We’ve been sounding the alarm against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) since the beginning of Mijente’s formation as a national organizing crew and political home. ICE isn’t broken — it’s working exactly as it was designed: to disappear, to terrorize, to control. ICE is a caging and deportation machine, a long-serving and deadly system built to oppress us and violate our civil liberties (with the help of Big Tech).
These days, ICE is functioning as the crude extension of an overly fascist regime. And it is only getting bolder, rapidly escalating its overreach through extreme cruelty, public resources waste, and lawlessness. We’ve seen examples of this clearly in the recent LA raids, with the National Guard and militarized weapons. And we know that this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Now is the time to maintain the fight, raise our voices, and support the defense of immigrant communities across the U.S. and in Puerto Rico. We must remain rooted in community and continue to organize. We resist and push back in the face of ICE’s dangerous and hateful actions.
Here’s what we know to be true: ICE is cruel. ICE is lawless. ICE is wasteful.
And ICE is trying to distract us from all the ways our government is failing to meet the needs of the people. Each week we’ll be updating this post with helpful examples to share with your community on how ICE is functioning exactly as it was meant to.
1. ICE is Cruel
Ambushes at Immigration Court Appointments
Across the country, ICE has been increasing their presence at immigration courts, stalking and ambushing people who are attending mandated appointments. Agents attend immigration hearings as silent observers, only to detain individuals immediately after court, creating a culture of fear and breaking down trust in the judicial process.
Many of the individuals targeted had no criminal records. In fact, they were actively pursuing legal immigration avenues, such as green cards or asylum. It is clear that the arrests are punitive and cruel, violating individuals’ peace of mind and stability as they follow the processes that have been demanded of them. These abductions and arrests have been happening in cities like Miami, San Diego, Seattle, Phoenix, El Paso, Denver, and more.
Family Separations + Putting Children in Danger
Under the Trump Administration, ICE is continuing its long-standing practice of family separations and harming children. Their actions are often violent, disruptive, and traumatic, and have lasting repercussions on millions of families.
Some recent examples of these operations include:
- Leaving children behind and unattended after detaining their parents/caretakers
- Demanding the deportation of terminally ill children receiving medical care
- Removing migrant children from family members and placing them into government facilities
- Using violent force to arrest people as their children watch
This is not about safety of upholding the “law”. This is about white supremacy.
ICE was built to terrorize our communities. Pero resistimos. Let this be an organizing moment for us, not one of despair and inaction.