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I live in an area where people ask you where you're from and if you actually live in the neighborhood. They may assume you don't speak English, like they have with my wife.

ICE has already gone through the town nextdoor, and I'm waiting for our turn. I'm light-skinned, but my wife and kids are dark with Mayan features. I fear that all anyone has to do to terrorize my family is call a hotline. We have all our citizenship documentation, but that doesn't matter anymore.

I keep waiting for the day when I'm going to have to defend my family, but I might not even be around when things take place. What if they come take my wife while she's at work? What if she goes shopping and never comes back?

I have nothing without my family. I have nothing.

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[-] abigscaryhobo@lemmy.world 43 points 4 months ago

I know ICE has a reputation of doing whatever they want, but in an effort to provide the most civil option possible:

  1. Have your family keep their papers on them at all times. In the house, in the yard, wherever. You get out of bed, your papers are in your pocket, in bed, they're right there next to you. Ideally add some extra notes (people to contact, names numbers and addresses if you have them) and keep that with it.

  2. Talk with family and friends and make contingency plans. Have a place to say you're from or find out where people are getting deported to, reach out to family/friends out there (if you have any) and have them aware of your concerns. Save up money to be ready to travel if you need to reunite with them.

  3. Talk as a family. Explain what could happen, and help them to understand what to do. Fire drills save lives in an emergency. This is no different.

I can't promise a solution, I certainly wouldn't recommend trying to fight with a gun if anything happens, all it will do is add fuel to their fire and get someone hurt. But being prepared to ride out a storm is always better than being stuck out in one in the open.

[-] muxika@lemmy.world 21 points 4 months ago

Thanks for the reasonable advice. We have all our paperwork in one place. I can see about getting passports in order. I've heard about passport ID cards, too. I'd like to have those readily available. Redundancy is helpful.

I have friends who can take care of the pets, and we have family very close by. I'll talk to friends on my block who can watch our kids in case something happens.

[-] Serinus@lemmy.world 16 points 4 months ago

Take pictures and/or make copies of your documentation as well. You don't want to hand them the originals and then have nothing.

This is insane. I'm sorry.

You might try calling the police if a situation comes up? I don't see a better option.

No due process means they can come for any of us. If laws aren't stopping them, skin color doesn't have to either.

[-] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 0 points 4 months ago

passports are identification

[-] agent_nycto@lemmy.world 3 points 4 months ago

The actual practical advice

[-] AntiBullyRanger@ani.social 35 points 4 months ago

According to lemmy, just peacefully protest.

According to history, take their factories down.

I am with you in whatever you decide what's best for you and your family.

[-] muxika@lemmy.world 13 points 4 months ago

Thank you. I'll keep protesting while I can and donating while I can't. I got my froggy costume, too, lol.

[-] D_C@sh.itjust.works 22 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Personally I'd move out of the country completely. It's going to get worse over the next few years not better.
If the fat orange paedo is still alive at the next election, and if there is a next election, I feel that he'll just go the insurrection route again. However I also feel that there won't be an election, he'll deffo do whatever it takes to become a dictator etc etc.
And if he dies then the regime that controlled and enabled him will still be there to carry on their work. Because, let's face it, all this that's happening isn't his idea. The useless orange child rapist doesn't have the mental capacity to have ideas. So the next person will just carry on.
So, again, I'd just leave if at all possible.

If you can't leave the country could you move to a friendlier state?
Or move to the town that's just been ransacked, do you know what the chances of the Gestapo going through that town again?
If your neighbours are asking where people are from then it's not exactly a friendly town to live in the first place.

It's no help to you but I'm sorry you have to live like this.

[-] msokiovt@lemmy.today 1 points 4 months ago

Not OP, but my question is when moving out altogether would be prevented. I know my family and I were cobsidering moving out by 2030.

[-] msokiovt@lemmy.today 14 points 4 months ago

I'd recommending moving somewhere that isn't 200 miles from any border, so ICE won't spy on you. They'll do this for everyone, including citizens, if they're 200 miles from the border on all sides.

[-] AmbiguousProps@lemmy.today 48 points 4 months ago

The problem is that they consider international airports to be "borders" so you also have to live 200 miles away from those. It's almost impossible to find that, and even then they don't exactly follow laws to begin with.

[-] muxika@lemmy.world 15 points 4 months ago

Thanks. I'd like to move. We've been looking at other states and taking our parents with us.

[-] regedit@lemmy.zip 2 points 4 months ago

I used to think IL was a shit place to live. Then we got Pritzker, and recreational weed, and corn (OK, we always had corn). This year we saw Govt. Pritzker actually stand up to tRump. I think all billionaires suck, but this one at least doesn't want to use his wealth and power for evil. He also surrounds himself with experts in fields he knows little about, allowing him to make decisions that are applicable and just. If you move here, look at college towns. Cost of living is moderate. We have some largish cities and places to work. I'd have your back also. I have a particular set of skills that make me a nightmare for people when shit hits that fan (hint ADHD, I accel in high pressure situations).

