1. Strengthen Democracy

• Protect Democratic Institutions: Defend independent judiciaries, free presses, and fair electoral systems from authoritarian encroachment.
• Promote Voting Rights: Ensure free and fair elections by opposing voter suppression, expanding access to voting, and combating disinformation.
• Encourage Civic Participation: Foster grassroots activism, community organizing, and political engagement to keep power decentralized.

2. Counter Fascist Ideology

• Expose and Oppose Fascist Rhetoric: Challenge dehumanizing propaganda, scapegoating, and authoritarian appeals with facts and moral clarity.
• Promote Anti-Fascist Education: Teach critical thinking, media literacy, and historical lessons about fascism (e.g., Nazi Germany, Mussolini’s Italy) in schools.
• Support Independent Media: Fund and protect journalism that holds power accountable and debunks fascist lies.

3. Build Inclusive Solidarity

• Unite Against Division: Fascism thrives on dividing people by race, religion, or class. Build coalitions across marginalized groups, labor unions, and progressive movements.
• Protect Vulnerable Communities: Defend immigrants, minorities, LGBTQ+ people, and others targeted by fascist movements through legal, political, and direct action.
• Reject Nationalist Isolation: Foster international cooperation to oppose global far-right networks.

4. Economic Justice

• Address Inequality: Fascism often grows in response to economic crises. Advocate for policies that reduce wealth gaps (e.g., living wages, healthcare, worker rights).
• Regulate Corporate Power: Prevent monopolies and tech platforms from enabling authoritarianism (e.g., banning hate speech, disinformation).

5. Direct Resistance

• Peaceful Protest: Mobilize mass demonstrations against fascist policies or leaders.
• Legal Action: Use courts to challenge unconstitutional or discriminatory laws.
• Counter-Mobilization: Organize community defenses against far-right violence (e.g., antifa tactics in some contexts).

6. Cultural Change

• Promote Empathy and Human Rights: Use art, media, and storytelling to humanize marginalized groups and celebrate diversity.
• Combat Militarism and Authoritarian Worship: Reject symbols, slogans, and policies that glorify oppression or war.

7. Historical Vigilance

• Learn from the Past: Recognize early warning signs of fascism (e.g., attacks on the press, erosion of norms, paramilitary movements).
• Honor Anti-Fascist Legacies: Draw inspiration from resistance movements that defeated fascism in the 20th century.

Key Quote:

“Fascism can be defeated only if the people themselves come to understand its roots in the system they live under and decide to tear it out by collective action.” — Victor Serge

Fascism isn’t inevitable—it’s a political choice enabled by crisis, fear, and complacency. Stopping Donald Trump’s authoritarian movement—which exhibits clear fascist tendencies like xenophobia, cult of personality, contempt for democracy, and threats of political violence—requires urgent, strategic, and collective action.

I have cancelled book tours for Unsung America, and all work is basically being done remotely. You can catch the regular shit-show that is our immigration system on the law firm blog.

I also do not anticipate doing much travel this year. However, with all that is going on, I did want to take a moment to draw your attention to the ‘fight for racial justice’ bundle, which also features my book, if you have not grabbed it yet! This is your chance to get some books, games and comics while making a small monetary contribution. All proceeds go to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Race Forward, and The Bail Project.

Thank you to PC Mag for drawing my attention to it!

I am currently working from home and I have written on my law firm site about immigration-related impacts of COVID-19, including USCIS appointments, State Department closures and new travel ban proclamations. This continues to be updated daily so feel free to share the link broadly.

It is amazing that it takes a global pandemic to make medicare for all and paid sick leave a national conversation. The Trump administration’s response and media coverage has been nothing short of pathetic, and may have endangered countless lives. People are continuing to congregate, entertain large numbers of people, travel, and not heed warnings, which is completely outrageous given what we know from Italy and Spain.

Immigration lawyers are often in the smack middle of a crisis like this because people are trapped abroad and need assistance, or need change/extension of status applications filed on an emergency basis because they are trapped here. As such, we are also on the frontlines of dealing with the very human needs created by our complex labyrinth of immigration laws, and responses to the pandemic.

My recommendations for how we can best alleviate pain and suffering in immigrant communities right now are below, and go well beyond reactionary measures to ban travel.

• Grant continuances for all immigration court hearings and reschedule USCIS interviews
• Release all persons from ICE detention
• End “Remain in Mexico”
• Completely suspend public charge rules so people don’t feel the need to stay away from accessing healthcare
• Grant outstanding extension/change of status requests for non-immigrants
• Suspend rules regarding non-citizen eligibility for healthcare –
• Grant Temporary Protected Status / Deferred Enforced Departure for countries hit hard by the pandemic–China, South Korea, Iran, Italy
• Suspend immigration enforcement such as ICE worksite visits, raids, and executing final orders of removal
• Grant automatic stays of removal for another 6 months for anyone with an ICE reporting requirement.

