In Washington Square Park immigrant-rights groups rallied to challenge the criminalization of immigrants under the NYPD’s current Broken-Windows policy, before it worsens under Trump’s far-right administration. See Our Photo Gallery of the Event
Broken-windows policing targets small crimes on the theory that it will prevent bigger ones from happening. But advocates are concerned that the policy will put immigrants in danger under the Trump administration. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 25 that calls for the removal of undocumented immigrants who have been convicted or charged with “any criminal offense.”
From New York to Los Angeles, a series of immigration arrests this week have unleashed waves of fear and uncertainty across immigrant communities.
“There are people that I work with who essentially want to go dark,” said Cesar Vargas on CNN, one of the first immigrants without legal status in New York state to be sworn in as a lawyer.
“They don’t want to be public in any way whatsoever. They spend less time on the street. They go to work and go straight back home. They don’t go on Facebook. They put curfews on themselves.”