In all seriousness, I'm sorry you and your family are going through this. I'm sorry anyone has to live in this kind of fear here. You are all loved and deserve to be here, no matter what!

[-] oce@jlai.lu 14 points 4 months ago

Is there no document that could be prepared with a lawyer to clarify your rights, make them think a bit and move on?

[-] ignirtoq@feddit.online 47 points 4 months ago

Simple answer: no. We're beyond that now. ICE's latest strategy is simply to move so fast, courts and lawyers don't have time to do anything. There are dozens of credible news reports of them deporting US citizens, which means there are dozens, or hundreds or thousands, that haven't been reported on. They don't have to follow the rules if there's no practical way to hold them accountable, and they're leveraging that heavily.

If you don't have your papers, they deport you. If you do have your papers, they lie and deport you faster than anyone can stop them.

[-] archonet@lemy.lol 38 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

"sorry, I don't get paid to think, I don't make the laws, I just voluntarily signed up to enthusiastically and brutally enforce them" says the average ICE goon while tearing said document in two.

If you want to make them think a bit, being armed will certainly give them pause for thought.

[-] muxika@lemmy.world 8 points 4 months ago

Armed, but I could use more ammo. I can take my wife to the range while we have vacation time.

[-] oce@jlai.lu 1 points 4 months ago

Wouldn't facing then with arms give them more legal reasons to arrest you? I guess it depends on the state?

[-] anomnom@sh.itjust.works 2 points 4 months ago

Worse it gives them legal reasons to just kill your on the spot at this point. If you’re lucky they’ll just tear gas you and beat the shit out of you for threatening them instead.

Shooting at ICE would be a waste of a good life unless there’s some fully organized resistance militia out there none of us know about.

[-] qevlarr@lemmy.world 9 points 4 months ago

Haven't you been following the news? Paramilitary gangs are arresting brown people and ignoring laws, courts and common sense

[-] RumorsOfLove@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 4 months ago

I am so sorry. Stay grounded.

[-] ChunkMcHorkle@lemmy.world 6 points 4 months ago

If you think you might be aware of when they will come, consider clearing out for a few days. From what I have been reading, ICE cruises a neighborhood for 1 - 3 days, often first thing in the morning, before actually coming through with deportation sweeps. They think they are slick, but they stick out like a sore thumb to anyone paying attention because they will literally drive through the same area on the same streets multiple times in an hour.

This is no guarantee of having any kind of prelude, especially if you are in a state which has signed onto the mutual cooperation agreement with ICE, but if you have no better ideas, then seeing SUVs you're not used to seeing in your town would be a great time to visit somewhere else, even for just three days or however long you may think they are likely to remain. Family in another state, some national park, or even just some fucking motel on a highway somewhere else. A large, tightly packed older city can also be good, because they're easy to hide in.

It seems like ICE has two basic prongs to making their arrests: 1) those they have singled out beforehand and find individually going off of reports they have already generated, and 2) those they sweep up for the crime of existing when they show up. Getting out of town temporarily removes you from the second, and also makes it much harder for them to complete the first if you're already on some kind of list you know nothing about. But either way, clear out as best you can for as long as you can.

Pack now so you can leave at any moment, then time it the best you can. Do everything as stealthily as you can, hit an ATM before you leave and then use cash wherever you can, and absolutely turn off your phones when you go, staying off social media when you do turn them on. If you can trade cars for a week with family that you trust, that's even better because of Flock.

You probably can't do all of this, but do what you can, it's ALL worth the effort. It's not that they can't find you if they try hard enough, it's that breaking all their tracking wherever and whenever you can makes it more difficult. These are not shoe leather on the street boys, these are sit on my fat ass and have reports handed to me while eating another donut boys. At this point, staying offline is half the battle, because they can't go door to door, they're too afraid someone will shoot them, and rightly so. Note that California, Illinois and New York have some of the lowest gun ownership numbers in the entire US: that's not by accident.

I hope some of this helps. And in the meantime, please know that if there was any way we could help you directly I'd be DMing you with an offer of a place to hide out, but we are in a tiny place with health issues and no spare room at all. I hope that someone who actually does have the room to host you contacts you with an invitation. Because these are not normal times: this whole thing is insane, and it is flatly evil. Your life is worth as much as mine, your family is equally as precious, and it is outrageous that any of this is being done in my name as your countryman. I wish you every blessing.

[-] archonet@lemy.lol 3 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

If you don't already own a firearm, I strongly suggest now is the time to obtain one (rifle, shotgun, or a nice full-size pistol with a brace) for your family's safety. I would also suggest getting pepperspray, a taser, or a small-caliber handgun (.380 would be good) for your wife.

