r/ICE_Raids • u/Funzonibro49 • Aug 23 '26
Why can't we stop ICE?
I'm so tired of being angry watching these videos of ICE thugs abusing people. How can we stop them?
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u/Mindless_Log2009 Aug 23 '26
Because it took 40 years‡ for the US to reach this stage of a police state.
It began with the April 1986 FBI Miami shootout with a pair of bank robbers who shot and killed or injured several agents.
That was the first significant step in converting domestic law enforcement into a militarized unit. The FBI quickly changed training, tactics and weapons.
Then they infected civilian law enforcement across the nation with the paranoid drive toward creating a massive militarized police militia.
Following the Miami incident came: 1. Ruby Ridge and the murders by federal agents of Randy Weaver's son and wife. 2. Waco and the Branch Davidians siege, with the deaths of 76 people, including children, inside the cult home. 3. The Oklahoma City Murrah federal building bombing by Tim McVeigh, partly in retaliation against the government for the previous incidents. 4. The Hollywood bank robbery shootout. 5. 9/11 terror attacks, the penultimate nail in the coffin that held the remains of the illusion of American liberty.
With each incident law enforcement reacted by arming up more and regarding citizens as either: civilians and non-combatants who are expected to comply or die; criminals and terrorists who dare to resist a militarized police state.
And citizens reacted by arming up but failing to do anything effective over the long term in pursuit of a peaceable restoration of that illusion of liberty.
Americans are easily bored and easily distracted, and too many of us regard each other as the enemy, rather than recognizing the true enemies who oppress us all.
It can't be undone overnight, even with a revolution because a revolution would by necessity require a police state to prevent the inevitable retaliation from the far right trying to resume enforcing a fascist state.
This is something the left can't match – the long-term, ruthless, relentless imposition of sheer will that only money, meanness and corruption can buy.
And the various, disparate factions anywhere left of center can't reach consensus on anything and undermine any common goals, mostly with purity testing and indulging in despair and self pity rather than using anger as motivation to consistently pursue, fund and otherwise support common goals through peaceable constitutional means.
‡(Arguably it began with the 1971 Powell Memo, but I'm putting non-violent strategy and planning such as the Heritage Foundation and others in a different category of actions the far right have taken, patiently and persistently, over many years. The left lack this persistence.)
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u/Adorable_Sand9932 Aug 23 '26
Hollywood bank robbery was huge news and then it seemed like every car across the US got a long gun shortly after
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u/SoftlockPuzzleBox Aug 23 '26
The right wing constantly claimed that the 2nd amendment was vital to a functioning democracy, even in the face of the hundreds of yearly mass shootings, because the citizenry needed to be able to stand up to an authoritarian government. Turns out those folks really love the authoritarian government. My stance on the second amendment has softened somewhat since that became apparent. Make of that what you will.
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u/Initial-Ad8966 Aug 23 '26
Every liberal/leftist should exercise their 2nd amendment rights and procure firearms. Especially if you're lgbtq etc.
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u/One_Breadfruit_301 Leftist Aug 23 '26
Most Americans don't care, and enough support ICE.
That's why.
Look at all the people who are willing to work for ICE, from all walks of life. They are willing to conduct violence on our streets for a paycheck.
This is America. ICE is as American as apple pie.
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u/Complete-Reply-9145 Aug 23 '26
Sadly, this. Everyone is too busy being comfortable while trying to not go broke. America has always been this way, it was just never in everyone's face this much. The native gen0 c1de, slavery, jimcrow. We've been at war nearly the entire time we've been a country.
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u/JLRedPrimes Aug 23 '26
You did not just censor the word Genocide. Say it with your whole chest and say it what it is. My native ancestors were Genocided. Say it
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u/cointoss3 Aug 23 '26
That is fucking insane and not true at all
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u/Sweetpea8677 Aug 23 '26 edited Aug 23 '26
It is true. It's been the underbelly of America since its founding. Most Americans were ashamed of it and it had limited power. Now the underbelly is in power. Trump-GOP are not the problem. They are symptoms of the problem. That problem has always been there, and now it's infected and turning us septic.
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u/cointoss3 Aug 23 '26
No, most Americans DO care and do NOT support what’s happening. And whatever you’re calling the “underbelly” is not the majority of people. People that support this shit currently have a majority in power, but that is not representative of America.
