Connected Americans is a movement of millions of us for whom immigration is part of the story. We are spouses, parents, children, teachers, neighbors, faith leaders, and friends. Immigration runs through our families, our congregations, our workplaces, and our blocks. The people we love belong here for good — and we are building the movement that makes that real.

Across this country, people are being taken from their homes, held far from their families, and forced from communities where they have built their whole lives. This is not happening to strangers. It is happening to our husbands, our mothers, our neighbors, our kids' teachers. According to the Migration Policy Institute, 14 million U.S. citizens, green card holders, and visa holders live in a household with at least one immigrant family member. 4.2 million immigrant workers are married to U.S. citizens or green card holders. When our families are torn apart, all of us feel it.

To be a Connected American is to refuse to turn away. It means using your voice, your story, and your everyday life to make clear that the people we love belong here for good. We are not an outside voice speaking up for others. We are the people this is happening to — and we are organizing together to build a country where belonging is not something anyone has to fight for.