The Trump Administration claims to be going after the “worst of the worst,” yet when children are used as bait, families are torn apart and LGBTQ+ couples are deported to countries where their lives are at stake, the “worst of the worst” narrative crumbles.
These sad truths form a dystopian postcard of Donald Trump’s America where citizens and non-citizens alike are subjected to undue process based on the color of their skin.
If we are not outraged at the sound of screams over the news, Immigration and Customs Enforcement wins. If we stand up and take action, they cannot win.
We may underestimate the power of one person, but one person can turn into two, and then five, then 100, then 1,000 and so on and so forth. Believe in the power of numbers – not just physically but especially financially.
Even though citizens can’t vote in the midterm elections until November, everyone, non-citizens included, have other ways of making an impact, such as boycotting.
Many major companies currently have ties with ICE or the Department of Homeland Security, such as AT&T, FedEx, Google/YouTube and Spotify, to name a few. You can easily check if a company supports or funds ICE with the help of available sources online like Truthout.org.
NPR recently published an article highlighting the anti-ICE protests in Washington D.C., which described the “calls for boycotts against retailers and businesses perceived to be in cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.”
This comes just after the false detainment of Jonathan Aguilar Garcia, a U.S. citizen and minor, who was assaulted and left in a Walmart parking lot after ICE discovered he was, in fact, a citizen.
Additionally, in early January, organizers successfully forced Avelo Airlines to sever its contract with ICE, under which the airline helped deport those detained by ICE.
These complicit companies are the closest personal relations many of us may have to the DHS and ICE. Fortunately, these relations only exist as monetary transactions, and whether you’re a citizen or not, you can stop those relationships by keeping your wallets closed.
It’s time to vote with our dollar and stop feeding the companies complicit in this massacre of our constitutional rights, held by everyone, regardless of citizenship status.
The current state of ICE and their tactics is not just a political topic anymore, but rather a matter of human rights. While the Trump-aligned get to protect their personal bubble of privilege, those that uproot their lives to help contribute to America are framed as “vermin.”
While not everyone has the ability to take to the streets and protest, some way or another everyone has the ability to control where their money is being spent. Our dollars make a difference, so be that difference.
