Why We Do This
Understand the roots and moral foundation of ICE Tea Academy.
Why We Do This
Warning
ICE Tea Academy is not just a training platform — it's part of a long tradition of mutual defense, resistance, and care.
The Problem
Federal immigration enforcement is a system built on fear, surveillance, and control. It disproportionately targets:
- Immigrants, asylum seekers, and undocumented people
- Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities
- Low income and working-class families
Actions by ICE and similar agencies often go unchecked, causing irreparable harm — family separation, community trauma, and systemic instability. These actions perpetuate generational trauma, fracturing families and communities across lifetimes. The State rarely holds ICE accountable.
The Response
We believe in organized, local, protective response as a moral obligation. That means:
- Bearing witness to State violence
- Supporting affected individuals in real time
- Creating systems of care and accountability that don’t depend on the State
Our Roots
ICE Tea Academy draws from:
- 📖 Know Your Rights training
- 🧰 Mutual aid infrastructure
- 🧭 Abolitionist frameworks – dismantling systems of harm while building community alternatives
- 🧑🏽🤝🧑🏾 Community-led organizing
It’s built on generations of resistance, including:
- 🕊 Compañeras Latinas and faith-based sanctuary networks in the 1980s
- ✊🏾 Black liberation movements calling for self-determined safety and abolition
- 🪶 Indigenous land and border defense against State violence
These histories inform how we protect each other today — using encrypted communication, decentralized teams, and non-State response systems.
Our Commitments
- We do not collaborate with law enforcement.
- We prioritize the safety of the most vulnerable.
- We work to dismantle harmful systems while protecting people now.
Success
If you believe in dignity, solidarity, and action — you’re in the right place.
Glossary
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Mutual Aid | Voluntary support systems based on solidarity, not charity |
| Abolitionist | A person or framework focused on ending harmful institutions like ICE |
| Sanctuary Network | Safe spaces created by communities to protect people from enforcement |
| Solidarity | Standing with others across differences — not just helping, but acting |
| Decentralized | Organized without a single point of control; resilient by design |
Rabbit Hole
🔍 Explore Sanctuary Movements of the 1980s
Learn how churches and grassroots groups protected undocumented immigrants.
→ Search: "Sanctuary Movement 1980s Compañeras Latinas archives"
Rabbit Hole
📚 Study Abolitionist Organizing
Look into how abolition goes beyond police and prison and includes ICE.
→ Read: "Are Prisons Obsolete?" by Angela Davis
Ready to Certify?
If you understand the history, values, and purpose behind ICE Tea Academy, you can now take the certification quiz.
📘 Knowledge Check
What is the core purpose driving ICE Tea Academy’s work?
ICE Tea Academy collaborates with local law enforcement when needed.
Which traditions or movements does ICE Tea Academy draw from?
Which of the following are commitments made by ICE Tea Academy?
ICE Tea Academy sees organized, local protective response as a moral obligation.
Which group pioneered sanctuary networks for immigrants during the 1980s?
Mutual aid is different from charity because it rejects hierarchy and centers solidarity.
What does “decentralized” mean in the context of community protection?
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