\u201cIt is so painful to know what happened to Renee, but we need to say that that will not happen again,\u201d she said, a day before a nonfatal shooting set Minneapolis off on\u00a0 another round of unrest. \u201cWe all need to lend our voices to showing ICE and the federal government that this is absolutely not acceptable in Philadelphia or anywhere around the country.\u201d<\/p>\n
ICE has been at the forefront of President Trump\u2019s immigration policy, which has targeted non-citizens since his inauguration in January 2025. Good\u2019s death sparked a huge response. At a protest in Philadelphia last week, protestors united in \u201cgrief and anger<\/a>,\u201d and pushed back against ICE\u2019s activity in the city.\u00a0<\/p>\n Erika Guadalupe N\u00fa\u00f1ez, executive director of immigrants\u2019 rights nonprofit Juntos<\/a>, called the actions of ICE officers toward Philadelphians \u201cintimidating and brutal.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Landau was critical of the recent actions of the ICE officers.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we\u2019re seeing ICE do when they come into cities and into towns across America is they\u2019re instilling so much fear,\u201d she said. \u201cThey are breaking laws. They are acting with a reckless abandonment of any rule of law and in an authoritarian way, and they are really just trying to take over cities, scaring people and rounding them up.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Training focused on bystanders<\/p>\n Tuesday\u2019s training, for about 100 attendees, focused primarily on how bystanders who may not necessarily be in fear of detainment can provide support to their at-risk neighbors during a raid.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n It included simulations on how to address ICE officers, advice for how to interact legally, and instruction on addressing ICE in the workplace.\u00a0<\/p>\n Early on, those who attended shared their reasons for being there.\u00a0<\/p>\n Some said it made them \u201cmore hopeful,\u201d while others said that they wanted to feel more informed.\u00a0<\/p>\n One participant, who lives in Queen Village, said they attended the training to figure out how they can be most helpful during an ICE raid.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know who\u2019s going to let me know when ICE is in the Italian Market or down along Washington Avenue, where all the Asian businesses are,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m not plugged into getting notice of the need to come out.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Rachie Weisberg, a trainer from Working Families Power<\/a>, began the training with statistics.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe arrest quota for ICE per day has risen dramatically,\u201d she said. \u201cIt used to be around 1,000 per day. Now, it\u2019s around 3,000 per day.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n According to recent ICE data<\/a>,\u00a0 ICE arrests have increased 37.6% from 2016. The administration maintains<\/a> it is \u201cprotecting the American people against invasion\u201d by removing illegal immigrants who \u201cpresent significant threats to national security and public safety.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n But critics of the administration\u2019s policies and actions have been vocal. State and city officials in Minnesota and Illinois have filed lawsuits<\/a> following ICE activity, saying the deployment of agents in these states violates the U.S. Constitution and states\u2019 rights.\u00a0<\/p>\n Advocates have been calling <\/a>for Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro to end the state\u2019s collaboration with ICE since last year. While Shapiro said he is \u201cmourning the tragic loss of life in Minneapolis\u201d in an X post<\/a> days after the attack, the state has not yet moved to end its collaborations with ICE. However, many local leaders across the state have taken action.\u00a0<\/p>\n In a joint statement on Wednesday,<\/a> 18 Pennsylvania state senators and representatives serving legislative districts across Philadelphia called for the state and all local governments to \u201crenounce collaboration with ICE.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n In Philadelphia, Sheriff Rochelle Bilal got national attention<\/a> last week for saying she would \u201cbring the smoke\u201d against ICE. In a press conference on Wednesday<\/a>, District Attorney Larry Krasner and some local leaders doubled down on this sentiment.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe will arrest you,\u201d Krasner warned.\u00a0<\/p>\n And in the suburbs, Bucks County Sheriff Danny Ceisler officially ended<\/a> the county\u2019s agreement with ICE on Wednesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n Following the fatal shooting of Good, Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O\u2019Connor said the city will continue to not assist <\/a>with ICE operations. Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker has not indicated any changes in the city\u2019s <\/a>collaborations with ICE, but DA Krasner and Chief Public Defender Keisha Hudson have emphasized that they want to have further conversations with Parker\u2019s administration on the matter.\u00a0<\/p>\n Additionally, recent research<\/a> shows that many Americans do not approve of the way ICE is enforcing immigration laws. A poll from Quinnipiac University<\/a> shows that 40% of respondents approve of the way ICE is enforcing immigration laws, while 57% disapprove.\u00a0<\/p>\n Despite this \u201cbleak picture,\u201d Weisberg explained the organization feels now is the time to mobilize in helping to keep ICE interactions minimal and cordial.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe are in this opportunity moment,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re in this moment where the tides are shifting, and we need to be really steadfast in protecting our neighbors.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The \u201cfive Ds\u201d<\/p>\n Weisberg followed with a presentation of the \u201cFive Ds\u201d for resisting ICE. The first is documenting.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSo document, film, photograph, and take note of what you see,\u201d she said. \u201cMake sure to gather as much information as possible.