I live everyday in fear. My husband, Miguel, is undocumented and, despite what many believe, being married to a U.S. citizen does not protect him from Donald Trump’s unlawful efforts to deport millions of people.

Miguel is my best friend. He is wonderful, kind, and humble. We have a beautiful life that includes a successful business, a home, two children and five grandchildren. It is truly the American dream that so many people in this country strive to build for themselves. Today, it terrifies me to know that everything we’ve worked so hard could be taken from us by cruel immigration policies that argue Miguel isn’t “good enough” to even attempt to become a U.S. citizen.

Miguel has lived in this country for virtually his entire adult life. Even though Miguel has worked hard every day since he came to the states, because of how he entered the country, we’re struggling to find a path to citizenship for him. Miguel has paid taxes like any American despite never knowing if he might become a citizen and reap the benefits, like social security, of his hard work. I could live with that injustice. It was enough for us that he had authorization to work legally and was protected from immediate deportation.

Then Trump was re-elected.

In 2016, the first Trump administration reopened a lot of immigration cases like Miguel’s, trying to find a reason to deport people. We were fortunate to escape notice then, but I’m afraid we won’t be so fortunate now. The new Trump administration is far more cruel and far more determined to deport those it doesn’t view as “worthy” to be American citizens. I am terrified that Miguel will be next on Trump’s deportation list. I have cameras everywhere in my home. I’m scared to sleep, worried that ICE will knock on my door and take my husband. I’m at the point of having a breakdown over not knowing if he’s going to come home after work.

I have hired so many attorneys to find a path to permanent residency and citizenship for Miguel. Every attorney says that they can’t help us. I feel like every door has been closed to us. I can only hold out hope that a humanitarian visa, which acknowledges the hardships Miguel fled when he came to the states, might be available in spite of the Trump administration’s efforts to restrict almost every legal path to citizenship.

While we wait for updates about Miguel’s status, I am determined that I won’t go down without a fight. I am organizing in my community, I am lobbying my lawmakers and I am using my story to advocate for immigration reform. This country can’t keep relying on immigration policies that are more than 30 years out of date and vulnerable to the powerful and discriminatory anti-immigrant agenda that pervades politics today.

But in my fight there is also heartbreak. Miguel has become resigned, believing that there is no hope for him. The despair weighs heavily on our marriage. I don’t want to be separated from him. To stay together if he is deported, we started building a house in Mexico, a place Trump calls a “terrorist country” run by the cartel. It devastates me to think I might have to leave America, my children, my business, my community, and my hope behind just so that I can be with my partner, a man I’ve loved for more than two decades. Miguel is a husband, a father, a hard worker and, most importantly, a human being. He deserves the chance to keep supporting our country and for his chosen country to support him. We’ve worked so hard just to end up terrified that the Trump administration will snatch our American dream from us.

States and cities are on the frontlines of the fight against the second Trump administration’s efforts to restrict our rights — and it is a fight. Already we’ve seen Donald Trump respond to this state-based resistance by attempting to weaponize funding to intimidate local officials to follow his extreme agenda. But local officials not only can fight back — they are fighting back.

For nearly a year, the ACLU has worked with our affiliates in every state to develop a playbook to block and disrupt Trump’s radical agenda. Our playbook outlines comprehensive tools to safeguard reproductive rights, immigrants’ rights, free speech, and more.

At the ACLU, we know that dissent is patriotic. Policymakers and elected officials must act to protect their communities and the rule of law, especially when under threat from the White House. Below are a few ways that states are saying no to Trump’s radical agenda.

Fifteen state attorneys general have formed a coalition to protect gender-affirming medical care for trans youth. They condemned President Trump’s recent anti-trans executive actions “wrong on the science and the law.” New York Attorney General Letitia James went a step further. She warned hospitals that they would be violating state anti-discrimination laws if they stopped offering gender-affirming care to youth.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law a bill that gives abortion providers additional privacy protections when prescribing medications used for abortion. While more privacy protections are still needed, when signing the bill, Hochul affirmed her commitment to New York being a safe harbor for all who need abortion care.

North Carolina and Washington have also moved to protect reproductive health. In Washington, Governor Bob Ferguson released an executive order convening a task force to strategize on protecting reproductive freedom. Governor Josh Stein issued an executive order reaffirming his commitment to protect women’s reproductive freedom in North Carolina. The executive order directs cabinet agencies to safeguard medical privacy and protects doctors providing lawful reproductive health care.

“We know that the work to fight both federal and state-level threats to our freedoms will happen locally,” said Liz Barber, director of policy & advocacy for the ACLU of North Carolina. “We have already seen the monumental impact of attacks on abortion across the country and here in North Carolina. That’s why we applaud the executive order from Governor Stein that protects access to abortion in North Carolina. We will continue to urge elected leaders to use every power at their disposal to affirm our fundamental rights and work with our coalition partners to sustain access to safe abortions.”

Last month, the ACLU responded to a Justice Department (DOJ) memo threatening local officials with criminal prosecution for refusing to carry out the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda. The DOJ’s argument was legally baseless and harmful to our communities. Eleven state attorneys general agreed with us. Together, they released a statement noting their duty to uphold state laws.

Attorneys generals in Maryland, Minnesota, and New Mexico also took action. As reports of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids rose in Maryland, Attorney General Anthony Brown issued guidance on immigration policy for local law enforcement agencies and health care providers. New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez also issued guidance to local leaders in response to Trump's executive order rescinding long-standing federal protections for sensitive locations, such as schools and hospitals. In Minnesota, Attorney General Keith Ellison issued an advisory opinion stating “Minnesota law prohibits state and local law enforcement agencies from holding someone based on an immigration detainer if the person would otherwise be released from custody.”

"The ACLU of Minnesota has been working with community partners and leaders, including Minnesota Attorney General Ellison, to ensure Minnesotans know their rights and responsibilities with ICE,” said ACLU-MN Legal Director Teresa Nelson. “I applaud Ellison for loudly reminding police and sheriff departments that they cannot legally hold people in jail for the sole purpose of turning them over to federal immigration authorities."

Action isn’t limited to attorneys general. In California, ACLU leaders convened in Sacramento to urge state policymakers to fight back against the Trump administration’s extreme agenda and flurry of executive orders. In Delaware, the Department of Justice, the Office of Delaware Governor Matt Meyer, and the Department of Education released guidance on ICE in schools to protect students.

The second Trump administration is trying to undermine local governments and coerce them to comply with its radical, unlawful agenda. But we know that states have the power to fight back. That’s what federalism was built to do. As state and local leaders pushback against the Trump administration, they rely on support from constituents. Get involved at any level when you join our People Power volunteers and connect with your local ACLU affiliate to learn more about how you can take action. Our affiliates are working in each and every state, D.C. and Puerto Rico to safeguard our rights at the local, state and federal levels.