As I am sure you know, we are witnessing an alarming escalation in policies and actions targeting immigrant communities—policies that are breaking our hearts at Daily Work. It is devastating to hear our job seekers ask “Why do they hate us so much,” or tell us that they feel scared to go outside.

Last week, we learned more distressing news: one of our interns had ICE agents visit her workplace. Luckily, her agency had helped prepare their employees and she was able collect the ICE agent’s name and badge number and inform them she could not disclose protected information. The ICE agent promised to return with a supervisor.

These incidents underscore the immediacy of the threat and the real-life impact of recent executive orders. At Daily Work, we are developing comprehensive training materials for our staff and seeking to collaborate with other building partners at Christ on Capitol Hill. The goal is to equip everyone with clear, unified guidelines on how to handle encounters with ICE agents should they occur and to be able to provide the best resources and information possible to our job seekers.

Daily Work is proud to be at the forefront of this critical work. In these turbulent times, our commitment to providing resources, guidance, and care to job seekers is more essential than ever. We are dedicated to amplifying the real stories of immigrants in our community—gentle, hardworking, generous, and resilient people who strengthen our economy and enrich our society every day. Now, more than ever, we must stand together, raise our voices, and take action to protect and champion our neighbors.