Dear members of the American Resistance,
We hope that you were able to recharge on love and friendship last week with families and friends. Khadijah with Seek Deliverance shared heartwarming pictures of the kids brandishing the turkeys we helped getting for them. Thank you again for your donations which contributed to make it happen.
There is little rest for activists in the times of trouble, and after a short break we are all back at fighting the rise of fascism in the United States of America (a part of me still remains incredulous as I am writing these words).
Today’s bulletin is full as an egg. Check it out for yourself.
1/ ICE
ICE has been a major concern these past weeks as agents are increasing their illegal and violent activities. In Pontiac and Detroit particularly. Two students from Western International and their parents in Southwest Detroit were abducted on November 20th and sent to Texas. Their lawyer in MI is confident that they will be released, but in the meantime public pressure is key. Please be in the lookout for upcoming events related to their arrest on our IG page.
WE CAN HELP by getting trained and ready to report ICE violence. Even if we are not directly in contact with ICE, we can still make a huge difference by joining the Signal Group Chats that are a crucial part of the resistance: Once we joined, we can report ICE activity, see reports and be prompted to go to the location to record and document the violations, or if that is too scary for some of us we can simply share the report to our own circle and pass it to other groups we are part of, creating a long chain of continous information and monitoring.
Please join the NEXT TWO TRAININGS IN OUR AREA. You won’t be allowed to join the Signal Group Chats if you haven’t attended the training.
For OKLAND COUNTY: CAFE has a training on Dec 7th from 2-4 PM. Please email pontiacdefenders@gmail.com
to receive the location in PONTIAC.
For DETROIT: Asamblea Popular has a training on Dec 11th at 6:30 PMat 1725 Lawndale (in Mexicantown).
If you see something, say something
In Oakland county >> CAFE hotline: 248-340-3775
In Detroit >> Asamblea Popular hotline: 313-635-3633
A special note for those of us who are fluent in Spanish: You can make even more of a difference by becoming an operator at the Asamblea popular hotline.
More about the magic “If you see something, say something”: If you suffered an ICE attack or know someone who did, you can share your/their story and help build a massive legal case : Jasmine Crockett, US Representative of Texas, and other Democrats are organizing and launched an ICE Watch through an House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, an investigative committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. They set up a tracking system to hold the Trump Administration accountable by compiling a record of ICE and CBP misconduct. You can view the misconduct and abuses documented so far, and/or submit a new report at bit.ly/tellonice.
Here, in Michigan, the Supreme court is pushing to pass an amendment to protect immigrant from being arrested in courthouses. This is one of the rare good news in the immigration battle.
The training about the 287(g) agreement that Stranger No Longers put together for SWIM last week was super, very helpful. If you didn’t have the chance to attend it, here is a bit about what was said (and you can also watch the full recording here): We were encouraged to request/schedule an appointment with our local police department to establish the conversation and ask questions about their position regarding ICE. In several cases, this initiative reinforced the ties between us, the community and the police, and discourage police and ICE collusion. It is also an apportunity to collect information on reasons why some officers refuse cooperation with ICE, giving us new arguments for dissuading others. If you are in a city of the Metro Detroit where you’re not sure anyone has reached out to the police department to start this conversation, please email us and we can help you set up an appointment and come with you! This list, although short, of the Michigan cities in a 287(g) agreement can be helpful.
If you have more energy to read about ICE BS, here is a bit of information about the secretive deportation program found in the New Yorker. It’s not a pleasant read, but it’s informative.
One thing that has brought us a bit of joy on this front is the Home Depot Ice Scraper initiative where a collective of folks bought 50 cents ice scrapers and returned them right away, thus creating long lines to cashiers and blocking business de facto. If you guys are motivated to replicate this Home Depot non-violent and symbolic blockade, I believe many of us who talked about it during our last meeting are game. We could do it at Target as well and buy these $3 towels (in black, copper, pink, and white) to highlight the fact that Target threw in the towel on DEI.
Speaking of Home Depot, how did the blackout go for you? You can let Indivisible national team know by filling this super quick survey. As for me, I have a confession to make: I failed. Not super failed, but still failed. No Amazon, or Target, or Home Depot (didn’t failed in such proportions), but on Monday I bought 2 Chritmas gifts on Ebay for my brother and my niece (the 2 sellers had sent me special offers and I gave in to the $35 savings). Also I ordered a banner for our upcoming protest on Sunday, hoping that it would arrive on time… That made me think twice about pushing for boycotts or blackouts during heavy sale days. As we are facing growing economic struggle, it may not be the most efficient strategy to engage consumers who still want to give a beautiful Xmas to their family: a thought I put out there for a discussion in a future meeting.
2/ MEETINGS AND RALLIES
We are super excited to announce that we decided on a day and time for WTPD bi-monthly corner protest! These will be on Sundays from 1 to 2 PM on the 1st and 3rd Sunday of each month. So, yes the upcoming one is THIS coming Sunday, December 7th. We will meet at Grand Circus Park, just at the corner of the park (Woodward X Adams) near the statue of W.C. Maybury. Also we are planning to take pictures of our group for the new website, so if you want to look good on the photo, bring your best winter hat! You can register your attendance here. Come hang out with your favorite resisting posse!
Our next online meeting will be held on Dec 10th at 7 PM with a new updated ZOOM link that you can find by registering on the Mobilize page or here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81100135748. Thank you, 🧡Isa🧡 for saving us last meeting with a new link!
