Actions Anywhere

Actions for everyone, everywhere

Whether you live somewhere that is actively experiencing ICE and CBP violence or not, there are a lot of great resources to help you find the right fit for you in this fight. Even if you haven’t yet figured out which lane is yours, here are some ideas of where you can jump in and start helping to save our democracy, beginning with your own community.

Join a community group. Getting involved with other people in your community is integral to fighting fascism and protecting each other. Indivisible is one of the most accessible groups, but check your city to see what all of your options are. Follow local people you don’t know on social media and who live where you do and see what they’re doing.
If you’re unable to go to in-person events, there are ways to fight fascism online that don’t involve posting. Download documents from The National Archives and Library of Congress and archive them at Internet Archive. Keep copies on thumb drives for redundancy. Our information is being hidden and destroyed, and we must try to save as much as possible. Save information that you’re interested in, rather than trying to save it all. Or, look for the info that’s being targeted as “DEI” and save that, since it will be first to be destroyed.
Volunteer at food banks to either pack food or deliver groceries. So many immigrants are frightened to leave their homes – even if they are naturalized citizens or working legally – and need extra help in getting food. Working at a food bank will also help you connect to a wide variety of your fellow community members, and will foster a connection that will help your city overcome.
Most of you probably know about the whistles used in Chicago, which worked wonderfully to notify people to either flee (if they’re vulnerable) or to protest and record the agents at the scene. If you have a 3D printer, you can print your own whistles and get a group together to make whistle kits. In Chicago, people host whistle parties at bars, at churches, local restaurants, book clubs – they’re fun and accessible for a lot of people to be able to contribute. Here’s a great read from Dan Sinker that will also help you make a plan for getting a whistle movement going in your city. Make sure your city is prepared for an onslaught or donate whistle kits to other cities that need them.
Read and support your local independent news. We’ve seen that the best reporting has come from them.
Donate money, if you’re able. Food banks are in need of dollar donations more than food donations, because they can buy the food at a much cheaper price than the rest of us can. Even a $10 donation would go much farther for them than you donating $10 worth of canned goods. Donating to groups like Indivisible or whichever one(s) you join helps them to organize the gatherings and protests. Donating to people who are putting in work to buy out the tamale vendors, or 3d print whistles or print zines is imperative to fighting. So if you can, throw a few bucks at the people and organizations that help all of us through this.

Actions for those experiencing violence from federal agents

Look back through stories of resistance from Washington D.C., Los Angeles, Chicago, Minneapolis, Charlotte and other cities that have been hit, and get advice and inspiration from what our communities have done. Adopt the things you think will work in your city – tweak, add-on – and if something doesn’t work, try something else.
Form ICE watch groups in front of schools in the mornings and afternoons, and churches on Sunday, and immigrant neighborhoods in general. Nothing is off limits for ICE, and extra help is welcomed.
If you’re into courts and legal proceedings, be a court watcher. Here is a story about people in Los Angeles who keep courts accountable, and that is immensely important right now, especially with the abuse and lies from the federal government.
Make video updates of daily ICE and / or CBP related events. A lot of people are familiar with L.A. Taco’s updates, and Siembra NC did video updates in Charlotte, as well.
Record absolutely everything, if you do encounter ICE or CBP abducting people and terrorizing communities. The agents lie, and we’ve found in Chicago that having video proof of those lies has resulted in bogus charges against people being dropped. It’s been used as proof that peaceful protest was met with violence and in one case, it resulted in a Chicago judge requiring agents to wear an alphanumeric identification visible in two places, rather than allowing them to continue being anonymous masked thugs.

Is there something you think needs to be done but you can’t find anyone else doing it? Start that project yourself! Find people who can help you, and just do it. There are so many things that you can do to help, you just have to look and see where you fit in. You don’t have to be an Avenger or an ultra-charismatic leader, you just need to do what you can.

Be sure to check out Online Resources and the Reading List for more inspiration on how you can help.