ICE terrorism and the near disappearance of Allies in a post-Minneapolis world – even in Grand Rapids

It has been just over 5 months since an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Good in Minneapolis. People were understandably shocked, then outraged that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents would engage in that kind of brutality.

For the next couple of months people were ready to do something here in Grand Rapids, with vigils being held, protests and marches denouncing ICE. For groups like Movimiento Cosecha and GR Rapid Response to ICE, the organizing that they both have been doing since 2017 not only continued, but it tried to resist being reactionary.

It is completely understandable that people would be outraged about ICE shooting and killing Renee Good. But here is the thing that those of us who have been doing the work for years is that, the immigrant community is always on high alert and always experiencing the terror that ICE inflicts in every community and every immigrant family.

In an article I wrote back on January 26th entitled, Why are white people so pissed off about ICE now? In that article I stated:

White people and the politicians they have voted for – both Democrats and Republicans – have been approving billions in funding for ICE since 2003, while undocumented immigrants were being arrested, detained and deported, along with hundreds being killed. You can read about these immigrant deaths by reading reports from Detention Watch Network and the ACLU.

Just because the news and social media are not filled with stories of ICE terrorism, it doesn’t mean that ICE has reduced their assault on immigrant communities. In Grand Rapids and Kent County, GR Rapid Response to ICE continues to receive calls on a regular basis regarding ICE sightings and ICE threatening families.

Every week GR Rapid Response to ICE is providing groceries and other basic necessities to dozens of families that have been impacted by ICE violence. Every week this group does patrols, offers accompaniment and does monitoring of ICE activity throughout the community.

GR Rapid Response to ICE has seen the number of people who want to do some shrink, with fewer people signing up for their regularly scheduled trainings. ICE activity remains significant in Kent County and could increase at any time, since they have been adding more agents and increasing the number of contracts in this area.

There used to be ally groups doing regular ICE Out protests in downtown Grand Rapids, but that stopped back in March. ICE activity in this city has not decreased and ICE is continuing to arrest people, to detain people and to separate families.

Now, it is true that ICE has changed some of their tactics, such as not deploying hundreds of agents to a given city and engaging is mass arrests. There has certainly been significant public backlash to those types of mass arrests, just like what we saw in Minneapolis. However, just because those tactics are being used ICE is still threatening immigrant families, still inflicting violence on immigrant families and still separating immigrant families.

Movimiento Cosecha needs allies to support their work and to get involved with their campaigns, campaigns that are ongoing and critical if we want to resist ICE locally. We have to move beyond being reactionary about ICE and understand that the harm that ICE does to immigrant communities and families is a constant, just as it was a constant before an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Good. We have to move from merely protesting ICE to resisting ICE.

The Trump Administration, ICE officials and ICE agents want us to be complacent and avoid seeing the urgency around the harm that ICE is committing on a daily basis against members of the immigrant community.

13 things you can do right now to resist ICE

1. You can follow the work of Movimiento Coesecha https://www.facebook.com/cosechagr and GR Rapid Response to ICE https://www.facebook.com/RapidResponseGR/
2. You can share our What to do if ICE comes to your door cards.
3. If you suspect that you are seeing an ICE presence somewhere, call our hotline 616-238-0081 and document what you can. Use the Salute card, but don’t post on social media as it can create more fear and panic for immigrant communities.
4. If you know an immigrant that has an appointment to check in with ICE or immigration court cases you can have them call the hotline 616-238-0081 and have them request someone to accompany them to their appointments.
5. You can support immigrant families that have been affected by ICE violence in Kent County by sharing and contributing funds through the Mutual Aid requests on the GR Rapid Response to ICE Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/RapidResponseGR/
6. You can organize a fundraising event like a house party or get 10 of your friends to contribute to a specific Mutual Aid request that can be found on the GR Rapid Response to ICE Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/RapidResponseGR/
7. If you know of immigrant community groups that are living in fear of ICE, Cosecha will offer to do a Know Your Rights training, which provides tips on how to keep yourself, your family and your community safe from ICE. Send an Email to movimientocosechagr@gmail.com.
8. You can begin a conversation with leaders in your faith community and local non-profits about offering sanctuary to members of the affected community. If there is an interest members of Cosecha and GR Rapid Response to ICE can meet with you or you can attend one of our regular Community Sanctuary sessions.
9. You can sign up to take the GR Rapid Response to ICE training to learn skills and be part of our daily work.
10. You can encourage your church to host a GR Rapid Response to ICE training. If there is an interest they can send an Email to info@grrapiresponsetoice.org.
11. You can host an educational session on the History of US Immigration Policy. Just send an Email to info@grrapiresponsetoice.org.
12. You can support the 6 sanctuary policies campaign that Cosecha and GR Rapids Response to ICE are trying to get the City of Grand Rapids and Kent County to adopt.
13. Get involved in No Detention Centers in Michigan, support the people being detained in Baldwin, Michigan and get involved in their political and solidarity work. https://www.facebook.com/NoDetentionMI