I will be working on cases from home for the next few weeks, and if you need help or assistance with a legal matter or to complete your tax returns, please contact me.

Most importantly, it is critically important that we are in this together as a society that that we should not disrupt food supply chains and distribution by hoarding more than what we need. Only buy what you need for the next week and leave some for others. Given big chain stores are likely to be out of items and Amazon is also slowing down deliveries, it may be wiser to look at your neighborhood grocery stores such as the local Indian, Chinese or Mexican grocery store for staples, household goods and snacks to ride out the pandemic.

The local library might be closed but there is hoopla for book/audio/video rentals through the library, as well as kanopy, for similar borrows. And streaming services are going to be a boon.

Let’s talk about immigration – and the future of America; a night with Prerna Lal, Tenzin Seldon, and Tony Choi at Manny’s.

On February 12th, Prerna Lal, Founder, Managing Attorney – LAL LEGAL, APLC; Author, Unsung America: Immigrant Trailblazers and Our Fight for Freedom;

In conversation with Tenzin Seldon, Founder of Kinstep, a company that connects immigrants with jobs and a Senior Advisor and Board Member of Earth’s Call Foundation and Tony Choi (Twitter @tonykchoi), Activist and Create Writer of Tom Steyer Campaign 2020 with Activist Ainee Athar followed by an audience Q&A.

Location: Manny’s (3092, 16th Street, San Francisco)

• 7:45 PM: Check-in
• 8:00 PM: Panel Discussion
• 9:00 PM: Audience Q&A
• 9:15 PM: Book Signing & Socializing

The event is free but we’re almost at capacity so get your tickets here today.

Many thanks for all who came, and asked such wonderful questions. My book ended up being placed right next to Toni Morrison’s and that’s a wonderful compliment all on its own.

January is a busy month at Lal Legal with over a dozen USCIS interviews to attend so I won’t be on the road much, but watch this space for more events to be announced shortly.

Foremost, Unsung America is a history book that seeks to tell U.S. immigration history from the lens of the many individuals who suffered the brunt of discriminatory laws.

The book starts with the stories of free black abolitionists, German immigrants, Asian-Americans, anarchist and Communist political dissenters, LGBTQ immigrants, and finally touches on more recent times.

It is not meant as a complete anthology, biography or encyclopedia but as a historical memoir that charts the lives of the many trailblazers who worked within and across their communities to make social change happen.

If you pre-ordered a copy and received it, let me know if you like it. If not, you can still snag a copy through the link below.

If you want it for a book review or radio interview, shoot me a message and I will be happy to get a watermarked PDF over to you.

Professor Tom Wong has put up a latest survey for current and former recipients of the DACA program. Please fill it out if you have ever applied for and received DACA. It would be helpful to current and future litigation on the matter, and the case currently pending before the Supreme Court of the United States. Once you’re done with it, forward it on to another DACA recipient. Many thanks for your help!
http://bit.ly/2019DACASURVEY

Winston Churchill once remarked wryly that history is written by the victors.

Perhaps, it was a rather cynical dismissal of those who had fought and lost, those who were easily erased or dismissed from the hegemonic narrative of history.

After all, even those who lost the Civil War wrote books, and their ilk are somehow still kicking, screaming, screeching and tweeting about the America they lost.

Or perhaps, history is actually written by trailblazers, some victorious, some not so much.

This summer, I wrote a book. It is about immigrant rights trailblazers throughout United States history. It covers African-American civil rights pioneers who fought to expand the notion of citizenship; Chinese immigrants who organized the first act of civil disobedience by immigrants in the United States; Japanese immigrants and their fight against internment and alien land laws; Filipino immigrants and their service.

It includes stories of famed anarchists and not-so-famed Communist leaders who fought against deportations. It includes the story of queer immigrants in a new history of sexuality. And finally, it covers (only a small portion) of some of our more contemporary immigrant rights (s)heroes.

The underlying theme of the book is about people who fought for their freedom or the freedom of their loved ones in ways that were not often popular. After all, trailblazers do not just wait patiently to be granted their rights. They do not hang out in long lines and waiting rooms. They do not wait for despotic regimes to find and kill them, and they certainly do not bend in the face of authoritarian leadership.

They organize protests, campaign against deportations, sue the government, sit in political offices, infiltrate detention centers, create art, write poetry and vote with their feet.

In these ways, immigrants throughout history have taken part in mass civic participation, in a place that regularly disenfranchises us.

And by writing this book, I know that I have been victorious. 

Maybe Churchill was right after all.

You can pre-order it here.

Massive shout out to friend and artist, Julio Salgado, for the cover art.

I’ve the incredible honor of being selected for the Daynard Distinguished Visiting Fellows Program at Northeastern Law School this semester. I’ll be guest lecturing in a few classes, holding office hours with students, doing a roundtable, community lecture, and some other engagements over the course of a week.

See you all in Boston.