"During the two-month ICE surge in Minnesota, Tribal and Native communities banded together with their relatives and neighbors to protect our streets from ICE violence.
Native Organizers Alliance Action Fund joined our partners on the ground in Minneapolis to reaffirm values that put community care, kinship, safety, and human rights above all else. We demanded an immediate end to ICE operations, accountability for federal agents who have broken the law, and congressional intervention to cut off funding for ICE immediately.
In Minneapolis and across the country, everyday people and students have organized rallies, demanding ICE Out! And we did so again at recent May Day rallies last Friday.
Then and now, students walked out of school to demand ICE out of our communities. And in some states, they have been met with resistance.
In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott has warned school districts about funding consequences if they don’t punish students for their peaceful protest. The Texas Education Agency has instructed schools to mark protesting students absent and signaled potential sanctions. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has opened investigations into school districts in Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, Manor, and others, demanding records related to student walkouts.
For generations, Native peoples have advocated and led legal campaigns against state-sponsored oppression. That history of activism lives on today through our collective action, and it teaches younger generations that democracy requires participation.
Stand up for the right to protest! Take action today to demand that State Superintendents and Secretaries of Education protect students’ right to protest ICE violence.
Sit-ins, walkouts, and other protests are a vital part of civic engagement. And we are leaning on that long experience to protect all who live on Turtle Island again right now.
Throughout U.S. history, students have used walkouts and sit-ins to speak out on issues that affect their lives. When schools respond with punishment or intimidation, it sends a clear message: exercising our democratic rights is a crime.
Even while ICE may be out of the headlines, their detention and deportation rampage continues. That’s why we won’t stop supporting and joining our allies in demanding ICE out of our communities for good.
Hawwih (thank you) for your bravery in the struggle to stop ICE violence.
Judith LeBlanc (Caddo) Executive Director"
This information came from a Call to Action email I received from this organization