Teen Vogue is once again showing that it views the current crisis far more realistically than our Democratic representatives do. It has posted Nikki Marín's story about organizing community-level networks eight years ago to monitor ICE activity, inform people about what is known, and dispel rumors that can otherwise run wild when people are frightened.
Here's how the project led by Siembra NC evolved the first time, with some lessons they learned so you could make use of.
* First, they realized there was no Spanish-language hotline that people could call to verify rumors about ICE raids, traps, etc. With a handful of volunteers, they created a hotline for that purpose.
* They then linked up a broader network to participate in neighborhood ICE watch efforts. This allowed the organization to have eyes on the ground to verify or disprove rumors, and it brought in alerts about ICE activity when it occurred.
* Next, they began offering trainings in immigrant neighborhood parking lots and circulating videos in Spanish that taught people how to recognize ICE agents by their activities. When a person who'd gone through the training actually spotted an ICE agent or a stakeout, they would inform the network of volunteers, who would then send text alerts out to people in the relevant neighborhood.
* Beyond that, they organized support systems for families of people whom ICE arrested. Often the arrested person was the family's main wage-earner, and there's usually no public assistance available to these people. The organization created a fund and worked with families to stave off eviction, hire an immigration attorney, etc. Dozens of volunteers raised money, some selling tamales and pupusas after church or in school parking lots.
* The volunteers also visited local businesses to teach immigrant workers about their rights and how to get legal help when necessary. This was also an opportunity to distribute fact sheets about ICE raids. According to the author, many of the businesses were quite supportive, and the project motivated a lot of business owners to testify against the local sheriff's proposal that would have increased ICE presence.
The article includes links to additional resources.
Compared to WaPo, the NYT and the LA Times, Teen Vogue is proving to be the only adult in the room. But those other newspapers are captured institutions now.
