Dem
47
GOP
53
Here is the question we put before readers last week:
L.L. in Seymour, CT, asks: How can I help Minnesotans right now? And others? How to help D.G. in St. Paul? I am protesting, all of the Connecticut federal delegation is speaking out as I would want them to, our state AG is at the forefront of lawsuits, and our state legislature is proposing legislation further limiting ICE in Connecticut. What else can I be doing?
And here some of the answers we got in response:
Anonymous in St. Paul, MN: Greetings from Minnesota. Things are as bad here as other locals have been saying.
Two days ago, ICE abducted a neighbor's relative right in front of our houses. They rammed his vehicle with theirs, broke his driver's side front and back windows (they brought their own bricks and left them behind), dragged him into the snow, and wrestled with him for a good 5-10 minutes while yelling obscenities and pointing their gun at the man's family while they cried and watched from the doorway of their house. Nobody got closer than 40+ feet, and still these guys felt "threatened" enough to aim their guns with fingers on the trigger at literal crying children.
We and other neighbors went outside to observe, film the evidence, blow our whistles, and try to support the family in the aftermath. It wasn't a protest, per se—I literally ran outside in socks on a moment's notice. It's just neighbors taking care of each other and communicating on signal. Though surely this federal administration would accuse us of being protesters or worse.
Our city council representative showed up in person, after being alerted on our patrol networks, to speak with the family and try to help them get connected with lawyers. He's been doing that several times a day for weeks, for as many abductions as he can get to. I'm grateful that one of our elected officials is really present and part of the community in this time of crisis.
Later this morning, I will be standing out to do another shift of ICE patrol and crossing guard duty in single-digit temps with a wind chill below zero. ICE has been targeting school drop-off and pickup lines. Minneapolis and St Paul have both introduced online learning options because so many families can't safely send their kids to school. In recent days, ICE has abducted teenagers and even a 5-year-old.
Most of the fundraising I'm connected with is small and hyperlocal. There's no tax-deductible nonprofit or even a shareable URL, it's just the Venmo link of trusted organizers and acquaintances putting out individual asks for support. I'm going shopping today for a family at my kid's school.
None of this is OK. Kidnapping neighbors and murdering community members is obviously the worst of it, but the widespread trauma for everyone living in and experiencing these conditions cannot be understated either. For people wanting to support from outside MN, my second-favorite political writer (after the Electoral-Vote.com team), Naomi Kritzer, wrote this helpful post: "How To Help if You are Outside Minnesota."
If you have friends or family in Minneapolis, you can also ask them if they're supporting local mutual aid and give to them directly to redistribute. Your most effective donation might be one you send to a friend or relative to give locally on the ground, through informal channels.
D.M. in Burnsville, MN: Civil Disobedience? Not necessarily.
Here in the metro Twin Cities area, the ICE and ICE-adjacent agencies are playing dirty by, among other means:
- Blockading parking lots of places where folks go to buy food (e.g. Target, Sam's, Walmart, etc,) and then arresting passengers on the spot.
- Conducting raids on schools, causing parents to keep their kids at home during the day, and schools consequently have closed officially.
- Parking their big, powerful vehicles in the public areas of apartments where targeted minorities are known to have formed communities, forcing families to remain shut in.
- Creating a general atmosphere that has caused targeted communities to refrain from seeking health care, jobs, recreation, and generally having a normal life.
All these tactics are part of ICE strategy to force immigrants out of their homes, where they can be easily nabbed. It's a siege strategy, plain and simple.
I have found that an effective way to help with the consequences of (but certainly not resolve) the Federal Siege: delivering groceries. I know of at least two churches in the area, and there are probably numerous mosques as well, who collect donations of food, sort and distribute, and then deliver a week's worth of groceries to families-in-hiding.
These institutions receive much of the food they distribute as donations from "anonymous" corporations, but they can always use more to buy the essentials. One thing that seems always to be in short supply is infant diapers.
Here's a current link with some direct answers to your question: "Ways to Support Minnesota's Immigrant Communities as ICE Activity Escalates."
The organization I've been working with, as a delivery boy, is a local Spanish-language church. Check out their (and others') webpages for current info on needs (i.e. money, dinero, dollars, pesos, bitcoin, etc.).
J.D. in Cold Spring, MN: First, keep doing what you are doing: Speak out, lobby your politicians. Stand in solidarity with the people under ICE occupation. On a personal note, the best antidote to my own ICE-driven depression has been going to public events and seeing lots of other people protesting and supporting our neighbors. Reach out to anyone you know in Minnesota and let them know that they are not alone.
Second, prepare. If ICE can conduct brutal raids in St. Cloud, MN, they can do it anywhere.
Third, donate. Pick a nonprofit group you trust and designate your donation to support Minnesotans harmed by ICE. Many religious organizations are supporting local immigrant communities, as are legal groups such as the ACLU and the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota. A local group here in central Minnesota, Fe y Justicia, is organizing volunteers to deliver groceries to folks who are afraid to leave their homes while ICE remains in town (baby supplies such as diapers and formula are especially needed).
