The Legal Aid Society is condemning a plan by President-elect Donald Trump to declare a “national emergency” to deploy and give U.S. military service members “non-enforcement” duties to carry out his mass deportation agenda.

“Trump’s xenophobic plan to employ the military to effectuate mass deportations will devastate communities and separate families here in New York City,” reads a statement from Legal Aid. “It has already led to widespread fear, suffering, and destabilization for our non-citizen clients and their loved ones.”

“The people we serve are now fearful of submitting asylum applications that they are entitled to under United States immigration law. They are scared to report themselves to local law enforcement as victims of crime, labor rights violations, and trafficking,” the statement continues. “Even those who were born in the United States are worried that their U.S. citizenship will be questioned or revoked. This is not making our communities safer, it is driving vulnerable individuals further into the shadows.”

This week it was reported that a new ICE detention facility will open in New Jersey next year, presumably to detain New Yorkers.

“We call upon local and state officials to take immediate action to address how New York will protect non-citizens,” Legal Aid’s statement reads. “Before the upcoming inauguration, lawmakers must take bold steps to ensure that local and state law enforcement and our National Guard will not be complicit in the detention and deportation of New Yorkers.”

The Legal Aid Society is ready to fight to defend the rights of all New Yorkers to live safely and with dignity.