Picture credit: Larry Saslaw/CSU Stanislaus, Public Domain
Less than one year ago, I, like many other scientists and federal workers, lost my job. For a few months, it seemed everyone I knew, knew someone who lost a grant or job. I moved for a new job opportunity and in my new home, most people had no strong connection to science or the federal government. Many seemed blissfully unaware of the mass firings happening across government agencies and the impacts on scientific institutions. My neighbors had the privilege to disengage. It did not touch them directly.
Then came the ICE raids and the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, along with Keith Porter, Opheilia Bauckhold, Silverio Villegas Gonzalez and at least 32 others who lost their lives at the hands of ICE in 2025. Now it was impossible to look away.
Throughout the last year, my institution stayed silent, but I felt compelled to speak up. So how could I connect the rapid rise of authoritarianism to chemistry or biology? When Bruce Springsteen released a new song in solidarity with Minnesota, I saw an opportunity to connect the protests with what we are learning in science and played the song to all my classes. I told my students they didn’t have to watch the video but that I felt like I could no longer not acknowledge the authoritarian crisis in our country. I pointed out that there is a short step from “don’t believe your eyes” when we clearly see the murder of two people on video to “don’t believe experts, don’t believe scientists, climate change is a hoax”. Science focuses on staking a claim, producing evidence to substantiate that claim, and reasoning to determine whether the claim is sufficiently substantiated. Authoritarians dispense with evidence to enforce their own reality. We are getting a taste of that in real time.
A handful of students have reached out thanking me for taking the time to show the video. Some students have shared their personal experiences. The violence ICE is inflicting in Minneapolis is happening in their neighborhoods, to their families. They appreciate the acknowledgement of harm and space to consider impacts. Some parents have complained to school administrators. But I believe starting this conversation with my students is important and worth the repercussions.
Many people are at a loss about what to do and how to contribute to the resistance. While we know that protesting is a powerful and visible way to engage, it is by far not the only way. If you have the means, support communities targeted by ICE and if ICE is in your neighborhood, work with your neighbors to keep them and yourself safe.
The most important thing is not to give in to despair and to take action, in whatever form makes sense for you. Each action builds on another and taken together, reinforces the foundation of a successful resistance.
We are all needed. Every single one of us.
take action
Write your representatives, no funding for DHS while ICE continues its illegal and cruel actions
Join in the fight to take back science, health, and democracy! National Day of Action March 7th
Next No Kings rally scheduled for March 28th
Join the next Eyes on ICE training February 5th
Freedom Trainers does an amazing job helping folks get the skills they need to take action, from striking to noncooperation. [Virtual and in-person options].
weekly wins
Science still matters! A U.S. District Court ruled that the Trump administration violated federal law when it secretly convened a group of climate contrarians to produce a thoroughly debunked, illegally created climate report to overturn the Endangerment Finding.
Liam Ramos and his father are back home in Minneapolis after judge ordered their release from the Dilly Detention Center
The scathing decision from the Texas judge is absolutely worth the read. Its short and does not mince words.
A Federal appeals court ruled that requiring staff to use a transgender person’s personal pronouns does not violate the 1st amendment!
weekly wonder
The giant kangaroo rats are back - a conservation success story and much needed piece of good news.
check it out
The White House has moved beyond using AI for ridiculous memes and is now altering photos of those they target
The list of creepy academics tied to Epstein continues to grow. This is barely scratching the surface.
Columbia, check
Princeton, check
MIT, check
Harvard, check and Harvard Hillel, check
Duke, check
Penn, check
Rutgers, check
ICE is tear-gassing children
Trump initially dropped demands for cash from Harvard, then escalated (I guess someone had low blood sugar and went on a social media binge at 12pm; happens to the best of us)
around the world
The humanitarian crisis in Sudan continues, with no relief in sight
The death toll in Iran following the government’s violence suppression of protests is shocking
Russia resumed attacks on Ukraine, targeting critical energy infrastructure during some of the coldest days of winter
more of this please
Students walking out of schools and colleges across the US and world to oppose ICE and the Trump administration #IceOut
A community network to distribute donated breastmilk, diapers, and food to families who are targeted by ICE in Minneapolis.
The resolve of ordinary people showing up to stand between their neighbors and ICE.
book nook
We Refuse: A Forceful History of Black Resistance by Kellie Carter Jackson
In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson
all ears
All about “reactionary centrism” on the Volts podcast, with David Roberts and Michael Hobbs
This American Life episode “What is your emergency” and what 911 calls sound like in the era of ICE
we got the beat
watch this
Congressional testimony from Aliya Rahman, a US citizen and Minneapolis resident who describes being detained by ICE
…by the way
“If it looks like fascism, sounds like fascism, acts like fascism, dresses like fascism, talks like fascism, kills like fascism and lies like fascism, boys & girls it’s f*cking fascism.” Tom Morello
🙃 Meet “coalie” mascot, the new ambassador for the Trump administration’s attempt to revitalize the coal industry.