A few weeks ago, I attended an open discussion held by the Philadelphia Office of Immigrant Affairs on how to support immigrants after the election of Donald Trump. The fear in the room was palpable. Those who haven’t applied for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (commonly known as DACA) were discouraged from doing so, in case the information they shared might be used to deport them. Participants were offered tips on what to do during deportation raids. A mother talked about one of her 12-year-old son’s friends offering to hide him under his bed come January. A local non-profit warned of unscrupulous lawyers who may seek to take advantage of a rush to legalize. Throughout, there was impassioned discussion on how to keep Philadelphia a sanctuary city.
As a refugee and immigrant—and now a U.S. citizen—my heart went out to the immigrants in the room. I thought about how it could just have easily been me. How lucky I was to have the opportunity to become naturalized four years ago. And how grateful I was that my paperwork fit the fortunate timeline of a friendlier presidency.
Since November 8th, I’ve been donating to refugee and immigrant-focused nonprofits. But it didn’t feel like enough. So I started looking for ways we can collectively show our solidarity and support to the immigrant community. It turns out, there are many different avenues to do so, from lending an ear, to picking up a phone, to volunteering your time or services.