This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis. 

This week, two moments revealed the front lines of America’s immigration fight. In New York, 11 state legislators were among more than a dozen elected officials arrested after demanding entry to overcrowded Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention cells at 26 Federal Plaza. In Illinois, a viral video showed State Senator Karina Villa racing down a suburban street, shouting in English and Spanish for families to stay inside as she confronted masked ICE agents.

These scenes capture something too often overlooked: while the federal government carries out a deeply unpopular agenda, state lawmakers are fighting back visibly and boldly. A hopeful story is unfolding as legislators defend communities with their voices and their bodies, uphold the rule of law, and embody a vision of government that protects rather than persecutes.The next step is to knit these efforts together so the energy in Illinois, New York, and beyond becomes a coordinated front.

This is the story of the moment: as federal power is abused, states are showing what democracy looks like in practice. Legislators are flexing their authority to protect families, confront masked agents, and make the fight visible. And they’re using these tools with ingenuity in every state, regardless of its color on a map.

States are flexing fiscal power. In New York, lawmakers introduced the so-called Avelo Airlines bill, which would block public........

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