Anti-ICE protesters are following same nonviolent playbook used by people in war zones across the world to fight threats
Anti-ICE protesters are following same nonviolent playbook used by people in war zones across the world to fight threats to their communities
Published: January 29, 2026 12:52pm EST
From coast to coast, groups of people are springing up to protect members of their communities as Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol agents threaten them with violent enforcement.
In Portland, Oregon, community volunteers have delivered food boxes to migrant families scared to leave their homes. In Portland, Maine, nearly a thousand people turned out for a virtual American Civil Liberties Union “Know Your Rights” training event. And in Minneapolis and St. Paul, volunteers have formed networks to give warning with whistles and phone apps when ICE is prowling the streets.
As someone who for two decades has studied nonviolent movements in war zones, I see many parallels between these movements abroad and those that have been organized recently across the U.S. The communities I have studied – from Colombia to the Philippines to Syria – teach lessons about surviving in the midst of danger that Americans have been discovering instinctively over the past year.
These experiences show that protection of their neighbors is possible. Violence can bring feelings of fear, isolation and powerlessness, but unity can overcome fear, and nonviolence and discipline are key for denying the powerful pretexts for further escalation and harm.
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https://theconversation.com/anti-ice-protesters-are-following-same-nonviolent-playbook-used-by-people-in-war-zones-across-the-world-to-fight-threats-to-their-communities-274498
