Standing in Solidarity Against ICE Violence

“Until we are all free, we are none of us free.” 

— Poet and immigrant advocate Emma Lazarus (July 22, 1849 – November 19, 1887)

Standing Trees works for robust, democratic processes and the greatest public good on public lands — including by advocating and litigating for more democratic management of places like Vermont's Worcester Range, pictured here.  Now, democracy and the public good are under dramatic attack by the agencies within the Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS), and it is incumbent on environmental advocates of all stripes to speak out. Photo: Chris Gish.

Standing Trees condemns the Trump administration’s national campaign of violence and terror against brown, black, immigrant, indigenous and activist communities, including the ongoing killings and military occupation in Minnesota. This campaign, which has been led by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and other agencies within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has brought death, trauma, and untold suffering to communities nationwide, and undermines every kind of progress for public lands, democracy, and environmental justice. 

At Standing Trees, we take community, legal, and policy action to protect and restore forests on New England’s public lands, striving to be a voice for the public interest and all our more-than-human relatives. We rely on the rule of law to promote better land management. Lawless federal agency overreach is the enemy of sound public lands management, just as it is the enemy of civil liberties like free speech, the right to due process, freedom of assembly, and more. Our work and that of civil rights organizations is only possible in a functioning democracy, where government agencies can be held accountable to the law, and people feel safe leaving their homes to advocate for what they believe. 

Unfortunately, the same playbook we see undermining public good and democratic process on public lands is being used to enable the Trump/DHS terror campaign. An invented “border crisis” is being used as pretext to go after Federal Wilderness protections across the country. Here in New England, workers, families, and activists have been kidnapped and detained without just cause or access to legal representation, while facilities like the “National Criminal Analysis and Targeting Center” and “Law Enforcement Support Center” (both located in Williston, VT) enable ICE raids nationwide, and publicly-funded institutions like state prisons and the Hanscom, Pease and Burlington airports have become regional hubs for ICE. Just as we work to put public lands to the highest public good and hold land management agencies accountable to the law, we demand that federal agencies be held accountable for their campaign of terror, and that public facilities like prisons and airports no longer be used to facilitate this campaign.

We demand that members of Congress refuse to provide funding to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Border Patrol, including by voting NO on any form of appropriations that includes continued or expanded funding for these unaccountable agencies. We call on state lawmakers to pass laws protecting communities from ICE and DHS, as S. 208 and S. 209 in Vermont begin to do. We encourage Standing Trees members to get involved in local mutual aid and rapid response efforts — as a starting place, consider checking out groups like Migrant Justice and Vermont Asylum Assistance Project. 

TAKE ACTION: As we write this on January 29th, the US Senate is considering dramatic increases to ICE and CBP budgets in the appropriations package that needs to pass by Friday to avoid a partial government shutdown. Since their inception in 2003, ICE and CBP have failed time after time to operate within the bounds of human rights and the law. Our country deserves systemic change, not continued taxpayer funding to these unaccountable agencies.

Please call your US Senators today (use this tool to find the contact information for your members of Congress) to demand they vote NO on any appropriations bill that provides additional or continued funding to ICE and CBP before these agencies permanently cease their violence and abuse. New England Senators — especially the New Hampshire and Maine delegations — may be key votes on this, and they need to hear constituents demand they stop funding the Trump Administration’s terror campaign. Here’s a simple call script:

Hi. My name is ____ and I live in ___. As your constituent, I’m calling to demand that the Senator vote NO on the FY2026 DHS funding bill, and any appropriations bill that includes continued funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). These two agencies are acting without accountability and do immense harm to our communities. I am counting on you to halt all funding to these agencies until their violence and abuse come to a stop, and until DHS comes under new leadership and begins to act in accordance with U.S. laws.

In solidarity,

Zack, Chris, and the whole Standing Trees Community