Breaking the ICE

The ICE protests and strikes today inspired me to write out some of my thoughts on those frozen-hearted bastards.

In the last decade, I’ve strayed away from politics, having burnt myself out pouring so much of my time and attention on it from ~2006-2014. Now, I’m more pragmatic and less idealistic now than 15 years ago, and lean more into the socially liberal side than the fiscally conservative side. Despite those shifts, my core beliefs haven’t changed. I’m still very anti-State (there is a difference between government, governance, and the State, the latter being a group with the control of force over a given land area) and anti-authoritarian.

I’ve made a few comments on social feeds and asides in posts here, but I haven’t been clear about my position on ICE, so let me be clear:

Fuck ICE.

I searched through my old posts here, and my first reference to my unequivocal support of open borders was in 2009. My disdain for ICE follows directly from that belief, bolstered strongly by how those masked thugs are terrorizing communities, executing people in the streets, and abducting children.

I think ICE’s actions are less about immigration and more about provoking people into reactions that can be spun in the media, with the goal of flipping states in the midterms. In the coming months, I suspect we’ll see more ICE executions in Arizona, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Nevada, and Georgia. All swing states with major population centers. In Georgia we already saw more of the ballot office raids in Fulton County, GA, this week. Shocks to provoke a reaction.

Going into Trump’s first term in 2017, I wasn’t worried. I was certain that checks and balances would prevent things from getting out of hand, and that elected officials would have a bit of backbone and provide accountability. I was wrong about that. We’ve seen remarkably little backbone from elected officials, no one willing to challenge the Trump administration in a principled way. What a disappointment.

What do we do about it?

I’m still of the mind that normal activism is strategically worthless, as are standard political routes. They make people feel good but accomplish little. But I don’t want that to let me fall into apathy. Grassroots orgs that help neighbors affected by ICE are great, and we support them, but they are bandaids that help fix harm but do little to prevent it. Still important to help neighbors who are hurting and need help. On-the-ground reporting of ICE sightings help communities mobilize, which is also important. But all of these things merely hack at the branches instead of striking at the root.

What’s probably most effective? Only three options come to mind right now.

Political insiders.

There are maybe 50 people in politics who have the leverage and skills to make a real change right now, so not a route open to most of the 340 million Americans.

Physical sabotage, a la The Monkey Wrench Gang .

Effective, but extremely dangerous in this age of surveillance. We don’t live in Edward Abbey’s America anymore.

Digital sabotage.

There are weak points in every digital system. The apps ICE uses to coordinate probably have vulnerabilities. All digital footprints can be tracked, so you can track the trackers. Data can be polluted. Surveillance can be thwarted.

Also effective, yet dangerous with behemoths like Palantir surveilling people’s every move. One needs to be a ghost to operate unlogged in the digital realm.

The other thing that comes to mind is how much my personal risk tolerance has changed since getting married and starting a family. My first priority is being here for Amanda and Charlie, so I’m pretty unwilling to do things now that have a chance of landing me in prison. I cared less about that when I was 18-21.

I refused to sign my draft cards for the first couple years, throwing them in the trash. That changed when I knew I wanted to marry Amanda and we wanted to start a family. Then I decided to sign my draft card and send it in so I didn’t limit future possibilities and background checks. My risk tolerance shifted that day, and has continued to shift ever since.

Perhaps your risk tolerance is different at whatever stage of life you are in. Perhaps mine will change again in the future. For now, at this stage of life, I share information, support community groups and food pantries, be as kind as I can to neighbors, be a supportive partner for Amanda, and try to raise an empathetic, helpful, kind little boy.

Some anti-ICE things I’ve found worth sharing recently:

Molly White calling out the so-called anti-authoritarian crypto community for being silent on ICE.

“The answer, of course, is that they never actually cared about these principles at all.”

Learn about fake ICE paperwork that doesn’t allow entry into your home vs real judicial warrants that do.

Andy Greenberg on protesting safely in the age of surveillance.

25 years later, System of a Down’s Deer Dance could be an anti-ICE song:

“Pushing little children, with their fully automatics, they like to push the weak around!”

“We can’t afford to be neutral on a moving train!”