others.   

As we approach the end of 2020 with a little bit more hope – NOW will continue to speak up for the silenced, fight for true equity, and gather strength for all. And we’ll never stop.