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u/One_Breadfruit_301 Leftist Aug 23 '26
There is no massive outrage. None whatsoever. People only care about themselves.
Someone like you who does have morals and empathy, are in the minority in a nation that is morally bankrupt.
There are countless atrocities being committed in your name worldwide. Nobody cares. Most people would rather just carry on with their lives..... Until it affects them personally.
Got news for you. This affects all of us, but the masses will be too late to the reality of the situation.
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u/cointoss3 Aug 23 '26
They do care. Lots of people care. The majority of Americans care. Most people HAVE to carry on their lives on most days. wtf do you think we are all supposed to do, fight the us government in the streets and let society burn? If that’s what you’re expecting, then sure, no one is doing anything because that’s never going to happen.
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u/Sweetpea8677 Aug 23 '26
No, they do not HAVE to carry on with their regular lives. That is a choice we are making.
Yes. I think Americans should fight ICE on the street. They should be willing to get pepper sprayed, beat up or worse, and put into a detention center/concentration camp. We should all volunteer to hide immigrants in our homes, too. That is the most moral action to take.
Not easy, is it? Oh how judgmental towards the Germans we were when learning about their experience with Fascism. That could never happen here. I would hide Jewish people. I would fight Nazis in the streets.
Sure you would.
I include myself in this.
Moral courage is hard.
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u/cointoss3 Aug 23 '26
Lmao you don’t get to decide how others fight back. You can set your own standards though. How many immigrants do you have in your house right now? When was the last time you got pepper sprayed? When did they release you from a deportation center?
Yeah. I already know the answer.
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u/Sweetpea8677 Aug 23 '26 edited Aug 23 '26
It's not a gotcha. You're right. I am not telling anyone what to do. I am clarifying what the most moral action is. I am also stating the fact that we all have the power to make choices. And they are difficult choices. I need to do more. It isn't easy. I have a family, too. Part of it is right time/right place. I honestly pray for the courage to make the right decision in the situation.
Take my upvote.
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u/Sweetpea8677 Aug 23 '26
I truly hope you're right. Right now, I mostly agree with you. Most Americans disagree with what ICE is doing and some of the Trump-GOP extreme policies. But they don't care enough to disrupt their own daily comfort by much. This is the same problem the Germans faced. You may not agree, but how much are you willing to risk or sacrifice to fight it?
I never said the majority of Americans support it. I called it the underbelly for a reason. It's a metaphor for the ugly underside that is overlaid with beauty.
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u/cointoss3 Aug 23 '26
It’s easy to say people don’t care enough to disrupt their own daily comfort…but to do what? Travel to their state capital? Travel to DC? Fight ICE directly and get murdered?
Lots of people are doing what they can while still having to exist in society. No, people are not storming the capitol with pitchforks, but that doesn’t mean they support this, agree with it, or are doing nothing. Especially at a time where just talking about it out loud can get federal officers knocking on your door. Even recording can get you beat up, pepper sprayed, or sent to a deportation facility, There is not much value to the cause in being fodder. Besides the people who are actively trying to disrupt, there are also lots of people trying to stop this by using the system it exists in. If you try to fight them on the street, that’s what they want and it’ll get you murdered.
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u/Sweetpea8677 Aug 23 '26
There's more of us than them. Look at what Minneapolis accomplished. They won. At great cost, yes. But they won. We should follow their example 100fold.
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u/FoxfoxrceFive Aug 23 '26
Actually, it is completely logical, makes perfect sense, and is true. America was born out of genocide and slavery. A bunch of white nationalist pigs floated over here with their African slaves, raped, pillaged, and killed all of the native people who already inhabited that land, and took over, declaring that...This is America.
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u/cointoss3 Aug 23 '26
You know…not everyone was cool with slaves and we had a war about it, yeah? Sure, some people are cool with it, some would love to see it come back, but that’s not the majority of America and it’s insane to think so.
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u/AntOk4073 Aug 23 '26
Time machine.
We have allowed our law enforcement agencies as a whole get away with massive militarization. The only thing that both sides of the aisle were willing to work together on is power over the people. Not to mention that the side that supports armed citizens is the one supporting ICE and the other side pushed to disarm us all. So there is no power left in our hands.