B.K. in Eagan, MN: Here's a single resource linking to several worthy folks doing good work here in Minnesota. Stand with Minnesota.
P.R. in Arvada, CO: One thing that I think would really be helpful to help Minnesotans right now would be a small card that is very short and to the point in detailing their rights. It is surprising how few people actually want to help detail the rights people have and the rights ICE has. Take the "no judicial warrant" aspect, for instance. If ICE bursts through someone's door without a warrant, there is a clear violation of their rights. What should they say, as they are being marched away; what should they say when they get to a holding facility? ICE is clearly breaking the law here, so does that mean they have lost their immunity?
What about anyone who gets stopped for no reason, and they demand identification? How should someone respond? If they can't show a warrant or probable cause, can they then just drive away? If they start driving and someone starts smashing windows, again, that seems illegal and the person in the vehicle has the right to defend themselves at that point. What should people say that makes it very clear they know their rights and that they are being violated?
I have asked several places about this, and it is always ignored. I think the best thing you can do to help is to help make sure accurate information is gathered and then distributed to people there.
(V) & (Z) respond: The National Immigration Law Center has such a card, in English, Spanish, Haitian Creole, Korean, Tagalog and Vietnamese. Obviously, time for them to add Arabic and Somali to the list.
D.O. in Portland, OR: Ways to help, from a resident of one of the administration's favorite targets.
Take a "Stop the Bleed" course and purchase a decent personal trauma kit—they cost about $50 if assembled with bulk-purchase items, which many StB classes will help facilitate. These are purse-sized items you can easily carry in your car, or on your belt during protests.
Contact local activists and get tied in to their networks, rather than trying to start this all from scratch. Various disfavored groups tend to have networks that are already established, but if all else fails walk into the sketchiest-looking cafe in your town that is decorated with tons of 'zines and political cartoons. They probably host meetings for several relevant groups. Or just ask on Reddit.
Most such groups participate in bail funds for arrested protesters, along with scheduling coverage to ensure people are waiting outside the jails when they are released (they carry things like coats, phones, snacks, water, cigarettes and other stuff people need after spending many incommunicado hours in jail). "Jail greeter" is a very important, low-risk role.
Unpleasant-but-important thing to consider: If you decide to buy body armor for protests, you should look for the word "plates," as soft armor does not protect against common rifle rounds. New or used, they are always graded, and the appropriate grades are Level III (not IIIa!), Level IV, RF1, RF2, or RF3.
K.H. in Albuquerque, NM: I, too, live in a blue city in a blue county in a blue state and wonder what else I can do besides voting in every election, from dog catcher on up. Like L.L. in Seymour, I occasionally cheer on my Congress critters 5calls.org helps), show up for the big protests (No Kings, et al.), and try to stay informed (thanks, Electoral-Vote.com).
Back in FELON45's day, we organized a group of local political stalwarts right after the first women's march and started meeting monthly. We set up a WordPress site, a closed Facebook group, and a mailing list for our 40 or so political friends. It helped to know we weren't alone. We set that effort down on low simmer during Joe Biden's interregnum, but dialed it back up for the 2024 election.
Now older, with less energy and more health issues, we don't have monthly meetings. There's some socializing, a fair amount of political FB and e-mail, and a small neighbors-helping-neighbors network. I try to make it to local Democratic Party events and volunteer for the county central committee, but don't make it to the state level.
I can recommend staying focused on an issue or two that really matters and putting your money and time there, even though at the local level it might seem useless in a blue state. I care deeply about the environment and education, so I volunteer as a docent at the Albuquerque Botanic Garden. There I meet visitors from all over the country, not just locals, and have an opportunity to talk about everything from climate change and evolution to citizen science and our small herbarium collection. I may not be changing the world or flipping the Senate, but I am planting seeds of knowledge that I hope might change conversations and votes somewhere far away.
Anonymous in WA: Here is the rant that some poor woman answering the phone at the Wenatchee office of Rep. Kim Schrier (D-WA) got. Note that when a friend called the same office later, it went to voicemail. I think I did the poor woman in:
My name is [X] and I live in zip code [X].
I am extremely disappointed in Rep. Schrier's lack of response to the ICE raids and detentions that have been going on for a year now. As a physician, Rep. Schrier has been a strong advocate for health care, yet she shows no concern at all for the man from Costa Rica who was detained in ICE facilities in a healthy state this past summer and then flown home in a vegetative state, where he died 5 weeks later. And he's just a tiny part of the physical suffering and sickness that goes on in the detention centers.
I lived in Minnesota for 33 years and raised my children in Minneapolis. My son is Asian and I told him last January not to leave the country and to carry a passport with him, following the detention of the Filipino woman—a U.S. citizen—at SeaTac. I fear for his safety every day and now, following the murder of Renee Good, he is afraid to leave his apartment for fear of ICE.
