Following the murder of Renée Nicole Good – a 37-year-old writer and mother of three who was fatally shot by an ICE agent last week – ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) has only stepped up its activities in Minneapolis. Thousands more federal agents have been dispatched to the Midwestern city, clashing with protesters and creating a chilling atmosphere of military occupation, and an ICE agent shot a man in the leg during an immigration arrest. President Trump has now threatened to use the Insurrection Act, which would allow him to deploy military personnel to crush anti-ICE protests.

It is clear, as it has been for some time, that ICE is out of control, a lawless organisation which has been likened to a paramilitary force and even compared to the Gestapo (the secret police of Nazi Germany) by erstwhile Trump supporter Joe Rogan. “What happened to Renee Good is not an isolated incident,” Nanci Palacios Godinez, organising and membership director at Detention Watch Network (DWN), a non-profit which campaigns for migrant rights, tells Dazed. In 2025, there were 32 recorded deaths in ICE detention facilities; just over a fortnight into the new year, there have already been four. Several people have been assaulted or wrongly arrested by ICE agents while acting as legal observers, like Good was, and exercising their constitutional right to record detention raids.

“I think more and more people are understanding that no one is safe,” Godinez continues. “Renée Good was a citizen, and we have seen an increasing number of US citizens being detained or violently attacked across the country. The mass detention and deportation agenda that is currently happening isn’t forgiving anyone, especially if you don’t look white, and it’s only a matter of time before it happens to someone close to you or you.”

Below you’ll find a list of ways you can resist ICE and show solidarity with the US’s migrant communities, which has never been more important.

RECORD...

“I wouldn’t say to anyone that there’s necessarily a safe way to [stand up publicly against ICE],” says Godinez. The example of Good makes this tragically clear: she didn’t do anything “wrong”, and there are no handy tips that would have saved her. DWN has been training legal observers in the law and their rights, but ICE is a lawless organisation and violating people’s rights is a core part of how it operates. You do have the legal right to record ICE officers, but showing even the mildest resistance carries an unavoidable risk.

“However,” continues Godinez, “I think that we have a moral obligation to stand up, because they are taking our neighbours, our church members, our brothers and sisters in the community. I think that coming out publicly and standing alongside each other is one of the ways to keep each other safe.” One of the most effective ways of doing this is by capturing video evidence. “I think folks should automatically take out their phones and record and have that information to share in case it’s needed,” she adds. In the case of Good’s murder, this wasn’t enough to act as a deterrent, and in any case the Trump administration has promised “absolute immunity” to ICE officers (although this doesn’t prevent them from facing charges and hopefully they will one day be brought to justice). But the existence of video evidence, captured by onlookers, has made the nature of what happened unambiguously clear, provoked a huge backlash and given the government a much harder job in lying about it.

...BUT KEEP YOUR DISTANCE

If you see someone being detained, Godinez advises that physically intervening is likely to be counterproductive. “Keep a safe distance and don’t try to get in the way. I think that ICE is trying to justify the fact that they can use violence against everyday people, and we can’t fall into that trap,” she says. “And if you are doing legal observing, then I’d advise going out with other people, rather than by yourself.”

CAMPAIGN FOR THE END OF DETENTION CENTRES

New detention centres are opening up every week, and ICE is now one of the highest-funded agencies in the US, enjoying a larger budget than the FBI and any other country’s military bar China. DNW’s Communities Not Cages campaign is fighting this at the local level. “We are trying to block new ICE detention sites or contracts, stopping new permits from being issued and stalling the whole process before it gets off the ground.” The group is also campaigning for the closure of detention centres, which already exist, holding local politicians accountable for allowing them, and drawing attention to the inhumane conditions faced by the people inside, including allegations of physical abuse. “They’re being given spoiled food. They don’t have access to showers or bathrooms. There are families who don’t even want to stay in detention centres – and want to be deported – but they’re not being allowed to voluntarily leave because ICE is trying to keep a certain number of people detained,” says Godinez.

You can get involved in Communities Not Cages campaigns yourself, or look out for similar initiatives in your local area.

DEMAND AN END TO ICE’S FUNDING

As Godinez points out, the ICE detention system is not just cruel and inhumane; it’s a colossal waste of money. “ICE’s budget is increasing every year, which is extracting funding which could be going towards healthcare access, schools, better community parks, healthcare access, roads – you name it. People’s tax dollars are funding this deportation machine instead of things the community actually needs. If we’re posting on social media, I think we should make that case, and be more vocal about our community's needs,” she says. DNF have organised a petition you can sign today, calling on lawmakers to cut ICE funding.

ATTEND A PROTEST

There have been hundreds of demonstrations across the US since Good’s murder, and there will be more to come. “The fact that so many people took to the streets shows how communities are feeling: I think the tides are turning against this administration’s negative narrative about immigrants. People are starting to see detention impacting their communities, closer and closer, and [targeting] people who are just trying to live their lives and not a threat to anyone.” Attending a protest is a great way of showing solidarity with the people in your community who are under threat.