The Open Racism of ICE Unmasking at Airports
Welcome to our news segment: TL;DR of Immigration News, for when the news is Too Long and you Didn’t Read it.
This is a weekly collection of immigration-related news stories. These bite-size summaries will keep you up to date without overwhelming your inbox.
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For this issue of TL;DR, we are focusing on two major developments from the past week: the horrific precedent set by the verdict in the Prairieland protest case, and the horrific implications of ICE being sent in force to airports.
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On March 13, 2026, nine defendants were found guilty in a federal court of providing support for terrorism as an alleged “antifa cell” following a July 4 noise demonstration outside the Prairieland ICE detention center in Alvarado, Texas. As the Guardian noted after this heartbreaking verdict, the case is a “major test of the First Amendment and whether the government [can] use a broad anti-terrorism statute to prosecute left wing protesters.” So far, the US government has won—in what can only be described as a farce of a jury trial in Fort Worth in which little to no actual evidence was introduced.
All nine defendants, most incarcerated since early July, face lengthy prison sentences for various forms of dissent—including wearing black, having medic supplies on hand or a printer at home, deleting people from a Signal organizing thread, and setting off fireworks at the July 4 noise demo. But only one, Daniel “Des” Rolando Sanchez Estrada, a PoC immigrant, anarchist, tattoo artist, and beloved community member, is at risk of deportation too. Des’s “crime,” despite not even being there on July 4: Lending familial support to his wife, who was arrested for attending the demo, and moving his own box of zines.
While all the Prairieland defendants need your solidarity to get the charges dropped, especially given the chilling precedents that this case sets for anyone engaging in anti-ICE or indeed any form of resistance against US christofascism, Never Again Action has a key role to play for Des. If his conviction sticks, it serves a devastating blow to the notion of any First Amendment protections, loudly echoing the Red Scare and McCarthy repression targeting Jewish and other immigrants, albeit now amped up to eviscerate the Constitution altogether. And as an immigrant activist, Des needs widespread support to fight for his freedom from both prison and deportation.
Action items related to the Prairieland 9:
- Support financially: https://www.gofundme.com/f/get-artist-des-revol-an-immigration-attorney
- Organize letter-writing and fundraising events as well as solidarity actions for “Free Des” or write to him!
- Get updates and support on Des and the other defendants: freedes.net | IG @des.free.net; prairielanddefendants.com | IG @dfwsupportcommittee
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Why Trump Wants ICE to Ditch the Masks at Airports
The armed federal agents at airports across the United States are not wearing the masks familiar from ICE terrorism in cities like Chicago, Portland, DC, and Minneapolis. This choice by the jackbooted officers is courtesy of racist and classist assumptions on the part of the current administration about people who travel by airplane vs… people who go about their lives in cities?
The current president posted that he would “greatly appreciate” if ICE agents didn’t mask at airports; the remainder of that same post makes it clear he considers people at airports somehow set apart from whoever it is that required agents to mask up in cities. Meanwhile, all evidence indicates that ICE is an incredibly dangerous and irresponsible iteration of our militarized police state whose agents don’t even pretend to care about having evidence before they arrest someone. But a police state functions on fear, not evidence.
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In response to the unasked-for deployment of ICE agents to airports, TSA union reps quoted by the Chicago Sun-Times expressed extreme doubts about ICE’s abilities to do any good for anyone, at all. One rep called ICE “untrained, armed agents who have shown how dangerous they can be.” Another notes that ICE agents “lack the seven months of training” TSA agents go through--indeed, recent reports indicate that the ICE training program is down to 6-8 weeks at this point.
The situation at airports is unprecedented and in flux, but the ACLU has an extremely detailed guide about what we do know, which might be worth checking out if you or a loved one have any questions or concerns about flying in the near future.
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Tips to stay safe when traveling
Here is a helpful social media post about how to keep yourself as safe as possible if you decide to fly. Give YK Hong a like and follow and view their safety tips here.
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Action items:
NEW! Sign up to receive our beautiful Cups of Liberation Haggadah Supplement.
NEW! Check out--and contribute to--this ICE List Wiki for information about ICE agents and supporters in your state.
Donate to the Haitian Bridge Alliance and support Haitians in the US who are under threat of losing their TPS. Donate here.
Six Steps for Researching the Corporate Enablers of ICE - Little Sis
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If you have questions, comments, or suggestions for next week’s roundup, drop us a line at neveragainaction@gmail.com.