A church I attended while living in Minneapolis recently had to lock down during this past Sunday's service because ICE agents were circling the block. And why? It is in a low income neighborhood with a high Somali and Latino population. Minneapolis had to close schools until February due to the presence of ICE agents and the release of chemical irritants on school grounds in one their high schools.
And what do I hear from the people that our supposed to represent me? Nothing.
It is time for all Democratic representatives to speak out loudly and with outrage at the monstrous behavior of ICE agents. It is long past time to take our country back and silence in the midst of state sponsored terroristic behavior won't do that.
C.F. in Waltham, MA: Contribute to the ACLU to help them push back more in the courts.
M.M. in San Diego, CA: L.L. in Seymour may want to directly contact the Minneapolis DFL. After all, this national nightmare ends with a political solution, and it's the local political party working on the ground that registers voters and gets out the vote, all of which depends upon donors and volunteers. So, e-mail or call asking how you as an out-of-stater can help them. Bet they'll be thrilled to know you care about their plight.
J.L. in Mountain View, CA: Early last year, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) sent something to her mailing list saying the number one thing people could do was go out and interact with your neighbors. I don't remember the reasoning; it was probably based on the literature showing loneliness and isolation are tied to a rise in extremism (search "fascism and isolation" and you will get many links making this argument). I thought that was a bit passive (not that I have done much that is more active since).
However, yesterday this article made its way into my news feed. In it, a reporter observes and reports on how a grassroots resistance is operating in Minneapolis, through Signal chats and neighbors working together in small groups. Reading it made me recognize that knowing your neighbors is also an important part of preparation for when the gestapo comes to your area.
B.R.D. in Columbus, OH: For people who want to know more about what they can do, Jess Craven's Chop Wood, Carry Water e-mail newsletter is very good. As her title indicates, she's all about taking action, and her frequent newsletters give you instructions about who to write or call and what you might say. She also does a Sunday Roundup of all the "wins" over the past week, and it's always encouraging to see what has been achieved, often through public pushback.
Ariella Elm, also on Substack, provides you with excellent material on what Democrats are, in fact, doing. She frequently points out how the narrative about Democrats doing nothing or being ineffectual is simply wrong, and she gives examples.
Two people with different aims from Electoral-Vote.com, but very helpful as supplements!
D.A. in Brooklyn, NY: The answer is not to focus on Minnesota but to focus on whatever is at hand. The Trump-fascist approach is to "flood the zone." They attack immigrants, universities, trans folks, Black people and other persons of color, law firms, Native Americans, DEI programs, a functioning federal government, democratic norms, consumer protections, protection for working people, climate catastrophe reduction measures, civil society, rule of law, you name it. We have to fight back on all fronts available. No one person or group can address more than a fraction of this, but if we all simultaneously and consistently do SOMETHING we will roll back the evil tide. Find people/groups who are already doing something and join in—make them stronger, louder, more resolute, and perhaps more militant.
B.J.L. in Ann Arbor, MI: I've been through my share of tragedies and been on the receiving end of both amazing acts of cultural awareness and tone-deafness as well. Some suggestions:
- No one is in a position to really affect change. People who I knew directly sent me their own handmade origami paper cranes they had made. Each of the envelopes I was sent contained 10 or 20 packaged in them. The crane, in Japanese lore, is meant to express hope, longevity, and good fortune. Not bad qualities after dreadful disasters. Send them to the mayor's office, the Chamber of Commerce, the historical commission, the police department, the hospitals, Renee Good's widow, fire stations. Everyone could use a little good karma.
- Find an American flag company and buy a U.S.-made state of Minnesota flag. Fly it high outside of your house and take a picture and send a snapshot to the mayor's office. They will appreciate knowing they are not alone. Don't buy the cheapest flag you can find that's Chinese made.
- Grab the Peignot font and use it one day per week in honor of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, which was based around there (even if it wasn't filmed there). The original credits used this funky font.
- Don't go to Minnesota. You can't help. I would argue for rallies around taco trucks, but that only makes the proprietors that much more vulnerable. The governor seems to be doing measured responses and, in coordination with the mayor and police chiefs in Minneapolis and St. Paul, a working team will evolve.
- I would probably carry pepper spray and roundup, if I feared I was nearing abduction. A little glycophosphate to ingest to let them think about what Parkinson's will be like down the road. FAFO, you know. Personally, I would want to take these ICE losers down with me if I was chosen on a given day.
Here is the question for next week:
M.S. in Alexandria, VA, asks: In his novel The Number of the Beast, Robert Heinlein posits that every fictional world ever imagined actually exists as an alternate dimension. His protagonists go dimension-hopping through various fictional realms (including several of Heinlein's own previous works). If you were to climb aboard the Gay Deceiver and head off to a fictional universe for a vacation from our reality, what would be your top choice of destination, and why?
Submit your answers to comments@electoral-vote.com, preferably with subject line "Across the Universe(s)"!