Embedded Files
Timely recent essay: "Who is Un-American?"
July 19, 2025
July 19, 2025
1-2:30pm @ the Channing-Murray Foundation, 1209 W. Oregon, Urbana
ICE is now the largest law enforcement agency in the United States.
Racially-profiling, armed, masked, and often unidentified ICE agents are disappearing our neighbors.
Our communities are being terrorized.
Come listen to leaders speak about local defense work.
Let's prepare together to help all of us through this terrible new ICE Age.
Panelists:
María Jiménez is an immigrant and DACA recipient, born in Costa Rica. Currently Executive Director of Immigrant Services of Champaign-Urbana, María is committed to being a strong advocate for immigrant rights and immigrant mental health.
Persephone Hernandez works for The Refugee Center and has been involved in immigration advocacy efforts since 2014 across the Midwest and South.
Brian Dolinar is an independent journalist whose articles have appeared in Truthout, The Nation, and the Public i. He does ICE defense work in the Urbana-Champaign area. You can follow his writings at his Substack newsletter titled “Sentences.”
Moderator:
Aimee Rickman is co-organizer of the SOS coalition.
Recorded segments of this panel will air on WEFT community radio's Catch the Beat on Wednesday, July 23 and 30 at 5:30pm. (Live streaming is available)
After two weeks, they will be permanently archived here.
Related resources:
Related resources:
July 20: Learn and use the SALUTE method
July 20: Learn and use the SALUTE method
Many people want to help protect against ICE violence, but using social media to report false rumors claiming ICE is in the community adds to terror faced by our already-terrorized marginalized neighbors. These rumors keep folks from going about their lives, and they spred false information that heightens fear and isolation. It is important to understand that this is not helping.
At the present moment, to avoid unnecessary harm, those doing local ICE defense ask locals not to share ICE siting information immediately. SOS panelist Persephone Hernandez recommends using the SALUTE method to carefully document what you observe. SALUTE is explained by the New York State Youth Leadership Council.
ACLU "know your rights"
ACLU "know your rights"
The ACLU provides Know Your Rights (KYR) information that explains your rights when being stopped by the police, along with students' rights, immigrant rights, voting rights, and other rights we should know. These resources are available in multiple languages. The fact that some are allowed to snub the Constitution does not erase the fact that we have these rights.
Rights must be continually defended.
Read about ACLU volunteer opportunities here.
July 18, 2025: Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting's Janine Jackson of CounterSpin discussed ICE's ties to wider US criminalization with Silky Shah. Listen online here.
"Know your ICA agent" by Ruben Bolling in In These Times. Click image to see full cartoon.
All SOS panels are free and open to the public. ICE is not welcome.
The Summer of Solidarity (SOS) catalyzes uplift of community-minded efforts that make our world better for future generations, despite the odds.
For numerous reasons, not all impressive, important, or relevant members of CU's organizing histories and futures could take part in these volunteer-run SOS panels. It is our hope that SOS catalyzes many more public discussions helping us love our neighbors, know our histories, and do what is needed to stand together to say no to thugs in the days to come. We look forward to attending them.
The SOS coalition invites us to stand together in celebrating our mighty, caring, visionary collaborative leaders who make all of us stronger by putting people before profit, and in challenging structural violence that targets, endangers, and criminalizes our communities.
Join in to honor powerful anti-authoritarian local collective organizing as we reflect upon who we are and who we want to be.
Love your neighbor.
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