Urgent news, John: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is gearing up for raids across the country this Sunday and preparing to arrest thousands.

That means thousands of immigrant families are being forced to live in fear, wondering if they or their loved ones are about to be ripped away, jailed in a detention center, and deported.

We cannot sit in silence and watch as Trump and his militarized deportation force terrorize families throughout our communities. Add your name right now to our petition calling on Congress to abolish ICE once and for all >>

The images that come out of this weekend will no doubt be terrible and heartbreaking. Fortunately, this time the media is going to cover it... unlike the other 365 days a year that ICE often works in secret separating families, deporting grandmothers who've lived here for years and others who have no criminal record with raids so reckless they've even illegally detained American citizens in the past.

This is the moment to escalate calls to abolish ICE. Members of Congress can stop this modern age Gestapo from rounding people up and throwing them in concentration camps if they act to abolish Trump’s deportation force.

While Trump is only further militarizing ICE and using them to target and persecute immigrants for his racist, xenophobic agenda, ICE was originally created by the Bush administration along with the Patriot Act and warrantless wiretapping of American citizens. The same Bush administration that authorized and tortured people with waterboarding, beatings, and sexual humiliation in Abu Ghraib prison.

President Obama ended those practices because they were wrong, ineffective, and made America less safe. It's time we abolish ICE for the same reasons.

Terrorizing our communities makes them less safe, period. We can enforce our immigration laws without ICE, and it’s time for our elected officials to do something about it. Sign our petition and we'll deliver it to Congress ASAP to demand they act.

Stay safe. We’re in this together.

-Yvette

Yvette Simpson, CEO
Democracy for America

PS -- If you or someone you know may be in immediate danger from ICE, know your rights and share them far and wide ahead of this weekend:

• Do not open the door.
• Do not answer questions.
• Demand a search and arrest warrant.
• Do not sign anything.
• Ask for a lawyer.
• Ask for an interpreter.
• Stay calm.