What to Do When There are Rumors of ICE
Rev. Breanna Illéné, Director of Ecumenical Innovation and Justice Initiatives
Last week, my phone pinged with multiple friends sending me a post reporting the presence of a large contingent of ICE agents in Madison. I logged onto my Facebook feed and saw the same screenshot shared across my feed. My immediate response was to ask, “What can we do?” and “How do we keep people safe?” Sitting in the stress of our current moment, which includes stories of people being disappeared across our country, images of men in masks tearing families apart, the creation of a concentration camp in Florida, and the passage of a big, ugly bill that massively expands immigration enforcement, I wanted to act.
Yet, I took a moment to slow down. To breathe. Because I realized that we are all on edge right now, and even when people have good intentions, misinformation spreads like wildfire. In an article from January, the deputy director of organizing for Voces de la Frontera spoke about the power of posts like these. "It sends shockwaves. And it is a domino effect. It could result in accidents … because there’s panic."
Voces de la Frontera has set up a verifier hotline (1-800-427-0213) and eventually posted that the report of ICE in Madison was false. They pointed to the fact that there are numerous large events in our state, and vendors and security teams are often at local hotels; this was most likely what people had seen.
So what are we to do? We want to help, but also keep people safe. There are things we can do before we see any reports. First, build connections with local immigrant groups. Understand the impact of anxiety in these communities, and understand their resilience, too. People are living their daily lives under enormous strain. Honor not only their struggles, but their faithfulness. Also, we can take concrete action to be in solidarity with our immigrant neighbors as a community. Learn about 287g agreements and advocate against them. Trust is a critical community asset.
And then, should we see something, here are the steps we should take:
Pause. Look at who is sharing the report. Are they a trusted source? Are there details that actually seem plausible?
Check with trusted immigrant groups if reports are true.
There is so much happening in our world. Let us continue to pray for our immigrant communities and continue to show up to love our neighbors.