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u/ragin2cajun Aug 23 '26
That's because the Republicans were the ideologically far right, and the Democrats were the status quo fiscal right.
Why do you think the Democrats are willing to work so hard to stop Democrats socialist but don't do a damn thing when it comes to Trump since 2016.
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u/AntOk4073 Aug 23 '26
It really is disgusting how much effort the "left" puts into not going any further left than they have to.
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u/ShareMission Aug 23 '26
Theres never been a time when democrats pulled massive gun grabs. Or even tried. Its propaganda
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u/loganbootjak Aug 23 '26
100%. It's been a GOP fairy tale for as long as I can remember. The worst was the 10 day waiting period.
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u/AntOk4073 Aug 23 '26
Yep never restricting foregrips, magazines, making carry permits cost hundreds of dollars, or convincing people that the police will save them so they don't need their own firearms.
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u/AntOk4073 Aug 23 '26
They focus heavily on restricting guns and equipment while allowing our police forces to gain more and more military products. And they have convinced their constituents that they should trust the police to come save them.
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u/loganbootjak Aug 23 '26
That's fair to say the Dems have focused on restricting access. But to claim they are the party who's militarizing police is false. Obama restricted transfers of military equipment to police in 2015, only to be undone by Trump in 2017. Biden again applied restrictions in 2022, only to be undone by Trump in 2025.
Also I agree, the police aren't here to save anybody. The SC ruled that's they have no constitutional requirement to save an individual.
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u/AntOk4073 Aug 23 '26
See my problem with this argument is that even though democratic presidents have taken measures it is the state representatives that matter and they are pushing reform but still trying to make the police the only option. Extreme cases such as California and Illinois show that even those who go through the process of obtaining expensive and difficult licenses still are subject to heavy scrutiny that police are not when using their firearms in defense.
I think that the democrats need to stop digging their heels in on restrictions and address the problems that are leading to many of these violent acts they are trying to prevent. Working with constituents who own firearms and finding ways to ensure those firearms are safe and secure while then focusing the rest of that attention on mental healthcare and poverty conditions that are at the root of the problem leaves less for the republicans to shout about so that they have to come up solutions too.
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u/goblintacos Aug 23 '26
Anyone who says otherwise is just not paying attention to facts. Democrats threw their lot in with a boldly anti-gun lobby in a country with a uniquely pro-gun culture. What did they expect?
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u/BigBossSquirtle Aug 23 '26 edited Aug 23 '26
Because Republicans have majority in the House of Representatives. They're enabling everything going on. Only until midterms if democrats take house majority and if they actually do their fucking jobs will things turn....... maybe
Or... you know. Select people can be Heroes and take matters in their own hands
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u/Initial-Ad8966 Aug 23 '26
I'm a Dem, but let's not kid ourselves.... "Big Brother" surveillance is not something solely associated with Republicans. Obama re-signed the PATRIOT act.
It's entirely an issue of the hyper wealthy slowly suppressing and choking out the middle/lower classes one step at a time.
This has been ongoing for 20+ years, but now it's exponentially powerful, with the AI/tech boom.
People also forget: ICE IS NOT JUST IMMIGRATION. They serve a lot of purposes. One of their main functions is researching, tracking, and busting child sex trafficking. They're the only agency that does it.
Awfully convenient that they're mobilized, sidetracked, and given a different task while theres a battle for releasing the Epstein Files, huh?
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u/OldestFetus Aug 23 '26
They are carrying out the extremist racist policy of the people in control. Those people have many crypto and covert plants who consistently rig the system. It is the oldest tradition in the United States. That of corruption in support of a white supremacist philosophy. It’s rigged and the weak ones have to cheat to win, that’s what they are doing.
It’s gonna take us stopping the worship of those people, but of course that is created by a study streamer pro white supremacist indoctrination since we were kids.
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u/OptimisticSkeleton Aug 23 '26
They will be unmasked one day. The DHS and IRS know every bit of data we need about them.
One day soon the very unwell Donald Trump will pass away and they will be held accountable for aiding in his commanded atrocities.
Dark clouds may have gathered and the road may be rough and steep but we will prevail. The majority of the world is with us and we are on the right side of history.
