Starting a collection of these bc my homestate is making me so goddamn proud
ICE came in two SUVs to try and grab a pregnant mother who was picking her other child up from a west Oakland (like three miles from my house) elementary school yesterday afternoon. Neighbors and other community members immediately boxed the ICE vehicles in with their own cars, surrounded the “officers,” and harassed them until they left (without their target). This is the only kind of response that’s acceptable from anyone witnessing this shit, and as Oakland Councilwoman Caroll Fife said after the incident, “there were too many white people around for them [ICE] to stick around.”
Fellow white people: if you’re able, put your bodies/vehicles/voices in between these kidnappers and their targets, ESPECIALLY if you look “respectable” (eg soccer mom/dad, business attire etc). They’re much, much less likely to engage violently with individuals and crowds who look like ppl they respect/view as human (white/white passing) so use their prejudice to your advantage.
Also: Karen the FUCK outta them. Eg. “I want to see badges and identification containing your full name and title, I want the names and contact information of your direct supervisors, I want to see a warrant signed by a judge that includes the full legal name of the individual you are attempting to detain, and I want to see these items now.” Speak loudly but as calmly and firmly as possible, don’t touch them but stay in between them and whoever they’re trying to grab if possible. Repeat.
Also, if you are an employee of whatever location ICE is entering to get somebody, you can do the following:
- Straight up refuse them entry. Not all workplaces will allow you to do this (e.g. I work in a public library and can't do that) but if you are on private property you can straight up tell them to GTFO or get trespassed by the cops.
- Announce their presence over the PA system. Say "Will the ICE agents who just entered the building please come to [your department] immediately?" and anyone else in the building is going to be made aware that ICE is here and that they're likely to be headed towards wherever you asked them to go, giving them time to escape if necessary.
- Be strict about weapons policies. If your workplace only allows LEOs to carry weapons, ask to see their badges, and ask to copy down their badge numbers and names, too. Take your time doing this, waste their time with as much bullshit red tape as you can muster.
- Be VERY strict about harassment policies, and make it clear to the agents that you will not tolerate them harassing or detaining patrons of your establishment unless they show you a warrant signed by a judge. If they have one, ask to photocopy it "for your records," again making sure to waste as much of their time as possible. Let them know that you will call the cops if they attempt to apprehend anyone without a warrant, and follow through on that if they try it. Tell them it's "policy" if they object. (It doesn't matter if it's actually policy, you can just lie to these assholes.)
- If you manage to repel them from the building, they might try to hang around the parking lot to snatch people as they exit. Make it clear to them that "loitering" is not permitted and they have to vacate the premises if they are not there for legitimate purposes.
for people who work at schools, hospitals, and churches: in January Trump removed a Biden-era protection on these places from ICE. I found out by learning a hispanic family one school district over was abducted while picking up their kids from school. I live in the north. I live in a very liberal area. Do not think you live in an area of the country where this doesn't happen- you're probably less than 100 miles from a border.
for healthcare providers:
Information for health care providers on how to prepare for and respond to enforcement actions by immigration officials and interactions wit
TLDR of this article:
- establish or have at hand a written policy on which areas are private. the fourth amendment protects people only in areas where they have a "reasonable expectation of privacy," so ensure there's no wiggle room to exploit.
- double down on document privacy. officers are allowed to inspect anything in "public view"- including screens or papers visible from waiting areas. without a warrant, they cannot move or expose anything, so even flipping papers face-down can protect people.
- avoid collecting immigration information when possible. no one can give information they don't have.
- provide educational materials for patients. this source suggests know-your-rights cards that can be handed out to patients, advising them not to give up any information and insist on their rights to a lawyer.
- designate an "authorized person" to review warrants and give access to private areas if necessary. without a warrant, only an "authorized person" can give consent to allow officers into private areas, but if not designated, anyone can be an authorized person. this involves training staff not to accidentally give consent and to direct officers to the authorized person.
- talk to your coworkers about this. conspicuously leave printed copies on the break room table, start conversations about it.
- if you can't stop them accessing an area, obfuscate and delay them. you need to check policy on this one, and the computer isn't loading, and you can't find the authorized person, you're so so sorry but this is gonna take a bit, etc.
