Abolish ICE

And prosecute every ICE employee to the fullest extent of the law

I’m disgusted and terrified for everyone in this country, but I’m not surprised. I’m not sure what else to do, so I’ll start with links. I’ve got a rambley blog below if you’re interested in that—just thoughts and experiences that refuse to go away.

Things You Can Do From Home

5 Calls - A great website that will direct you on exactly who your reps are, how to call them, and what to say. Yes, you will have to speak on the phone. Yes, it’s worth it. This is the very least you can do, so fucking do it.

US Governors - Social Media Links - Find yours and bully them into action. Let them know no online peace. Hell, go after as many as you want.

List of US Senators - Links directly to their websites where you can often contact them. Some may have social media links as well. Also allow them no peace online.

List of US Representatives - Just like the senators, links to their sites for contacting and bullying.

List of Mayors - Mayors of the 100 most populated cities. Find the one closest to you and let them know no peace until they do something.

Immigrant Defense Network - Donate, learn about your rights and the rights of others.

Become a Legal Observer - Look for your local chapter and learn your rights and how to correctly document any harm you observe

Minnesota / Minneapolis Help

Stand With Minnesota - Dedicated to finding solutions in this moment

TC Food Justice - Donate to help people in Minneapolis get food without risking detainment by ICE

MIRAC MN - Immigration rights in Minnesota, helping people navigate the US immigration system

Maine / Portland Help

Maine Immigrant Rights Coalition - Learn your rights, lots of contact infor for most of New England

ILAP Maine - The Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project in Maine

Preparing for ICE in Maine - From the ACLU

Other Links

ICE Tracker - Find out where they are

Know Your Rights - The National Immigrant Justice Center’s information on rights for everyone, regardless of citizenship

Corporate ICE Supporters - Companies to boycott and bully for supporting ICE

Rambling Blog - TW: Abduction

This thing happened to me in about 2016/17 that I don’t really ever talk about for fear of sounding like one of those moms who say their kid almost got abducted at Target when there really wasn’t any danger, but it feels significant now, so I’ll spill.

To be clear, I’m not trying to center myself in what’s going on right now, I’m just cleaning out my brain and presenting to you the thoughts that refuse to quiet themselves—my blog, my words, my space to work through my stuff.

I used to frequently walk/jog in my Tampa, Florida neighborhood by myself. Early in the morning (before dawn), midday, evening. Sometimes my husband came along, but this is about the last time I ever went alone.

Just to set the scene, I used to live right off the Hillsborough River (no, not in the wealthy area), and the river bank ran next to the sidewalk. This happened right about here:

A car pulled up beside me as I was doing the cool-down part of my workout—I never ran, but it was Florida, so it was hot. I was not being as alert as I should have been because I was on the opposing side of the road to the direction that this car was driving in, and they crossed into the oncoming lane so that the driver’s door was next to the sidewalk (parking the wrong way). I didn’t think anything of that at first because there was very, very little traffic in that neighborhood, especially at that time of day, and I knew a handful of my neighbors, so it could have been one of them.

It wasn’t.

A strange man asked me a question—I think he asked for the time, but it was sort of mumbled, which I assume now was part of the plan because it made me step closer and lean toward his window. Thankfully my brain snapped into stranger danger a second before he opened the door and lunged at me. I felt the wind off his fingertips on my fucking wrist as I jumped back. I’m 5’3” and at the time I was 130lbs soaking wet, not to mention pretty fatigued/winded from working out, but adrenaline gave me the edge, and for once my fawn response didn’t kick in.

I screamed holy hell at that fucker as I backed toward the river, utter nonsense combined with your basic “get the fuck away from me,” “don’t touch me,” etc. I also had my phone in my hand, so I shouted something about calling the police. He got back in his car and sped off. I did call the police, they took a report, but I had nothing identifying to give them because I was so freaked out. It went nowhere. I never walked alone in that neighborhood again.

That wasn’t the first time a stranger tried to harm me for the crime of just existing and/or doing my job, and it wouldn’t be the last, but it’s the most relevant because if that happened today, and I got abducted by some psycho, I would be lambasted by conservatives for not fighting back. But if it was ICE, and I did fight back, I would be immediately executed and simultaneously lambasted by conservatives for not complying.

I just can’t believe we live in a country now where I would be in the wrong for that scenario, and don’t try to fucking tell me the situation isn’t the same because I’ve seen with my own eyes people pulled into vans and publicly executed for just existing on American soil. This is fucked.

The Trump administration is using ICE to terrorize us. I don’t even think it really has to do with immigration, I think that they used the rhetoric of immigrants as a way to rally the evil in their base to support expanding a federal police force that they can now use to assault, rape, and murder “the opposition” to their soulless hearts’ content. Anything short of abolishing ICE and prosecuting every employee is utterly shameful, and the fact that no one with power in this country or in any other country is doing anything to stop Trump and the rest of his sycophants will lead to the downfall of the United States. Maybe that’s what some people want, but you’re a fucking idiot for wanting it this way because the evil will spread, and no one on the earth will be safe from it.

We’ve already seen the death of democracy here.

We need fucking help and we need fucking action.

DO SOMETHING.