[-] ape_arms@lemmy.world 24 points 4 months ago

I understand the feelings that lead to giving this advice, but this will not end well for anyone. There are better options, especially if children are involved.

[-] AntiBullyRanger@ani.social -2 points 4 months ago
[-] dalekcaan@feddit.nl 17 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Not starting a firefight with a bunch of trigger happy fascist with the firepower of a small country who would like nothing more than an excuse to shoot some foreigners, with your kids in the building? I understand the sentiment, but this is not an 80's action flick and the average American is not Arnold Schwarzenegger.

[-] AntiBullyRanger@ani.social -4 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

wait wait, this funny for so many reasons, but why would you comply with your oppressors?
Isn't this exactly what they want, and you are willing to give it to them completely willingly‽

I get you just admitted you don't know your historical antifascist liberating acts, but capitulating isn't one of them.

[-] idiomaddict@lemmy.world 12 points 4 months ago

I think you’re underestimating the importance of the clause that their kids are in the building. It’s a very different thing to throw a brick at the cops when you’re alone and when you’ve got small children. The government doesn’t give a fuck about keeping kids out of it, meaning parents have to.

[-] AntiBullyRanger@ani.social -2 points 4 months ago

I am extremely aware how the US coerces families. I am asking if it's worth complying with the succeeding genocides?

[-] idiomaddict@lemmy.world 1 points 4 months ago

It’s worth it for those of us without children to make the hard decisions and let the people with them concentrate on protecting them.

After all, making sure kids survive, thrive, and learn your culture is how you deal with the aftermath of a genocide.

[-] AntiBullyRanger@ani.social -1 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

You can protect children all the while destroying fascism.

The problem is that 60% of the 🇺🇲population want their flavor of fascism. Democrats want it through Zionism. GOP’s version is playing out in real time.

What 🇺🇲 culture is there to protect after all the indigenous genocides have been already committed? How are you ensuring children thrive in GOP’s vision of reenslavement, pollution, climate destruction, and book burnings you haven't protected?

I fail to see a future children are protected that the 🇺🇲 fascists haven't secured. Unless you have brighter ideas than compliance.

[-] idiomaddict@lemmy.world 1 points 4 months ago

I really tried to engage in good faith, but I can’t believe someone simultaneously thinks there’s no culture and that there’s a genocide. If I’m wrong, it’s my loss. You have a good day.

[-] AntiBullyRanger@ani.social -1 points 4 months ago

I asked what culture you're trying to protect.
The one 🇺🇲 genocides for, or OPs?

Your nonclarity is what speaks louder than my typed pressure.

[-] dalekcaan@feddit.nl 7 points 4 months ago

I was talking about this specific situation, actually. The one this post is about? I personally wouldn't get my kids involved with a shootout with the US government, but you do you. Glad you were able to deduce my entire stance and general knowledgeability regarding antifascism based on that, though. Pretty cool.

[-] AntiBullyRanger@ani.social -3 points 4 months ago

OP already said they’ll protest and donate, if I read the sardonism correctly.

Anyways, hope your demolition of deathcamps goes better than 22 more years.
Glory to the 🇺🇲empire!

[-] dalekcaan@feddit.nl 4 points 4 months ago

Frankly I'm not sure what point you're trying to make anymore. I never said a single thing about protesting. You're the one who decided that me saying "pulling a gun on armed thugs is probably not a good idea" means I support full submission to fascism. You just keep putting words in my mouth and providing links to things that are tangentially relevant to what you're saying, and honestly it's gotten old. You can believe you bested whatever strawman you're projecting onto me if it makes you happy, but I'm not interested in continuing this conversation.

[-] AntiBullyRanger@ani.social -3 points 4 months ago

I think that's the raw issue: you haven't provided a proper solution for OP to protect his family.
We already agreed a frontal confrontation is probably not the best strategy. But I fail to see any other strategies that won't result in the family still getting abducted, raped, and deathcamped, that history has already proven.

[-] muxika@lemmy.world 5 points 4 months ago

We have a reliable handgun and some other weapons in the house. We could use some good OC spray, though, like the kind that shoots 3-10 ft. I hope I can buy those as a civilian. I might still have a spare handcuff key, too. Gotta check my military gear.

[-] ProdigalFrog@slrpnk.net 4 points 4 months ago

POM is a solid brand of OC, since it sprays in a concentrated stream instead of a mist/spray (the mist requires a bit less aim, but it doesn't work in the wind, and can often blow back into your own face, or be inhaled if used inside a room in a house). Their big cans are restricted in a handful of states, but the smaller pocket models are 50 state legal.

Good luck.

this post was submitted on 26 Dec 2025
328 points (98.5% liked)

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