What Peaceful Resistance Looks Like: A Practical Guide
Moving from outrage to action when federal agents kill or harm people in our communities
In my last newsletter, I wrote about Renee Nicole Good’s murder by ICE agents and the painful echoes of the FBI’s smear campaign against Civil Rights Movement activist Viola Liuzzo’s death sixty years earlier. I also mentioned Silverio Villegas González, killed in Chicago, and the unnamed man killed by Border Control in Rio Grande City, Texas.
I’ve since learned about Keith “Pooter” Porter, killed in Los Angeles on New Year’s Eve by an off-duty ICE agent. I’ve also heard about others who were shot but survived—Luis David Nico Moncada and Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras, shot in Portland this past week, and Marimar Martínez, a U.S. citizen, shot five times by a U.S. Border Patrol in Chicago in October.
Ms. Good’s death was not an anomaly. It was part of a campaign of sanctioned aggression by federal officers against anyone who opposes them. Even though I believe this to be true, I can’t be certain that all of these people were innocent victims. I don’t have enough information to know. What I do know is that the Department of Justice ultimately dismissed all charges against Ms. Martinez and Anthony Santos Ruiz, who was in the car with her. That says a lot.
I also know that the various videos I’ve watched about Ms. Good’s shooting have led me to believe, based on what I can see with my untrained eye, that she was pulling away from, not toward, the ICE officer. I also know that ICE officers have no authority to pull someone over for anything except immigration enforcement. But I don’t know if I’ve seen all the evidence. And that really is the point. Jumping to conclusions before a thorough investigation by local and state law enforcement working with federal officials has been conducted puts us all on a dangerous path (for more about ICE’s authority, read this excellent analysis from former law enforcement officer, Kramer Hammy posted by Tom Hoefling).
It is up to us to demand that every case is exhaustively investigated, that the evidence is released to the public, and that those responsible are held accountable. Every time. And it is up to us to call out officials who try to sway public opinion, who defend their officers without considering the evidence, and who draw conclusions before these investigations happen.
That’s what I meant when I ended my last post by saying “we will be fighting for you.” After reading that post, several readers then asked: what does fighting actually look like?
Let me start by saying that I’m sorry I used the word “fighting.” I abhor the use of violent language to convey a nonviolent message, and yet, it’s so easy to fall into using war language that describes what we’re up against. However, we are not at war, as much as those on the far right like to make us believe. Instead, we are in an existential moral and ethical struggle to determine who we are as human beings, how we treat each other, and what our obligations as members of civil society are.
We are in an existential moral and ethical struggle to determine who we are as human beings, how we treat each other, and what our obligations as members of civil society are.
Gandhi described it as Satyagraha (sa-riagr-ahhuh) - meaning “truth-force” or “soul-force,” emphasizing moral power rather than physical coercion. In Gandhi words:
I believe that no government can exist for a single moment without the co-operation of the people, willing or forced, and if people suddenly withdraw their co-operation in every detail, the government will come to a standstill.
It is our responsibility to ensure that the truth is ultimately told in every case and that our government is as committed to this truth as we are. For that to happen, we need to demand that the government work with, not against, the people.
This is a guide for responding when federal agents kill someone in this country. In Chicago. In Texas. In Los Angeles. In Minneapolis. Or in your community.
Because it keeps happening.
And we need to learn strategies that motivate us to show up even when the victim doesn’t look like us or live near us. We also need to learn sustainable strategies that don’t have us living in a state of constant outrage or hiding in our beds because we can’t face it.
The Real Pattern We Need to Disrupt
The Trace is now tracking shootings connected to immigration enforcement. As of this writing, there have been at least four deaths in five months. How many more will there be by the time you read this?
The pattern isn’t just the killings. It’s our selective attention. It’s the way some names trend while others disappear. It’s the way we demand accountability in one case while ignoring similar cases elsewhere.
If we’re going to challenge this violence, we have to speak up for all of the victims. That means building habits of response that aren’t dependent on whether the death happened in our state or whether the victim’s story resonates with us personally.
Build a Practice of Accountability
This is the hard part. We can’t sustain outrage for every injustice. But we can build a response practice that doesn’t require peak emotional activation when an incident happens to have impact.
Here’s what one example of a sustained response could look like (Note: it is only one example. You might already be involved with others. If you are, I hope you will share them in Comments).
1. Track what’s happening
Set up Google alerts for “ICE shooting” and “CBP shooting”
Identify and get on the mailing list for immigrant rights organizations in your state
When you hear the name of someone who’s been shot, learn their story— who they were, not just how they died
Find out where detention centers (List of ICE Detention Facilities) are in your state. (Note: local jails are also regularly used for immigrant detention) and learn about conditions there and any protests or others actions being help there.
2. Know how to reach your US Representative and Senators
You can look them up here, if you don’t already have their numbers in your contacts: https://www.congress.gov/members. Congress might seem powerless, but I’m not ready to count them out yet. They’re starting to resist and that resistance is getting stronger every day. By calling your legislators, even those who agree with you, you are giving them your support and that matters.
Find out which committees your legislators serve on. If they sit on any of these committees, your voice carries extra weight:
What to say: Don’t just express outrage. Make specific asks. Below are some ideas, but craft your own message. You can also download the 5 Calls app for suggestions.