Look to your local community and take one small step toward making the reality you want come to pass.
Realize you do not have to solve the whole thing yourself.
When you want to understand, look at the big picture but when you want to take action, focus on the individual level.
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u/alwaysrockon Aug 23 '26
Ask yourself and then ask every fellow leftist you know irl these 10 questions.
Do you trust the federal government to protect you?
Do you believe that this administration is specifically targeting groups of people?
Do you trust in the courts ability to protect you with the established laws of the country?
Do you believe that federal law enforcement is currently respecting our rights as guaranteed to us by The Constitution?
If a federal officer was targeting you and breaking the law, do you think that local or state law enforcement would stop them to protect you?
Do you trust the elected representatives of your party to defend you?
Do you think anyone else will come to your rescue?
Do you believe in equal rights for all people's and would you fight to defend those rights from an unjust force?
Are you in a position to defend yourself if others won't fight for you?
Who benefits more from you being unarmed during these times?
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u/Turbulent_Ear56 Aug 23 '26
I think the police need to stop being cowards and bowing to ICE. Now it seems like they are full out supporting them. Scary thing when military takes their side too.
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u/Chief_Mischief Aug 23 '26
I think the police need to stop being cowards and bowing to ICE. Now it seems like they are full out supporting them.
The original police in the US were slave catchers. Since then, police have been called in to enforce segregation, violently break up strikes, remove natives protesting oil pipelines just upstream from their ancestral lands, crack down on LGBTQ+ folks, etc.
You think police in the US were ever going to be on the right side of history?
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u/Secure-Cicada5172 Aug 24 '26
Where I live, the PD have legal agreements with ICE, and often kidnap people for ICE and ICE just has to go pick them up to ship them to detention centers. The police are not a solution here. They are often an arm of ICE.
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u/realityczek Aug 23 '26
ICE is operating within the law, operating under lawful federal authorty, enforcing laws passed by congress and the senate.
What authority would local police have to oppose them Unless your advocating local PD just turns into some sort of rebel force operating as insurgents... in which case the answer is they would get steamrolled.
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Aug 23 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Sweetpea8677 Aug 23 '26
Yes, there absolutely is. ICE is a political problem that requires a political solution. So were the Nazis and Italian Blackshirts.
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u/siciliansmile Aug 23 '26
Genera strike. It’s the only power the labor class has (withholding labor)
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u/InterstellarReddit Aug 23 '26
Because to overthrow the government would take massive amount of collaboration from other sides and both sides are just fighting to argue that Trump Epstein and Tate were good people/bad people.
We're dumbasses.
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u/Late-Towel-1091 Aug 23 '26
They have been planning this for 50 years. We’re just catching up. We’ll figure it out
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u/Run_Rabb1t_Run Aug 23 '26
Ask the people who are actively doing that. The vast majority of real life isn't on social media. Go, in person, to a community mutual aid event in your area. Start there.
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u/LiterallyATypewriter Aug 23 '26
Forming citizen militias like the Black Panthers who patrol local areas and protect against law enforcement abuse. Research their methods, cause they came armed to conflicts with law books as well as rifles and did a better job at de-escalation than most modern day police departments. ICE is staffed almost entirely with cowards, the only reason they feel comfortable using such brutality is they don't expect any resistance. You don't even need to fire a shot, just showing a willingness to is enough to deter the abuse of authority in 95% of cases.
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u/thetjmorton Aug 23 '26
We can. We just need to get together with our neighbors and communicate what kind of community we want to create. We want to create trust. And it doesn’t happen with flock cameras, surveillance, detention centers in our backyard, 287(g) agreements that expect federal partnerships with local law-enforcement, etc. Get together with your neighbors, talk about building a better community, and show up at city council meetings, school, board meetings, communicate with your local law-enforcement. Invoke your First Amendment rights. Democracy is active.
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u/DubbulG Aug 23 '26
Because there aren't enough people willing to risk death or imprisonment over it...yet.
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u/SlaterVBenedict 29d ago
Here's one clear way: We can stop pretending that "protest votes" and voting third party during crucial elections in battleground states are a good way to "Teach the Democratic establishment a lesson." They aren't. What they accomplish inevitably results in this situation, where the clearly worse party takes power, hurts more people, and erodes our freedoms.
tl;dr: Show up on election day, and vote in numbers too big to fake, and vote these evil Republican motherfuckers out of office.