On Saturday, December 6th at 3:30 PM, Detroit Will Breathe with WTPD, Macomb Defenders Rising, and Money Out Of Politics is massively calling for all activists willing to organize in preparation of the potential National Guard deployment to meet at Central Church (2026 Woodward Ave – 2nd floor). You can park in the parking lot adjacent to the church for free. Tell the person at the gate that you are here for the meeting and they will let you drive in for free.
As David Brooks’ recent article in the Atlantic put it: America needs a mass movement—Now. It is very scary to see that not enough of us are already committed to devote a part of their time to resist. Things are accelerating at a hellish pace at all levels, local, national, and international. The war that PT is running against Venezuela smells very much like another piece of the “grand” scheme: seizing lands with enormous fossil fuel ressources while having the conveniency of a war going on to declare the US at war, then unable to hold midterm elections. How would that look in November 2026 if the blue wave that we are all expecting and wishing for turns into a river of blood? Pete Hegseth’s tragic commands (“Kill Them All”) give a chilling preview of the length they are ready to go to make sure chaos ignites chaos. If you want to read about the war crime committed by Hegseth, you can do so here.
Be sure to follow DAWC (Detroit Anti-War Committee) on IG to not miss a date of their anti-war protests in Detroit.
3/ DATA CENTERS in Michigan: We’ve got a huge problem.
According to French experts Gaël Giraud and Emma Haziza, in 2030, 40% of the human needs of fresh water won’t be met: that’s 2 humans out 5 who won’t have access to fresh water. Despite this terrifying perspective, AI entrepreneurs and developers with the support of corrupt officials are pushing for the development of massive data centers that will drain considerable amounts of water. It’s no wonder that all eyes are on our beautiful Michigan and Great Lakes region.
In Saline, MI, the combat has started between DTE and concerned citizens. It is critical that we are rising against the project of a 1.4 gigawatt data center. Last evening’s public hearing was well attended with 800 people who logged in to oppose it. Many of them weren’t able to verbally deliver their comment due to numerous glitches. Still, the high number of people who were able to voice their dissent was encouraging and as 🧡Hildegard🧡 put it: We feel inspired by everyone’s engagement. Distill Social report of yesterday’s public hearing is here if you want to know more.
What can we do? A LOT
- Submit a comment, adding yours to the 5,000 existing ones. The comment page is open until TOMORROW Friday, December 5th. It is vital that we all submit a comment here or call the commission at 517-284-8100. We also need to call our State Representative to oppose it. Here you find who’s your State Rep and their phone number.
- I drafted a paragraph that you can adapt if you find yourself running out of ideas in front of all this nonsense:
I am registering my strong opposition to the establishment of a data center in Saline, MI (or anywhere else in Michigan, as a matter of fact). The resources it would require are exorbitant and definitely not within DTE’s reach (the company is notoriously unable to provide quality service to the thousands of households and commercial buildings it serves). Similarly, this 1.4 gigawatt data center would use an insane amount of water, which we cannot afford anymore amid the intensifying acceleration of global warming. Despite the novelty of AI, building data centers actually belongs to the past, when we could act and behave as if climate change wouldn’t be an issue for another 100 years. This is NOT what we know is happening now. Prominent experts such as Emma Haziza are now evaluating a 40% shortage of fresh water in 2030 (less than 5 years), which means 2 humans out of 5 won’t have access to fresh water. It is outrageous that DTE is even considering partnering with AI entrepreneurs, using Michigan water resources (and fooling itself that it could provide the electricity ones) to get us deeper into the environmental crisis. STOP THE ABSOLUTE NONSENSE!
Note: Once you filled out the box, you will be asked to solve a riddle as a proof that you’re not a robot. It took me 2 minutes to understand why my comment wasn’t submitting, so sharing the trick with you here and hopefully you won’t pull your hair off as I was.
Also, Sierra Club is collecting public comments here to oppose the Data Center in Saline. Please consider submitting one. It never hurts! And another petition is circulating on Action Network to oppose another data center project on Oakland University campus.
For contextualization, you can read this remarkable page from Third Act. Thank you so much to 🧡Catherine🧡 for bringing it to our attention.
Next is the public hearing on Thursday, December 18th from 6 to 9 PM on Zoom with Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (or EGLE) that will review the Oracle data center project to try to get convinced that it won’t hurt our land and water (good luck). You must register beforehand here if you plan to attend. And here is also the page to submit comments to EGLE, open until Dec 28th.
Aaaannnd… One more (it never stops)! On the front of Line 5, bad news that you can learn about in Bridge Michigan. You can submit a public comment on this major threat for our Great Lakes.
4/ Convention race on April 19th, 2026
The 🧡People’s Coalition🧡 is on it! On Tuesday January 20th at 6:30 PM they are hosting a Convention 101 for everyone who’s not familiar with the way the convention races work. You can let them know you will attend here. Beforehand, you can learn about all candidates here for MI Secretary of State and MI Attorney General, and if you want to meet them, it’s possible too: On January 25th, from 2 to 4 PM in Dearborn (RSVP here).
Last, but not least, we would love to better understand our resisting community, so please consider taking this anonymous 1-minute survey to help us with this goal!
As always, please share this Bulletin with two new more people, join the Signal Chat here, and follow your 🧡very own group 🧡, 🧡We the People Dissent🧡 on Instagram and Facebook.
In loving solidarity,
Audrey
