ICE Out Now!: Melting the ICE Age with Social Movement Heat

Saturday, January 31st, I had the honor of speaking at an incredibly powerful rally where thousands of educators, students, families, unionists, and community members came together to say clearly and unapologetically: ICE out of Seattle.

The rally was organized by the Seattle Caucus Of Rank-and-file Educators (SCORE), Seattle Educators Against ICE, and a coalition of educators and unions, committed to defending immigrant communities and keeping ICE out of our schools and city. It was moving to hear counselors and educators speak from the heart about why they are committed to social justice and to defending their students. These weren’t abstract principles. They were testimonies—about classrooms, families, fear, and love. The nurses’ union showed up in force and marched to unite with the rally, reminding us of a basic truth: when workers stand together across sectors, our power multiplies.

We gathered to make a commitment to protect our kids, to defend immigrant communities and to refuse a system that uses fear as policy.

In my remarks, I spoke about the long history of anti-immigrant attacks in Seattle—and how those attacks are inseparable from the policing and surveillance of Black communities. Immigration and Customs Enforcement does not operate in isolation. It is part of the same machinery that criminalizes, cages, and targets communities of color while claiming to keep us “safe.”

But yesterday showed us what real safety looks like.

It looks like solidarity.
It looks like collective care.
It looks like people willing to raising up for one another, even—and especially—when the system tells us to stay quiet.

I’m sharing the video of my speech as part of that ongoing commitment. This movement is built by ordinary people choosing courage over fear, and love over cruelty.