Weekly inbk newsletter

With so much going on, it’s hard to know what to do or how to do it. Our weekly newsletters gather as much information as we can find and organize it to make taking action as easy and accessible as possible. You don’t have to do ALL the things, but you should do SOMETHING. Our most current edition is below, and you can sign up to receive future newsletters here.

December 7, 2025

This year has seen extraordinary, history-making protests. Hands Off. No Kings. No Kings II. Those have grabbed the spotlight, and we’ll surely march again soon. But at Saturday’s Hands Off NYC trainings in Brooklyn and the Bronx, we saw the less visible work that truly builds power: neighbors organizing with neighbors, block by block, to keep each other safe and build a city beyond MAGA.

If you couldn’t join, don’t worry — more trainings are ahead, and we’ll share them here. And you can jump in next weekend during the Hands Off NYC Community Weekend, when we’ll show up joyfully and visibly to protect and connect with neighbors across the city.

Your Top 3 actions for this week

1. Hands Off NYC Weekend of Community Action this weekend, December 12-14. We’re coming together to protect each other and defend our city from Trump’s threatened surge of federal forces! Join Indivisible Brooklyn at these neighborhood events to share information, build community resistance, and create a culture of joyful defiance to ICE and Trump in our city. With our partners, we’ll be handing out whistles and whistle cards, zines, flyers, and more at several events in different locations. Find your options and RSVP here. And check out the Hands Off NYC map for more actions across the city.

2. Rally to Defend NYC’s Sanctuary Laws on Monday, December 8 at 9am at City Hall. The City Council’s Committee on Immigration is finally holding a hearing on several of our top-priority immigrants’ rights bills, including the NYC Trust Act (Intro 214). If passed, these bills would reinforce the sanctuary protections that make all of us safer by helping New Yorkers understand our rights, strengthening protections against abuses of power, and improving accountability when our rights are violated. We want these bills to get passed now, over Eric Adams's veto if necessary, because the ICE invasion of NYC is already underway and we have no time to spare. You can use this toolkit for further information and guidance on how to submit written testimony in support of these bills. RSVP for the rally here.

3. Stand up for immigrants and against ICE terrorism at the Weekly Vigil for Democracy on Tuesday, December 9 at 6pm at Third Ave & 29th Street in Sunset Park. Our fellow organizers at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Bay Ridge hold a weekly multi-faith vigil outside the Metropolitan Detention Center to call for the release of ICE detainees, and to stand against the inhumane treatment of our neighbors. With apologies for last week’s rescheduling, this week we expect to be joined by Lt. Governor Antonio Delgado to lift up demands for protections by state and city electeds. We gather rain or shine. RSVP here.

Upcoming Events

Malliotakis Mondays: Monday, December 8 at 4:45pm in Bay Ridge. This holiday season, people are worried about their wallets, their grocery baskets, and their healthcare. Nicole Malliotakis voted to cut SNAP and Medicaid. After refusing to show up and negotiate for months, she and her Republican colleagues are about to let healthcare coverage skyrocket out of reach for 20 million. This week at Rep. Malliotakis’ office we’ll bring attention to the healthcare premium crisis and more. Join us with signs and holiday gear for some updated holiday carols, like "The 12 Days of Congress" as we canvass passing neighbors! RSVP here.

Dignity Not Detention Phone Zap: Tuesday, December 9 at 1pm on Zoom. The Dignity Not Detention Act would end NY’s support for immigrant detention. Join our coalition partners in pushing constituent phone calls to NYS legislators about the need to pass the bill now so that NY doesn’t run or profit off of the mass detention of our neighbors. RSVP here. You can also use NYC-DSA’s one-click tool to email your own NYS legislators about this urgent priority.

Indivisible Brooklyn’s Electoral Team Meeting: Wednesday, December 10 at 7pm on Zoom. Over the past year, Indivisible Brooklyn has built one of the most effective volunteer electoral operations around. Now that the 2025 local election cycle is over, we’re organizing to win just as big in 2026. RSVP here.

BKForge Holiday Potluck and Donation Drive: Wednesday, December 10 at 7pm in Park Slope. Join Brooklyn for Reproductive and Gender Equity (BKForge) at the Old Stone House for a potluck and donation drive. Bring a tasty dish or snack and a donation item for a local organization and come be in community with other BKForge members for the holiday season. For more information about what items we'll be collecting and to RSVP, click here.

Know Your Rights: Federal Law Enforcement Webinar: Saturday, December 13 at 1pm on Zoom. Join NYCLU for an empowering webinar designed for any New Yorker who is eager to learn how to effectively assert their defensive rights. Whether you’re an immigrant, an advocate, or an ally, knowing your rights and sharing information with others is one of the easiest ways to take action. In this webinar, we’ll share what your rights are if you encounter any Federal Law Enforcement Officer – whether ICE, CBP, or the National Guard - in your community, at protests, or at your home. We'll also provide shareable resources from trusted partners and talk about things you can do to prepare yourselves and loved ones. Sign up here.\

Protest at Trump Tower: Sunday, December 14 at 1pm at Trump Tower. Join Rise and Resist for a protest in the streets to tell Trump: No ICE, No Feds, Hands Off NYC! Fifth Avenue will be closed to traffic for holiday shoppers and pro-democracy New Yorkers, so let’s make it spectacular. More details here.

More Ways to Resist This week

Email your NYS electeds to protect NY’s landmark climate law. New York is violating its own climate law — and New Yorkers are paying the price with their wallets, health, and lives. Over the past few weeks, Gov. Hochul has approved a major fossil fuel pipeline, delayed NY's electric building mandate, and green-lit emissions-heavy cryptocurrency mining operations across the state. We cannot let this continue. Use this one-click tool from NY Renews to send a letter to your elected officials in the State Senate and Assembly to demand that they hold firm to protect the climate law.

Tell the City Council to protect NYC from Trump. As the Council’s 2024-2025 term approaches its end, time is running out to strengthen civil rights protections for New Yorkers. Use NYCLU’s one-click tool to tell the City Council to pass legislation now to protect the right to protest, to be free from biased and abusive policing, to remain in their communities, to be free from biased and faulty surveillance technologies, and to have a functioning and supportive social safety net. It takes just one minute to send your message here.

Volunteers and donations needed to assist unaccompanied immigrant and refugee youth. Our fellow organizers at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Bay Ridge helped start a Legal Defense Advocacy Fund in partnership with NYC 4 All. They provide free legal services and social support to immigrant and refugee youth who are here alone. Donate to the Legal Fund: The demand for legal defense funding is increasing as filing fees and the number of cases go up. Donations to the Fund are 100% tax deductible. The Venmo account is: @LegalDefenseAdvocacyFund.

Sign up for an immigration court watch shift with JFREJ. While masked ICE agents are seizing immigrant NYers at mandatory court appointments, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice is organizing court-watch work to help keep our neighbors safer. There are early-morning, pre-work hours shifts, and later shifts, which run until noon and involve entering the public courthouse buildings and providing direct support to our most vulnerable neighbors. Learn more here. (People of all faiths are welcome.)

Get anti-fascist holiday gifts. Many of you are familiar with the fabulous front-page protest art created by our own Julie Peppito. T-shirts are free speech, too! If you’d like to wear your values with some of her work, check out her online shop here.

In solidarity,
The INBK crew