Annie Comes Home: We CAN stop the abductions and deportations.

Thursday, April 24, 2025

We CAN stop the abductions and deportations.

Pamela, you've likely heard the story: After Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents abducted Kilmar Abrego Garcia, he was illegally deported to an infamous mega-prison in El Salvador — the same country he fled as a teenager because of gang violence.

Despite a unanimous Supreme Court order that Abrego Garcia be returned, the Trump administration has refused to act. Instead, they're stonewalling and causing more harm: His wife and three kids have been forced into a safe house after U.S. officials posted their home address on social media.

Experiences like this are becoming horrifyingly commonplace, but cracks in a horrible deportation machine are showing. Trump's immigration approval rating sank 10 points this month.[1] This weekend ICE buses filled with people to be deported turned around.[2] Senator Chris Van Hollen went directly to El Salvador himself to push for Abrego Garcia's safe return. After being denied access at CECOT, the notorious mega-prison, he was able to speak with him and confirm that he is still alive.[3]

Over the past few days, more members of Congress have met with detainees and political prisoners to amplify their stories and fight for everyone's rights. It's critically needed leadership, but it wouldn't have happened without activists like you pushing for it, so Pamela, let's keep going.

Gratitude can make a HUGE difference in moments like this. A "thank you" signals you're doing the right thing. It builds encouragement to do it again. It's also a uniquely hot commodity — like all humans, when one lawmaker sees another get praise, they want in. If we want to see more actions like Sen. Van Hollen's, he and other members taking brave action need to hear from you today.

We're organizing a thank you petition to those leading the charge to bring unjustly deported people home. By adding your name, you'll let key members of Congress know that they are not alone in this fight, that people who believe in truth and justice are with them — and that we want them to go even further. Sign now.

ACT NOW

Abrego Garcia and his family are far from the only people suffering in the face of breathtaking injustice. Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder and Palestinian student-activist, who ICE abducted from his home in New York, remains in detention and just missed the birth of his first child. Jose Hermosillo, a 19-year-old U.S. citizen, was wrongfully incarcerated at a privately run immigration detention facility for 10 days.

Trump and ICE are working overtime to destroy lives and dismantle constitutional protections. Rep. Jim McGovern has laid our task before us: "Unless Congress and unless the American people stand up and push back, they will succeed."[4]

Today, millions of people are living in fear — of a phone call unanswered, of leaving their apartment, of being disappeared.

That's where you come in, Pamela: A handful of lawmakers have been speaking out, because activists like you refuse a world where Trump can destroy lives and dismantle constitutional protections.

Each and every time we pressure our members of Congress, we're showing up for our values, reminding them we're paying attention, and holding them accountable. That's not all – with every petition signature, phone call, and protest, we're ALSO creating the political space our decision-makers need to be bolder and work harder at building the safer, more sustainable future we all want and deserve.

That's why we don't just hold lawmakers accountable — we also say thank you when they do the right thing. Today, as we ramp up calls to demand Abrego Garcia and others' release, let's also send a clear reminder that we see the ways our allies in Congress are pushing for peace and urge them to keep up the fight. That work looks like two simple words: Thank you.

Every single signature to lawmakers strengthens their resolve to go further. Can you take 30 seconds to join with activists from across the country to say thank you, remind members of Congress like Senator Van Hollen they've done the right thing, and urge them to keep going?

After weeks of plainclothed, masked ICE agents arresting students, raiding workplaces, showing up near elementary schools, and more, our immigrant neighbors are rightly terrified. Innocent people are being detained thousands of miles away from their loved ones or deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador.

What we are witnessing isn't merely an immigration scandal, it's a full-scale assault on our values. But no matter how hard he tries, Trump won't rewrite the Constitution, trample the courts, or abduct our community members without people like us protesting his actions at every step.

And, Pamela, when we speak out together, we can win.

Thank you for working for peace,
The Win Without War team

1. Axios, "Voters warn Trump: MAGA, but not like this"
2. NBC News, "As legal fight raged, ICE buses filled with Venezuelans heading toward airport turned around, video shows"
3. NPR, "A Maryland senator visits his wrongfully deported constituent in El Salvador"
4. CNN, "First on CNN: Congressional delegation visits Mahmoud Khalil and Rumeysa Ozturk in Louisiana detention centers"