ICE OUT OF NYC NOW!

February 2, 2026 Newsletter

Andres Kudacki for The New York Times

Dearest Prattlers,

I wish that I could be welcoming you all back to Pratt on better terms, but the fact of the matter is that ICE is ravaging our communities and will stop at nothing to terrorize us into complacency. As Pratt’s widest-reaching publication, it is our duty to use our platform to spread information that is beneficial to our community. Instead of blandly-wording an email about the “challenging moment” we are facing, I wrote you a list of things you can do:

Want to donate to families in Minnesota that are impacted by ICE, or to organizations that are on the frontlines in Minneapolis? Visit standwithminnesota.com

Boycott the companies directly donating to/benefitting from ICE: Home Depot, Target, Amazon, Whole Foods, Hilton Hotels, and others which can be found on: https://www.boycottcitizens.org/ice

(love Spotify’s student discount? I switched to Qobuz, which has a student discount that’s A DOLLAR CHEAPER than Spotify, and doesn’t run ICE recruitment ads or send money to the Trump regime. Also, they let you transfer your library from Spotify FOR FREE!)

Donate to larger organizations, such as The Impact Fund, National Immigrant Justice Center, and the Immigrant Defense Project.

If you see ICE in NYC, call or text +1(229)304-8720. Provide as much information as possible: where, how many officers, when, what are they doing? What weapons do they have? Save this number in your phone for easy access.

Since the beginning of 2026, ICE has killed 9 people that we are aware of. Know their names, do your research:

Keith Porter Jr., aged 43. His GoFundMe is paused for donations, but I will share it here just in case it reopens.

Luis Gustavo Núñez Cáceres, aged 42. Donate to his GoFundMe here.

Geraldo Lunas Campos, aged 55.

Víctor Manuel Díaz, aged 36.

Parady La, aged 46.

Renee Nicole Good, aged 37.

Luis Beltrán Yáñez–Cruz, aged 68.

Heber Sánchez Domínguez, aged 34.

Alex Pretti, aged 37.

People’s Forum NYC has great workshops, protests, and other community events that you should consider attending.

@sjp.pratt on Instagram (Pratt Students for Justice in Palestine) has been doing great work for the past few years regardless, but is usually posting useful information, protest days and locations, and is organizing great events on campus such as the Wednesday Die-ins, which take place every Wednesday from 12-2pm in the Student Union.

Have you seen those red cards floating around the city? They come in 50+ different languages and detail your Constitutional rights. Print them here: (in English) (in Spanish) (in Chinese) (in other languages)

As I am writing this, Democrats and the White House have agreed to temporarily fund the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks while they “debate Democratic demands for curbs on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency” (per AP News). This extension means that we still have time to contact Chuck Schumer. He can be contacted either through his website or by phone—(202) 224-6542. 

Here is a script you could use for either: “I’m [NAME], a constituent from [CITY/ZIP]. I am asking that Senator Chuck Schumer support: a ban on ICE agents wearing face masks to hide their identity, a ban on ICE agents detaining and deporting U.S. citizens, ICE agents needing a warrant signed by a judge to enter a home, an end to ICE arrest quotas, and a repeal of ICE’s funding. My name again is [NAME] and my contact info is [PHONE NUMBER AND/OR EMAIL] My zip code is [ZIP].” 

We need to let Democratic leaders know that ICE is not welcome here. They have failed at protecting their constituency and they should know that.

At a time when most of us feel powerless, I hope that this non-exhaustive list of resources has shown that there are still plenty of avenues for each of us to make a change. Individual action is necessary when protecting our neighbors, our communities, and ourselves from state-sanctioned violence.

Lastly, I would like to share another sentiment that I find extremely important before signing off. I think it’s really easy to equate ICE with the Gestapo because of the brutality, blatant disappearing, and the similarities between the detention facilities and concentration camps. But we have to remember that Hitler drew a lot of inspiration from how the United States treated and continues to treat Indigenous and Black people, especially during the slave patrol, Jim Crow, and the colonization and disappearing of Indigenous people and Indigenous land. As stated by @ashleytheebarroness on Instagram: “ICE does not move like the Gestapo, they move like slave patrollers". The reason why we are more comfortable with the Gestapo comparison is because it allows us to ignore a particularly somber part of American history. ICE is not new, and just because they have begun publicly executing people does not mean that they haven’t been killing in private for much longer. Here’s a great piece about this topic that explains it better than I can: How ICE Is Mimicking 19th Century Slave Patrols

Do what you can to help your neighbors and don’t let the overwhelm of fascism keep you from doing the right thing. ICE has no place in our communities, and it must be abolished now.

Yours,

Ella Ferrero

Managing Editor

The Prattler