This week has been a stark reminder of an indisputable truth: no one is safe when ICE is present.

Moments before I addressed fellow activists on Monday at Faith in New Jersey’s “All Roads Lead to Delaney” action in Newark, we heard the news of the murder of Johan Sebastian Guerrero in Maine, shot by ICE mere days after the all-too-similar murder of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Texas.¹

This tragic, foreseeable violence does not need to be our reality. Johan Sebastian Guerrero, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, Silverio Villegas Gonzalez, Renée Good, Alex Pretti, and the countless others murdered by ICE should still be alive. Our communities deserve true community safety for each and every one of us.

At the action Monday, we came together not only to speak against ICE’s violence but also to hold accountable the corporations which enable it. We demanded that New Jersey end its contracts with GEO Group, which manages Delaney Hall and profits from the cruelty in ICE detention centers, and evict GEO from the state. You can see a clip from my speech here:

Each of us has a role to play in defeating ICE and protecting democracy. You can start by joining us in the streets this weekend to celebrate John Lewis’ legacy and advance his fight at the Good Trouble Lives On Weekend of Action, July 17-19.

Remember: Our multifaith, multiracial movement for justice is powerful and growing every day. As the current regime tries to tear us apart and make us freeze in despair, we will keep each other safe and build the country we all deserve.

In solidarity,

Jamie Beran
CEO, Bend the Arc

Sources:
1. ‘Fear, intimidation, violence’: calls mount to remove ICE from US streets after agents killed two men, The Guardian.