U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is inflicting countless means of physical and psychological torture on individuals and communities. People are literally dying at the border as they flee for their safety. Immigrants and citizens alike are being targeted.

You know what happens when a government targets, dehumanizes and strips an entire group of people of all their civil and human rights. Refuse to wait and see what happens next. Those who commit these atrocities rely on us to be silent and passively accept their actions. Inaction because you find the subject upsetting or don’t want to argue with family has the same effect as inaction because of active xenophobia. Showing support with your words and your vote is your minimum responsibility; this is the humanitarian crisis of a generation, and we have to respond with our feet and our bodies by stopping traffic, ending business as usual, and shutting down ICE.

ICE has only existed since 2003; there is no reason to accept it as a fact of American existence. I stand with the thousands of Jews and allies who have taken direct action against ICE at detention centers across the country to say #NeverAgainIsNow. Take this opportunity to stand with your neighbors and make a difference.

Olivia Williams

Kirkland