In New York, immigrant rights leader Ravi Ragbir has been granted three years of deferred action, allowing him to stay in the United States to fight for permanent immigration relief. The settlement is part of a First Amendment lawsuit filed by Ragbir and several immigrant justice organizations accusing Immigration and Customs Enforcement of targeting and retaliating against activists. In January 2018, Rabgir was detained during a check-in with ICE and was ordered deported. He recorded this message before his apprehension.

Ravi Ragbir: “I hope and I pray that you will step out of your comfort zone to create a network of safety, not just in the houses of worship, not just in the space where we call sensitive zone, but create a network of safety around you and around the community because you refuse to let this agency act, Immigration and Customs Enforcement. You are refusing to let them come into your community and destroy it and take away those families only because they don’t have one piece of paper. Our humanity is not dependent on a piece of paper.”