Turning Public Support Into Political Pressure to Defund ICE - February 17, 2026
Plus the regime attempts to imprison activists, deadline to object to attacks on trans health care, building tenants unions and more
TOO LONG, DIDNāT READ
Bring new folks into the push to defund ICE by phonebanks with Indivisible, Common Cause and SURJ, texting with United We Dream
Trial starts today for anti-ICE protesters indicted as ādomestic terroristsā
5:00PM deadline to submit public comments to protect trans kids
Donāt assist the surveillance state - return Ring cameras and join the campaign against Flockās license plate readers
Learn how the Union of Pinnacle Tenants has grown into a powerhouse tenants union Sunday
MA: Join Progressive Mass to drive calls to the legislature during lunch
If you have questions, comments, and especially submissions for actions, please email us at roganslisttips@gmail.com!
BRINGING NEW FOLKS INTO THE PUSH TO DEFUND ICE
We can safely rule out a fast resolution to the ICE shutdown. Congress is out on recess this week, Democrats have shown no signs of folding and Republicans have given no indication theyāre willing to do anything to bring the deportation machine in line with our Constitution, our values and existing law.
Thereās every reason for Dems to stand firm:
Recent polling indicated yet again that their demands for reining in ICE are favored by supermajorities of Americans
60% would back reallocating the ICE slush fund to health care
54% of likely midterm voters favor blocking DHS funding until restraints are secured
52% blame the GOP for the shutdown
Nearly a quarter of *Republicans* now view ICE unfavorably
Judicial warrants for entering private property, a fundamental freedom enshrined in the Bill of Rights and a particular sticking point for the GOP, is backed by 77% of Americans
Voters thinks ICE is ātoo violent, too indiscriminate and has gone too far.ā The public is with us. Our next step is getting some of these folks engaged in the fight.
Along with talking with folks in our lives and volunteering with our local organizations, we will have multiple opportunities this week to reach out to the general public:
āļø TODAY, Indivisible is phonebanking into key districts, asking folks to reach out to their members of Congress and ask them to demand real restraints on ICE before they get another penny in funding. We can join them from 1-3PM ET here. āļø
āļø Common Cause is leading a similar effort to drive calls to our electeds TONIGHT from 6-8PM ET and THURSDAY from 5:30-7:30PM ET. We can sign up for one of these shifts here. āļø
š¬ TOMORROW from 7-8:30PM ET, United We Dream Action is holding a textbank to encourage folks to reach out to their reps in support of Rep. Delia Ramirezās MELT ICE Act (H.R. 7190), which would prevent DHS from entering new detention contracts, end all existing immigration detention contracts and demand that money is invested back into our communities for housing and health care. We can sign up to be a texter here.š¬
āļø Showing Up for Racial Justice is building for the long run, holding listening-first conversations with white working class voters in swing seats about their feelings on Trumpās immigration policies and deployment of ICE. We can join them on TUESDAY AND THURSDAY EVENINGS and WEEKEND AFTERNOONS by signing up here. āļø
THE RIGHT TO PROTEST IS ON TRIAL IN TEXAS
The trial begins today for the Prairieland defendants, anti-ICE protesters who participated in a noise demonstration in Alvarado, Texas on July 4th and are now facing prison time for offering āmaterial supportā to a shooting they insist they were uninvolved with and evidence suggests they had no idea would happen. The regime has created an āantifa cellā out of thin air and indicted some of its āmembersā for terrorism.
This could prove a landmark moment in the Trump regimeās efforts to criminalize dissent. We need to show support for the folks being targeted. āšæHereās some ways we can help: āš»
We can donate to their legal defense fund here
If weāre in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, we can attend the trial and join daily events outside the courthouse
We can find resources to help us educate the public about the case here
We can sign up for updates and follow the DFW Support Committee for the Prairieland Defendants here
HEALTH CARE FOR TRANS KIDS TARGETED - COMMENT BY 5:00 PM
The Trump regime is struggling to get bills targeting trans kids through the U.S. Senate, so theyāre seeking to make transphobia national policy by other means. The Department of Health and Human Services has proposed rules to block Medicaid and Childrenās Health Insurance Program (CHIP) funds from covering transition-related care for adolescents and cut off hospitals and providers that offer gender-affirming care from participating in Medicaid and Medicare altogether. If put into practice, it would be virtually impossible for trans youth to get the care they need.
Public comments are due on these measures by 5:00PM TODAY. š Letās make sure our objections are heard. We can submit our comments here and here. To write them, we can consult this fantastic guide on effectively weighing in on these proposals from Matthew Cortland and check out talking points here and here.
We can also find ways to offer material support to the trans community here.
RETURN THE RING (CAMERA)
During the Super Bowl, Ring advertised āSearch Partyā, a feature nominally designed to turn all of the Ring cameras in a neighborhood into a dragnet that uses AI to look for a lost puppy. Many peopleās first reaction was to assume ICE was having a field day with this ā it does not take much imagination to envision this adorably dystopian tool being used against undocumented immigrants, protesters, or anyone deemed āsuspiciousā by people in a given neighborhood. As 404 Media explains, Ring already has close relationships with law enforcement and private surveillance, and they recently partnered with Flock, whose automated license plate readers have been weaponized for ICE. (They claim to have ended the partnership in the wake of the post-Super Bowl pushback.)
If we have a Ring camera, we can find instructions here on how to return them to Amazon for a full refund, even for old purchases. And we can all join the pushback against Flock and the surveillance state by getting involved with the DeFlock campaign here or one of the local groups listed here.
GROWING A SUCCESSFUL TENANTS UNION
Our fight for economic justice will be won with solidarity and organizing as workers and as consumers. Weāve seen a resurgence of tenants unions in the last few years start to reshape housing politics and policy, and the strategies theyāre developing can help us fight for better living conditions everywhere.
The Union of Pinnacle Tenants, founded just last summer, has quickly grown to be the largest portfolio union in NYC, including over 50 buildings. But their successes havenāt come out of nowhere. š« Letās join this town hall hosted by the Autonomous Tenants Union Network on SUNDAY at 7PM to hear the UPT story and learn lessons we can apply to our own organizing. We can sign up here. š«
STATE-SPECIFIC ACTIONS
MA - BUILD POWER ON OUR LUNCH HOUR
What comes after calling our own state rep and state senator? Getting more people to do it, too. Progressive Mass is holding a āpower lunchā phone bank series, bringing folks together weekly to build our collective power in service of a better Commonwealth for all. āļø Letās get involved and call voters about contacting the state legislature on key issues. We can join them at noon this Thursday by signing up here. āļø
š KEEPING AN EYE ONā¦ š