What The Hell America!

In the past couple of weeks Trump’s administration has doubled their shameless quota of daily detentions to 3,000. Since then we have witnessed unbridled brutality and a complete lack of shame from the blatantly racist and anti-immigrant ICE and DHS agencies. Our neighbors and families are under attack. ICE agents across the country have been deployed en masse into our communities to carry out cruel, senseless and violent deportations.

The law has been broken and due process overlooked. Families have been violently split apart and the DHS and White House mock their victims, proliferating blatantly bigoted propaganda, encouraging their reactionary lackeys to harass and rat out their neighbors. But as Trump escalated his attacks, the people did not sit idly by.

In Los Angeles, communities across the city mobilized to mount resistance against ICE, filming them, calling them out, preventing them from conducting their illegal searches, and launching protests to obstruct them. Eventually, the resistance was so effective that on Friday, the federal government declared they would deploy 2,000 National Guard troops and as of today 700 Marines to violently suppress the uprising. All in service of escorting and protecting ICE agents while they carried out the policy of the Trump administration, a policy of kidnapping, displacement and family separation.

This is the natural conclusion of the Trump administration’s policy; a policy that utterly dehumanizes and demonizes the undocumented, a policy that lacks any regard for due process and constitutional rights, a policy meant to purvey white supremacy, oppression and unbridled hatred.

The detainment centers subject undocumented people to dismal conditions, a lack of food, intense overcrowding, preventing visits from close family, stripping away what little dignity these people had left. And now, these mass raids seek to add countless hundreds more to the swelling numbers of innocents trapped within these centers.

It is no mistake that the raids singled out a city like L.A, notable for its large long standing Chicano and Latino community and its status as a large sanctuary city. Trump wants to make an example out of it, wielding fear like a whip, he wants to cow other cities like L.A. into submission. His targeting of sanctuary cities such as L.A. and Chicago is an attempt to crush progressive policies won through decades of people’s struggle. It is exactly because of this that we must mobilize and fight back twice as hard. By joining and leading alongside mass mobilizations, we can show the Trump administration that their fear tactics don’t work. Cops won’t stop us, ICE won’t stop us, and the National Guard will not stop us from standing with our undocumented brothers and sisters as they face an unprecedented wave of oppression. Nothing will stop us from standing with them!

In this time of confrontation with federal agents from ICE, Homeland Security Investigations, or even the FBI, it is important for us to know our rights and what to do in the event of a visit or detention attempt. ICE is trained to lie – taught “ruse techniques” – in order to lure immigrants out of their homes, citing “informal meetings” or other excuses.
You don’t need to open the door for ICE or HSI (Homeland Security Investigations), nor should you ever reach out to them or call them back. If they visit you or leave a card for you, you should let them know your lawyer will get in touch with them and you won’t be speaking without one. Secure a lawyer (and groups like ours can help you) and have them investigate why ICE is trying to contact you and unravel whatever plot they have. It is important to never speak to ICE or other federal agents. One lie alone to an HSI, ICE, or FBI agent can carry up to 5 years of prison time.

We call on all our chapters to join local protests, as well take up calls to participate in rapid response networks. For those chapters still organizing on their campuses, we encourage you to take up or help push forward existing demands for sanctuary campuses. We will show the brave communities of L.A. that they are not alone in their struggle against ICE, that even as Trump uses military force we remain ready to fight onwards as ever, and that an attack against any one of us, is an attack against all of us!

Legalization for All!
Solidarity with the People of LA!
Down with Deportation, up with Liberation!