Immigrant rights groups in Los Angeles have joined forces to launch a national hotline for people to report enforcement operations and request support.
The Immigrant Assistance Hotline will be staffed daily and will also be able to receive voice mail messages.
“Immigration and Customs Enforcement has not waited a single moment to begin separating hundreds of families and causing fear and concern in various communities throughout the U.S.,” said Pedro Trujillo, organizing director at the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights in LA, which is spearheading the effort.
“[Our] message to the community is that they are not alone, and together we will stand strong against the Trump administration’s cruel and unjust policies targeting working immigrant families in the U.S.”
Working with justice and constitutional law groups, as well as labor, faith and other community groups, the Los Angeles Rapid Response Network will respond to hotline calls by activating local volunteers and staff members to investigate the claims.
The hotline number is 888-624-4752.
On his first day in office, President Donald Trump issued 10 executive orders and proclamations to change U.S. immigration laws and policies. He declared an “invasion across the southern border of the U.S.” to allow his Cabinet to “take appropriate actions to repel, repatriate or remove any alien engaged in the invasion.”
He ordered 1,500 military troops to the border to help with enforcement, suspended the U.S. Refugee Admission Program, prioritized the restart of border wall construction and directed the Department of Homeland Security to end a Biden administration policy that prevented immigration enforcement near schools, hospitals and places of worship.
Trump also is seeking to end the constitutional right guaranteeing U.S. citizenship to any person born in the country, regardless of the parents’ immigration status.
During an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, Trump said he is trying to end sanctuary cities, such as Los Angeles, which have said they will not cooperate with the national government on immigration enforcement. There are about 600 sanctuary jurisdictions in the U.S., according to the Federation for American Immigration Reform, including New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver.
“We’re trying to end them,” Trump said. “A lot of the people in those communities don’t want them.”
According to the Pew Research Center, about 47.8 million people, or 14.3% of the U.S. population, were foreign born in 2023.