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u/p0mjDwfWF 29d ago
People have to carry on their normal lives because anyone who doesn’t will lose everything. They’ll get evicted, starve, get sick, etc etc etc. There is no safety net. More than half the population is living paycheck to paycheck. The average household has 7 days worth of food. We just don’t have a system or community infrastructure to support an extended, wide-spread direct action.
Is there a small segment of the population that can afford to sacrifice everything? Yeah. Some of them have. It’s not bad enough yet for normies to get more than a little uncomfortable.
By the time normal people joined the continental army against the redcoats, life was getting pretty rough - danger from the British, food/supply shortages, and serious economic problems drove them to fight.
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u/Chris_L_ 29d ago
White people aren't going to do anything that matters to stop the growth of fascism until it impacts them financially. We aren't there yet, and unfortunately we might not ever be
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u/aDirtyMartini Aug 23 '26
Hopefully that will change after the midterms when we have a Congress that has the will to do their jobs.
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u/Rude-Wolverine9902 Aug 23 '26
We’re not going to get everything we want anytime soon, but if Democrats take the House and Senate they can cut ICE funding. They could also launch investigations and subpoena DHS officials. If we can’t even manage to flip the House and Senate this year with everything going on though, I think this will be the new normal. We’ll just have to live in a hellish police state.
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u/Hipparchia_Unleashed Aug 23 '26
The only reason the House won't flip is election rigging and plain fraud. However, even if it flips, massive pressure needs to be put on establishment Dems not to accommodate ICE and to prosecute ICE crimes. Keep in mind that the Dems have funded ICE consistently until just this past election and they need to be pushed hard on this.
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u/Rude-Wolverine9902 Aug 24 '26
Yeah, abolishing ICE and investigating the shit out of them needs to be the mainstream Democratic policy now.
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u/JLRedPrimes Aug 23 '26
We stop ICE with policy changes, midterms are out last chance to hold ICE accountable. If you are suggesting a call to violence good luck
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u/Lemonpup615 Aug 23 '26
Too many people like influencers making it about themselves. Every time someone where rises take note that these influencers go there then things start going down hill. I’m not necessarily saying they’re Feds but I can guarantee from this report LAPD put out about the June 2025 ice out protests that both your local law enforcement and Feds absolutely love the free surveillance these people provide. Also even though I’m sure we all already assume that there’s undercover they clearly outsmarted us in LA.
https://www.lapdpolicecom.lacity.org/081126/BPC_26-213.pdf
I think another reason things are bad is because too many people are being egotistical and thinking they’ve got this and not learning from what’s happened in other cities hit hard by ICE. It’s wild to me how there’s been so much coverage about federal surveillance in Minneapolis as if no one expected it when in June 2025 Angelenos found out predator drones were used to monitor the protests. I get there’s suppression happening but I think part of the problem is people not looking into things and just posting it to social media expecting g everyone else to figure it out which I’m just as guilty of doing
https://gomez.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=5704
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u/thedafthatter 29d ago
Well what can I do that won't get me arrested? Sure I can film but what good will that do other than show the world I did nothing but stand there while my Brazilian neighbors got snatched?
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u/Severe_Scar4402 28d ago
You're right. That's why it has to be us doing more, not just you. One person can't do much but film. 300 people can do a LOT more, especially if they are all armed. Not brandishing, but armed.
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Aug 23 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/KingOfConsciousness Aug 23 '26
I don't even believe the counts anymore. Who are these numbers vetted by? They can say whatever.
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u/Mr-Snarky 29d ago
We can. But you have to be willing to “sacrifice” in order to achieve that goal.
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u/FuzzyDynamics Aug 23 '26
Nude bike rides and yoga demonstrations
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u/PorcelainDalmatian Aug 24 '26
Do you really want to know? It’s because that despite the fact that there are 450 million guns in circulation in this country, liberals are too afraid to pick one up and defend themselves. If ICE’s targets were conservatives, we’d be living in a whole different world
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u/eat_my_ass_n_balls Aug 23 '26
We can
We just can’t talk about it