When Protesting ICE, We Need Messengers Not Martyrs

As ICE fascists increase their violence against innocent people, a word of reflection on how we make progress

This morning I attended my third anti-ICE protest this month alone. As Trump’s ICE army increases their aggression and violence against the American people, I’m reminded more than ever about the need for solidarity against extremism. This time I again joined fellow organizers at ICE’s Broadview, IL location. However, unexpectedly they moved the protest a block down the street. This attempt to distance us from the facility ended up allowing for an even bigger group of protestors, more visibility to a main road, and more solidarity. Yet, ICE violence continued. Let’s Address This.

Photos from today’s peaceful protest at the ICE facility in Broadview, IL

ICE Is Not Combatting Violence—They’re Creating It

Let me start by reminding you that more than 93% of the people ICE fascists have rounded up have no violent criminal record. This alone shows how the claim that ICE is “protecting our communities from violent criminals” is demonstrably false. Instead, increasingly, ICE is initiating violence against innocent people. For example, see this horrifying video from New York City just this week where ICE responded to a woman pleading for her husband by slamming her into the wall, throwing her on the ground, and pulling her hair. This behavior is indefensible, yet will likely face no consequences.

About this horrific incident, NYC Comptroller Brad Lander stated:

“I was back at 26 Federal Plaza today, where an ICE agent violently threw this bereft woman to the ground in front of her kids. She had not touched him. She did not pose any threat. She had to be taken to the hospital. Seconds earlier, her husband had been abducted by masked ICE agents who did not identify themselves, did not present a warrant, did not give any lawful grounds for his detention. Every day, masked ICE agents are acting violently against our neighbors, illegally abducting them, holding them in cruel and inhumane conditions. Treating them as less than human and not deserving due process.

A law enforcement agency committed to upholding the law does not need to kidnap people. Instead, they follow the law, procure a judicial warrant, read people their rights, and ensure they are following the Constitutional guarantee of due process afforded to every person in this country without exception. ICE is doing none of this, and instead terrorizing innocent people. If you need a primer on the unassailable right to due process, read the receipts in this debate I held with a Trump supporter who did not seem to understand this basic point.

Pepper Balled in Broadview

A similar theme played out at the Broadview location this morning, where ICE fascists pepper balled peaceful protestors. These were unarmed, non-violent, ordinary citizens standing up to an autocratic and unaccountable police force that is denying our neighbors due process of law. I was among the protestors today, and while I was fortunate to be spared getting pepper balled directly, the wind carried the toxic particles quickly, impacting each of the several hundred of us protestors present.

Here was my live commentary.

We cannot cede ground on this point—due process is a non-negotiable right afforded to every person in this country, bar none. And the best way to protect that due process is relentless solidarity for absolute justice. This can and must be a unifying factor for all people in this country, regardless of differences we may have. Let me restate what I’ve stated before: Justice permeates the human soul—it transcends creed, color, language, and borders. As a Muslim, I joined Christians, Jews, Sikhs, and people of all faiths and no faith at all, for the sake of justice. As an immigrant and Pakistani American, I joined Black, white, Latino, Arab, Indigenous, and more, to convey this message of justice without exception.

Messengers Not Martyrs

And finally, this is why I say we need messengers, not martyrs. Especially those of us who are U.S. citizens, we must step up as messengers to tell these stories, so those who are traversing the increasingly impossible immigration system do not become martyrs.

Every single one of us must do our part to tell these stories and ensure our neighbors locally, statewide, and nationwide are aware of what is happening right under our noses. We need messengers to show up to these protests and document the injustices in real time. We need messengers to share this content we post online to maximize its reach. And especially as corporate media continues to capitulate and enable these fascist policies, we need messengers who have the means to subscribe to help fund disseminating these stories, so they don’t get stuck in algorithm purgatory.

A protest sign that reads, “ICE ARE F*ING MORONS.”

Conclusion: Unity Over Division

As it has always been when the people have faced injustice throughout history, we the people are the ones we’ve been waiting for. And we must not miss this moment.

One fact is clear—the Trump regime and ICE wants us divided, silenced, and afraid. But what I saw today in Broadview—and what I’ve seen again and again—is that when we come together across faith, race, and background, their fearmongering collapses, and they become afraid of us. ICE has boarded up their buildings. They’ve put up fences. They hide behind masks. They forced us to move to a new location. They pepper balled peaceful protestors. Why? Because they are afraid of us, because they know that when people stand united in courage, ICE’s cruelty cannot prevail. And in our unity, our protest numbers only grew.

But remember, unity isn’t automatic. It requires each of us to step up. That means being a messenger: showing up at protests, sharing the truth online, talking to your neighbors, and refusing to let corporate media bury these stories. It means investing in independent voices so we can keep documenting what others want to erase.

I cannot—and will not—back down from this fight. But I also cannot do it alone. If you are able, become a paid subscriber today, or share this piece widely to strengthen our collective voice. Together, we can expose injustice, defend due process, and build the solidarity needed to defeat fascism.

This is our moment. The question is not whether we have the power to stop ICE’s terror—it’s whether we have the courage to act on it. No one person can do everything. But everyone can do one thing. Find your one thing. Be that messenger. And let’s demand justice, now.