Pennsylvanian has not been shielded from the Trump administration’s assault on civil liberties, epitomized by the cruel war against immigrants. Hispanic and Latine families across our commonwealth are enduring unparalleled threats while also confronting familiar obstacles that they’ve been navigating for generations.
Language barriers at the polls. Racial profiling by law enforcement. The lack of proper and equitable support in schools. These challenges are not new, but they are intensifying. Hispanic, Latine, and Black and brown immigrants are facing escalating attacks driven by disinformation campaigns designed to dehumanize entire communities and strip them of their constitutional rights.
These aren’t isolated challenges. They are daily reminders that dignity—basic human dignity—is still being negotiated in places where it should already be guaranteed.
At a time when immigrants’ rights are under attack, when fear too often replaces fairness, silence isn’t an option.
Millions of American family trees trace their roots to other lands. In Pennsylvania alone, one in six children has at least one immigrant parent. The truths and promises we hold to be self-evident in America would crumble if we ever stopped believing that immigrants aren’t worth protecting; we are them and they are us.
That’s why ACLU-PA launched “Dignity You Can’t Deny,” a campaign born to honor Hispanic Heritage Month but designed to live far beyond it. Our message is simple: celebrating Hispanic Heritage means defending civil rights.
Through this effort, we’ve elevated the conversations that matter most to Hispanic and Latine communities, such as the rights students have to an education, regardless of immigration status; how to vote without intimidation and what to do if polls do not have language resources; and how to stand firm in our humanity when policies or prejudice try to diminish it.
Because dignity isn’t a gift governments can give or take away, it’s an inherent right that belongs to every one of us.
Protecting dignity begins with understanding your rights, and helping others understand theirs. There are plenty of opportunities to help others exercise their rights. It’s also critical that we all participate in our democracy to ensure that the leaders we elect guard our rights, value our humanity and differences, and support policies that protect us so we can live freely and safely without discrimination.
Being active in our democracy starts at the ballot box — but that’s not where it ends. We can all speak out, protest, organize, and stay informed, strengthening our collective dignity so that everyone in our community is empowered to maintain their own.
As the ACLU of Pennsylvania, we are committed to educating and providing resources and opportunities for us all to join the fight to defend immigrants. Immigrants enrich our country and have the right to be here; our Constitution extends many of the protections we all cherish to all immigrants, regardless of status, recognizing that dignity should be based on personhood, not paperwork.
We’re supporting students and parents to know their rights.
We’re working in coalition to advocate for Welcoming policies in local counties and schools.
We’re urging Gov. Shapiro to end state collaboration with ICE.
We’re monitoring for and suing when there are civil liberty violations against Black and brown people being targeted, profiled, abducted, and inhumanely detained because of the Trump administration’s aggressive and unconstitutional deportation agenda.
We’re mobilizing to take action, together.
Most importantly, we’re working to flip the narrative, understanding that when dignity is honored as fundamental, our lives, families, and society become better for us all.
*Alex Domingos, ACLU-PA Advocacy & Policy Strategist
