A community organizer shares lessons from decades of fighting powerful groups to help New Yorkers respond to ICE raids safely and effectively. The author, Michael Gecan, draws from his experience organizing in tough neighborhoods and working internationally. He warns that ICE wants to provoke angry reactions that justify more violence.
Instead, he suggests five strategies: keep people safe, use whistles to alert neighbors when ICE arrives, work with local police to protect residents, hold ICE agents legally accountable when they break laws, and plan to replace ICE with a better immigration system. The article explains that traditional protest tactics don't work against groups that don't care about bad publicity or breaking rules. Gecan argues that communities need smarter organizing strategies that protect immigrants while building toward long-term change.
He emphasizes that America needs secure borders and professional immigration services, not chaos or cruelty. The piece calls for new approaches to an old problem, focusing on community safety and effective organizing rather than just reacting to raids.