Summary of SURJ Zoom (6/11/25)

The page below is a summary of the SURJ meeting that was titled White People Against Ice.

Overall Points

  • Many raids are in white neighborhoods because they don’t think white people will fight back
  • Trump’s actions are aimed at a white audience
  • What we are viewing is not unprecedented, these things are part of an authoritarian playbook that has been refined over the last 100 years or more
  • Site to support LA Right now (https://act.surj.org/a/support-la-now)

Speakers

La Defensa (https://ladefensa.org)

  • From Los Angeles
  • Work for judicial responsibility
  • Encourage progressive lawyers to run for the judiciary
  • Getting money/resources into community
  • Have court watchers to monitor what is happening and have a website rating judges
  • Right now much of the focus around the federal building in LA
    • People are being held in the basement
    • Congress people are being given no access
    • Protestors are being injured even though we are told law enforcement is using no lethal force
    • Helping to coordinate interfaith efforts to bring about justice
  • Suggestions
    • Look for immigrant rights groups and help out where possible
    • Keep eyes on workplaces that have many immigrant workers and sound the alarm if ICE shows up

White People 4 Black Lives (https://www.awarela.org/white-people-4-black-lives)

  • What we are witnessing is not a new fight be an escalation of present practices by law enforcement
  • The administrations goal is ethnic cleansing
  • Suggestions
    • We need to control the narrative by talking about what is happening with our family and our community
    • We need to keep each other safe

Common Defense (https://commondefense.us)

  • Organization to unite veterans for progressive causes
  • Although Trump uses military for propaganda, veterans have a long history of pushing back
  • Suggestions
    • Education on military members duty to follow lawful orders only
    • Make sure people in service know about whistleblower protections
    • Remind serving service members of their oath to the constitution and not to the commander-in-chief

Carlos Rodriguez (Immigrants’ Rights Lawyer)

  • Trump is laying the groundwork for an authoritarian takeover
  • He is normalizing taking away our rights
  • He is hastening the erosion of due process
  • He picked immigration because it polls well
  • Suggestions
    • We must push back on the narrative to change the polling numbers on immigration
    • Offering Mobilize classes on Mobilization and Building Support Networks (6/17/25 and 6/24/25) (Join here: https://act.surj.org/a/mobilization101)
    • Later they will be doing a more extensive 6 week training class