Missed No Kings, still got to protest.

ICE descended on my neighborhood Sunday afternoon as Spouseman and I were on our way home from a farewell breakfast with fam.

First we noticed a Kia Caravan family hauler with blacked out windows and out-of-state plates sitting at an intersection that didn’t have a stop sign. “Well, THAT’s sketchy,” we agreed and walked on, because sketchy vehicles stopping in odd places is an everyday sight in a neighborhood with iffy geolocation, multiple Pokemon Go pPokestops, and lots of people who get food delivery and call ride shares.

But then we spotted another lurker (a Chevy) a block ahead, this one parked on the wrong side of the street with one of our neighbors outside taking photos of it. And then the helicopter arrived and started circling our block.

Neighbor first confirmed them as ICE. She’d called the police on them for trespassing in her backyard (their hands are legally tied, so to speak, and can’t interfere, BUT they did say trespass was illegal and they could be there in minutes if she felt physically endangered or the agents refused to leave after being told to do so.) Neighbor seemed half-disappointed the agents left when told. I could empathize with the mixed feelings.

A third black kid-hauler (big GMC) pulled up to our side of the street. and rolled down their over-tinted windows to reveal it was packed full of uncomfortable-looking well-fed white men in full ICE cosplay battle rattle — vests, helmets, packed equipment harnesses and balaclavas up to their noses. The front passenger identified as “federal enforcement,” iirc and wanted to know if we’ve seen a stranger in a white tee shirt and red shorts in the neighborhood. We say no (which I would’ve said even if I had a white-shirted red-shorted person tucked away in my basement, tbf.) They try to play Officer Friendly, we say (variously,) “Shame on you, don’t bother, bye-bye, nobody wants you, go away.” They roll up and roll on.

Went home, made sure there wasn’t anyone hiding in the garage or backyard who needed to be sheltered inside, posted an ICE report on my socials and on the only rapid response website I know about for my area. (Still kicking myself for not downloading ICE Block before Apple went full Vichy Collaborator)

Got a text from Spouseman that he was down the block with some neighbors. Relieved I wouldn’t be worrying him by sticking my nose into things, I hustled out to join the action.

Have I mentioned this is a deeply suburban neighborhood of expensive single family homes in in zip code not known for racial diversity, with plenty of No H8 signs, but also plenty of yards dotted with MAGA signs before and after the election. What happened next surprised me but makes me hopeful for the future.

Within 10 min of that helicopter showing up, there were multiple people out in cars shadowing the ICE-mobiles, honking at them whenever they stopped until they moved on. People on the sidewalks in small groups yelling unfriendly but first-amendment-protected speech at them. People filming, one of them (what I would call a Junior Journalist but who was probably posting to a Tiktok) with a full professional mic setup and video assistant using a stabilizer rig. And least one woman handing out little “know your rights” cards to all and sundry.

I think she was the same one who stood in the intersection and yelled at one of the ICE-mobiles for a good solid two minutes. Heartwarming, I’m telling you.

Another one of the ICE-mobiles pulled over and downed windows to do the Officer Friendly routine, saying they were here to protect people and capture a gang member. Spouseman says to them, “You do know the film Schindler’s List, don’t you? You know who the good guys and the bad guys were? You know which ones you are in this situation here, right?”

My beloved Spouseman is among the LEAST confrontational humans I have ever encountered. I could not be prouder of him than I was in that moment. They stopped trying and drove away with a honking Jeep in close pursuit.

I wish none of this was happening anywhere, but if it had to happen, I’m glad I could be a part of a neighborhood coming together to to tie up a bunch of ICE personnel on an ultimately futile hunt for an hour and make them feel unwelcome the whole damned time. I’d been feeling bad I missed the No Kings protests because I just can’t handle mass events (and visiting fam also have good reasons for not doing them) so it really was inspiring to see collective action so close to home.

I hope everyone who CAN go to protest events is doing so.

So anyway.

This afternoon I can hear helicopters again, but they’re not nearby, and they show up on Flight Aware, so it’s unlikely they’re ICE.