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n She used Good\u2019s shooting as an example, emphasizing how videos from different perspectives helped to provide context and counter arguments she had tried to run down the agent.<\/p>\n The next is disseminating, which can include giving information to \u201crapid response networks\u201d to help the community be aware of raids, and then directing, which can involve actively engaging with the situation.<\/p>\n Trainers emphasized it is important to use your best judgment and do what feels comfortable in each individual situation. This included making sure to walk, not run, from ICE officers if they say you\u2019re free to go, understanding risk when creating physical barriers, and ensuring that others are around to help document if these strategies are employed.\u00a0<\/p>\n Other responses include delaying or disrupting, she explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou want to try to figure out ways to buy time,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n A point of emphasis in the training and these strategies was personal risk. Weisberg explained that, in many situations, ICE may not use legal or ethical strategies, meaning Philadelphians could be putting themselves in harm\u2019s way if they use these strategies.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think that you are trying to make them really frustrated so that they just kind of give up \u2026 and we\u2019ll go over different scales of disruption, because you also have to assess your own risk when you\u2019re doing disruption,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Weisberg said another important part of de-escalating situations with ICE is refraining from saying or showing anything.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cNo one ever has to talk to ICE,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd in the same way, you don\u2019t have to show ICE anything.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The trainers from the group went into detail on each strategy. This included videos, legal information and a Q&A session. The presentation continued with workplace strategies for ICE confrontation.\u00a0<\/p>\n Waiting for ICE to arrive with force<\/p>\n Philly has not been at the center of ICE activity \u2014 yet.<\/p>\n \u201cIn Philly, we actually haven\u2019t seen as much ICE activity as some of the other metropolitan cities in the country,\u201d Weisberg said. \u201cWe don\u2019t really know why that is. But we do expect that Philly is on that list, and that the National Guard is going to come at some point. And I\u2019m sure that\u2019s why you all are here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The group then considered some potential Philly-centric situations with ICE engagement.\u00a0<\/p>\n One practice situation asked what bystanders would do if they encountered ICE agents outside of Pat\u2019s Steaks after finishing a cheesesteak.\u00a0<\/p>\n Humor prevailed, with responses jabbing at Pat\u2019s Steaks, but trainer Dylan Leahy said exercises like this can be helpful to get real-world practice.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s nice to be here and to kind of act out what this would be like,\u201d he said. \u201cIt helps people feel empowered to do so \u2018in the wild.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n Leahy has been helping with trainings since last summer through Philly Queer Fundy, an organization focused on activating the LGBTQ+ community for direct action and engagement in the community.\u00a0<\/p>\n He said that, since last summer, his organization has helped to train over 1,000 participants for the possibility of an ICE raid, and has helped prep several gay bars in the area.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSo we go in, talk to their staff, help them figure out what their plan looks like, and what a good response plan should be,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd then we\u2019ve got a couple more [response plan sessions] in the lineup for this upcoming year.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Despite some lighthearted moments, Leahy addressed the real possibility of these situations happening in Philly. He said it is better to be prepared.\u00a0<\/p>\n \ud83d\udc8c Love Philly? Sign up for the free Billy Penn daily newsletter and stay in the know<\/p>\n \u201c[ICE agents] might just show up and ask kind of simple questions, like, \u2018Hey, is this guy Mike here working today? \u2019\u201d he said. \u201cSo as soon as you have the idea in your head that something about this interaction seems a little fishy, that\u2019s when you want to default to that ICE safety plan. Because, let\u2019s say it\u2019s not an ICE officer, you\u2019re at least going to have that kind of protection ready to go.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Brooks said that the feedback from these trainings have been \u201coverwhelmingly positive\u201d and important.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to make sure that, although we are a welcoming city, how can we protect each other?\u201d she said. \u201cAnd the best way we can do that is together. These trainings offer the opportunity for us to work together to protect our neighbors.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The trainings are especially important for their indirect impacts, said Kathleen Melville, the communications director in Brooks\u2019 office.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cLots of immigrant-serving organizations are at capacity doing direct work, and they don\u2019t have the capacity to train non-immigrants,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n She said some organizations \u2014 including Juntos and New Sanctuary Movement \u2014 have been leading the response for those directly impacted and may not have time to help educate those who are indirectly impacted by ICE\u00a0<\/p>\n This event was important, she said, as it allows everyone to be \u201cinformed and aware,\u201d even if they are not necessarily facing fears of being deported.\u00a0<\/p>\n Holding up Rochester<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_4816.jpg\")
\u2018ICE Out\u2019 posters were given to attendeees at the event to represent empowerment and confidence in ICE situations. (Photo courtesy of Kathleen Melville)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_3460.jpg\")
Elected officials attended the training, discussing the importance of being prepared in the event of an ICE raid. (Photo courtesy of Kathleen Melville)<\/p>\n