What is the role of a non-profit when ICE violence infects our communities like a plague?
We’ve been talking about this a lot recently as the pressure of the moment weighs down our minds and hearts. Since attacks on other fiscal sponsors and foundations in September, we kept our heads down and focused on our work. We didn’t want to risk becoming the next target and threatening our partners’ ability to do their work or anyone’s personal safety.
But now, this moment calls on us to say something strong, true, and blunt. Not because this violence is new. As one of our staff members said recently, this kind of state-sponsored violence is the reason RVC exists and our partners exist. It’s the reason we do this work, even as the nonprofit systems we work within continue to crumble before our eyes. But there is power in giving voice to what is happening around us and what we have always known to be true: No one is illegal on stolen land.
Because there are many truths in this moment that we hold to be true.
People like Renee Nicole Good, Heber Sánchez Domínguez, Victor Manuel Diaz, Parady La, Luis Beltrán Yánez‑Cruz, Luis Gustavo Nunez Caceres, Geraldo Lunas Campos, Keith Porter Jr, and Alex Pretti never should have been murdered in cold blood by ICE agents. Those thrust into cages and detained without care for their humanity deserve to be home with those they love. Minneapolis, beautiful and inspiring in its resistance, never should have been stolen from the stewardship of the Dakota peoples. Our communities, vibrant and full of life, should not continue to be subjected to hatred, violence, grief, and sorrow. Yet here we are.
When discussing what we wanted to say in this statement, we agreed. If we were going to say something, we were going to say it loudly to the people who needed to hear it. We know RVC’s audience is largely white nonprofit folks, who in this moment are oscillating between bemoaning the state of the world and going about business as usual. Maybe your organization even put out a statement condemning ICE and its aggression. But what next?
What are you doing to protect people and act in defiant opposition to this regime?
Over the past several months, we’ve been preparing. We knew this was coming. We know it will continue to keep coming, so long as violence against Black and brown folks is permissible. So we offered Know Your Rights trainings to partners, created a crisis communication plan in the chance that one of our folks gets abducted by ICE, implemented an ICE response plan so our partners and staff are prepared for when ICE shows up on our doorstep, and drafted signage for our doors to ensure it is clearly stated that our spaces are private and law enforcement are not welcome.
It still doesn’t feel like enough. It probably never will when faced with the reality that our parents, spouses, siblings, friends, community members, and children are being stolen from the streets.
So hear us loudly when we say these truths:
- Fuck ICE and abolish the systems that promote the capture and deportation of immigrants.
- If you support ICE, we don’t want your support. Seriously. Take your donations, words of care, etc., and go elsewhere.
- If you put out a statement condemning ICE, do something. Solidarity statements need to be followed up with solidarity actions. We cannot use your nice, polished words to convince an ICE agent not to kill us, abduct us, or deport us.
- We stand in solidarity with the folks of Minnesota. To see how you can support Minnesota and its nonprofit community, check out this resource from the Minnesota Council on Nonprofits.
