By Carlos E. Alemán, Ph.D.
Carlos E. Alemán, Ph.D. is Chief Executive Officer of ¡HICA!, a nonprofit that advocates for immigrants in Alabama.
This has been one of the hardest years I can remember doing this work.
At ¡HICA!, we’ve served Latino and immigrant communities in Alabama for over 25 years. We’ve helped families buy homes, start businesses, apply for citizenship, and navigate a system not built for them. I’ve seen what’s possible when people are welcomed — and what happens when they’re targeted.
Right now, everything feels at risk.
In Alabama, we’re witnessing the return of criminalization through laws like SB 53 and SB 63. One makes it a felony to transport an undocumented person, the other mandates fingerprinting and DNA collection. These echo the darkest days of HB 56 and spread fear across our neighborhoods.
Meanwhile, the federal government is ramping up mass deportations by pulling in agents from the FBI, DEA, and even the National Guard. Just in the past few weeks, community members have been detained during scheduled ICE check-ins — people who have followed every legal instruction, only to be unexpectedly taken into custody.
Most recently, in Gulf Shores, more than 30 individuals were detained during a raid at a high school construction site. These events are not isolated. They reflect a growing pattern of intimidation and enforcement that makes it harder for families to feel safe, even when they are doing everything right. Due process is being quietly dismantled.
And the attacks are not just on people — they’re on the laws that protect them.
The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Trump v. CASA stripped federal courts of the ability to block harmful immigration policies on a national scale. Even if a policy — like ending birthright citizenship — is ruled likely unconstitutional, it now only protects a narrow group of plaintiffs. The result? A legal patchwork where rights depend on where you live and whether you can afford to sue. It opens the door to policies that could deny U.S. citizenship to children born here. Once again, immigrant communities are being told they are less protected, less welcome, and more vulnerable.
That same week, Congress passed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” It pours $150 billion into ICE, private detention centers, and state-sanctioned raids, while gutting due process and authorizing indefinite family detention. This isn’t policy reform — it’s an infrastructure for mass incarceration and state-sanctioned trauma.
Soon after, the Department of Health and Human Services quietly rescinded a 30-year interpretation of federal law that had allowed undocumented immigrants access to community health centers, Head Start, and substance use programs. This decision cuts off critical lifelines to families, including many with U.S. citizen children, under the guise of “restoring integrity.” In truth, it’s an attack on public health and family stability.
And now, nonprofits like ours are in the crosshairs too.
The “nonprofit killer” would allow the government to revoke an organization’s tax-exempt status without due process. As a nonprofit that advocates for immigrants in Alabama, this hits close to home. If our mission to build prosperity for Latino and immigrant families is seen as “too political,” could we be next? For ¡HICA!, the message is clear: stay quiet, or risk everything.
All of these moves — legal, legislative, and administrative — tell the same story: a tightening of who is allowed to belong, who is allowed to stay, and who is allowed to serve.
But we will not be silent.
We won’t ignore that both political parties have failed to address the broken immigration system. We won’t pretend this is just about the border. This is about our neighbors, co-workers, and children. This is about whether Alabama, and our country, can be a place where everyone has the right to thrive.
I’m writing not just as a nonprofit leader, but as someone who believes deeply in the dignity of those we serve. Immigrants are not a threat — they are a solution. And how we treat them will shape the future of our economy, our democracy, and our moral character.
So to our friends, supporters, and allies: this is the moment to act. Stand with us. Speak out. Invest in hope, in justice, and in a future that includes all of us. Because silence will not save us. But solidarity—and your support—just might. Make a gift today to defend immigrant families and protect ¡HICA!’s mission
Alemán sent this as an email to donors in support of ¡HICA!‘s mission.