“I’m a constituent calling to urge [Representative/Senator Name] to demand:
1. Congressional hearings on the use of deadly force by ICE and CBP agents
2. Independent federal investigation of all deaths and shootings involving immigration enforcement
3. Public release of body camera footage in all cases where federal agents kill civilians
4. A public accounting of every death and shooting involving ICE and CBP agents, including names and circumstances
5. Policy reform requiring de-escalation training and restricting use of deadly force”
3. Make it routine
Set a monthly reminder to check The Trace’s tracker. If there’s been a new death, make calls to your legislators. Track which representatives respond and which ignore you. Vote and organize accordingly.
This isn’t about staying perpetually outraged. It’s about building a habit of demanding accountability that doesn’t depend on our emotional responses to a particular incident.
4. Support the Long-Term Work
Your financial support matters. Consider monthly giving of whatever you can sustain. $10/month to three organizations signals you’re in this for the long haul. Organizations can plan around sustained funding in ways they can’t with crisis donations.
National organizations doing accountability work:
The Trace - tracking gun violence in ICE operations
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) - immigrants’ rights division
The Marshall Project - nonprofit journalism about criminal justice
National Immigration Law Center – advancing immigrant rights
Southern Poverty Law Center – immigrant justice program
If You Have Particular Skills
You’re a journalist:
Cover every death, not just the ones that trend. Keep names in circulation past the first news cycle
Push for FOIA requests on use of force policies
Educate readers about the role of ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) and what authority they do or do not have
Connect harmed families with legal resources
You’re a lawyer:
Offer pro bono work with immigrant rights organizations
Initiate FOIA requests in your jurisdiction
Connect with organizations challenging ICE and CBP practices
Know the civil rights attorneys doing this work and support them
You’re in education:
Teach about this, being mindful of changing policies in your district. Connect current events to civil rights history. Use my previous piece if it’s helpful
Pay attention to student behaviors, especially after highly-charged national incidents, that might indicate the need for counseling support to sustain or restore their wellbeing
You work in healthcare:
Make an extra effort to connect with and reassure immigrant patients who are afraid in the current climate
Document injuries from enforcement actions
Know your rights when treating undocumented patients and connect with organizations conducting “know your rights” training to help educate others
You work in tech:
Support secure communication for organizers and legal observers, especially helping them learn to use secure tools and apps
Help organizations build their digital infrastructure so they can effectively get the word out to their constituents
Be thoughtful about what tools and data you build or provide to law enforcement
Educate the public about how privacy is being exploited by law enforcement and what the risks are
You’re a photographer, videographer, writer, or artist:
Document enforcement actions in your community
Create work that humanizes victims, not just their deaths
Support legal observers with your skills
Write or create art the connects with others and encourages their involvement in resistance efforts
Do what you can but do something
Pick one thing from this list. Just ONE. Do it this week. Then decide if you’ll do it again next week.
Pick 2-3 organizations to support monthly
Set one recurring reminder to check for new deaths and make calls
Choose one skill you have and offer it to one organization
AND/OR
Support someone else who’s involved with resistance (cook them dinner, send an encouraging message). A friend of mine who’s visiting Minneapolis watched the kids of a local organizer so they could attend the vigil/protest on the night of Good’s death. How might you support other activists?
The goal isn’t martyrdom. It’s sustainability. Take care of yourself so you don’t burn out before the long fight ahead. Process your own grief and anger in therapy, with friends, through art. Get out in nature and let it heal you. Remember that it’s OK to laugh. People who burn out in the first month, don’t help anyone in in the next.
What Remembering Actually Requires
I wrote about remembering names in The road to freedom is littered with bodies. Here’s what that means in practice:
Say the names of those killed out loud: Silverio Villegas González (9/12/2025), Keith “Pooter” Porter (12/31/2025), Renee Nicole Good (1/7/2026)
Mark anniversaries of their deaths, the deaths of Civil Rights Movement veterans and those killed by law enforcement. Put these dates and others that call to you on your calendar and make a note of them to friends or in your faith community. Light a candle. Say a prayer. Here are a few historical anniversaries to get you started:
Emmett Till – 8/28/1955
James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner – 6/21/65
Jimmie Lee Jackson – 2/18/1965
James Reeb - 3/8/1965
Viola Liuzzo – 3/25/1965
Martin Luther King, Jr. – 4/4/1968
George Floyd – 5/25/2020
Support families of those killed when funds are established
Push back against the erasure that happens when some deaths trend and others don’t
Remembering is part of accountability too. You can’t demand justice for people you’ve already forgotten.
The Long View
Lynda Blackmon Lowery marched at fourteen and kept fighting until she died at seventy-five. JoAnne Bland is still fighting today, sixty years later. This work is measured in decades.
Our outrage right now matters. But it will fade - that’s how human emotions work. What can we build in response to the outrage instead? Habits, commitments, monthly donations, routine calls, sustained pressure.
The federal government is counting on our attention span being short. They’re counting on us forgetting Silverio Villegas González’s name or Renee Good’s story by the time the next person is killed. They’re counting on geographic distance and demographic difference keeping us from connecting the dots.
Let’s prove them wrong.
We’re not starting from scratch. People like Viola Liuzzo and Jimmie Lee Jackson and James Reeb already showed us what the cost of justice is. People like Lynda Blackmon Lowery showed us it requires showing up again and again, for years, for decades.
It’s our turn to exert our moral authority in the spirit of Satyagraha.
What are you going to do this week? Share in the comments what action you’re committing to. Whose name are you going to remember?