National Guard in the Streets? Our People Deserve to Know

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In his latest fascist overreach, Trump has deployed the military to squash protests in Los Angeles. As solidarity rallies grow across the US, militarized responses will escalate in other cities. But we were prepared for this. This is a tactic out of the fascism handbook. They are trying to scare people into silence. It won’t work. Our joy is louder. Our people are ready. And we’ve got tools, people power, and strategy to keep showing up! The police doesn't keep us safe, the military doesn’t keep us safe. We keep us safe. You may be reading news stories about this and we want to offer some actions you can take and resources you can use to keep rising up safely in support of our immigrant communities.

1. Care for your mental health at our virtual support group.

Aside from the threat of physical safety, psychological violence is being deployed on immigrants, Black and brown folks, trans and gender diverse folks, pro-Palestine protestors, and anyone who dares to speak out against this regime. If you identify as a woman or gender diverse person living with HIV and you want a safe space to share your thoughts and feelings, join our virtual support group #PWNCares Sister Circle, happening tomorrow (June 12 at 8pm ET) and every other Thursday.

2. Know-Your-Rights and Safety Resources.

So why is the military being deployed on peaceful protestors? Because protesting works. Check out the following resources so you can protest like a pro – meaning safely, strategically, and with knowledge of your rights!

1. Protest Safety Prep Linktree from Nonviolent Peaceforce

2. Safe Civic Spaces: Resource Guides from Nonviolent Peaceforce

3. Surveillance Defense for Campus Protests from Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)

But let’s be real, a protest isn’t the only place where you need to know your rights, keep yourself safe, or intervene to keep someone else safe, especially for immigrants and Black and brown folks. Here are more resources to prepare yourself for a run-in with ICE and other enforcement agencies:

4. We Protect Us Workbook from Defend & Recruit

5. Red Cards from Immigrant Legal Resource Center

6. Know Your Rights with ICE from Immigrant Defense Project

7. Legal Services for Immigrants from Immigrant Justice

3. What you can do from home.

With everything that’s going on, it’s understandable if you’ve made the choice to not participate in protests. You may be at higher risk depending on your immigration status, gender identity, or if you have a disability. You are still vital to the movement! Consider providing support to other folks in your community who are protesting, such as childcare, pet-sitting, or providing food or supplies. You can also donate to bail funds (links below) or organizations you trust doing community defense work. Get connected with local groups for more ideas about what is needed.

4. Bail funds! Mutual aid! It's the only way forward.

If you have the means to make a financial contribution to a bail fund, that’s one of the most impactful things you can do from home. Here are a few we know of, but research if there are any local bail funds to support in your community.

1. The Bail Project

2. National Bail Fund Network - Directory of Community Bail Funds

5. Scale up your advocacy skills alongside the PWN Policy Fellows.

The PWN Policy Fellowship is a year-long program designed to support cis & trans women, transgender, and gender diverse people living with HIV to build skills and experience in policy advocacy. We are acutely aware that this fellowship program is especially important right now, because it builds the policy leadership bench for people living with HIV who come directly from the communities most impacted by the coinciding epidemics of HIV, mass incarceration, and racism in the United States, especially BIPOC, transgender, and gender diverse people.

We are excited to share that all trainings for the fellowship will be publicly accessible, so the PWN-USA community will have access to these important resources and skill-building opportunities. Join us for one or all of these sessions to build on your knowledge and start thinking long-term strategy.

6. For more, join our Monthly PWN Members’ Call on Friday.

If you are a PWN member or want to become one, join us for our monthly National Membership Workgroup Call this Friday (June 13) at 4pm ET. Find out more about what’s going on, what it means for you and your community, and what you can do about it. We want to hear from you! How is this news affecting you? What ideas do you have to fight back against the erosion of our right to protest?