Resistencia en Acción NJ Rapid Response Methods Key to Successful Protection / Defense of Community: Top Level Training Vids
The true protection that is being provided to NJ’s terrorized immigrant community is being provided by Rapid Response Network with participation of several powerful organizations and networks, powered by convergence of 1000s of volunteers across the state of NJ. These organizations have volunteer teams on stand by and staffing makeshift mobile call centers. They respond around the clock to emergencies where violent marauding masked and lawless federals, mostly ICE but often with other rag tag gangsters along for the proverbial endless nightride, are spotted trying to bring mayhem to our beloved neighbors.
Teams carefully effectively utilize First Amendment protected free speech rights to alert communities of presence of ICE, documenting the ICE operations, possible involvement of local police, capture information for accountability purposes of the community invading feds, and express NJ’s overwhelming sentiment that we do not need gangsters snatching children and families in our communities and that they should stop terrorizing our neighborhoods.
These videos were provided by Asma Elhuni of Resistencia en Accion NJ. While this editor has yet to directly participate in the Rapid Response work (he actually hopes to do so soon), I observe disciplined action and the achievement of mulitfaceted objectives. The methodical attention of Asma Elhuni who was in a lead role in these two videos provides good examples for those similarly active in such community support.
Both videos are successful examples of effectively using our protected free speech rights to non violently and non physically render ineffective the respective ICE operations. The team showed cohesive and adaptive skills to respond to two unique situations in these videos.
The first video is from March 9 2026. It seems masked ICE agents are on a racial profiling – now protected by the US Supreme Court – fishing expedition near a local laundromat in Trenton. ICE like any other violent gangsters like to sneak up on their victims – ideally jumping out and grabbing them before they see anything coming. Often that is what transpires.
That being the case, the fascist operations can be challenged through opposition advocacy – announcing opposition to their presence, rallying the community in opposition and also as need be alerting the commuinty of the presence of the predatory ICE operation under way.
- The first objective once potential ICE activity has been identified is to investigate. Falsely alarming the community could create the”boy who cried wolf’ syndrome and diminished credibility of the organizers. Also it is important to not stigmatize anyone who is not ICE nor to raise alarm over police activity that has nothing to do with ICE. So the first objective is to confirm the presence of ICE. Once the organizers find a suspected ICE vehicle they are not shy about approaching them and from a safe non threatening distance ask them if they are law enforcement, what law enforcement, if they are ICE.
- Another objective, as a potential incident is approached, the team assures that video capture is in motion. The videographer is a complicated task and requires concentration on assuring that the video will capture evidence and information to best communicate accuracy of the situation and for some people it is best to concentrate on that just one thing probably than to try to video and also address other objectives but that is also a matter of luxury as to how many volunteers you are in the field with – videography is very important. (It is important to have a standard means of storing and sharing videos and not to solely depend in social media for archive purposes as the evidence can easily be wiped out by social media providers at their whim.)
- One thing you notice is Asma Elhuni is reminding the team of the various tasks including gathering evidence. The FIghtBackBetter belief is that the future holds a time where we will reconcile a solution to our current out of control crisis. We can bring the perpetrators to justice so capturing the evidence is important to that process. The team captured the license plates, the cars themselves, the faces or partial faces of the ICE thugs and evidence of lawful behavior by the response team. Hopefully our movement determines the best way to organize the massive video collection of ICE crimes as a tool to research the perpetrators and bring them to justice and accountability.
- The organizers in order to be effective need to be committed not to engage physically or use language that could be construed as threatening or illegal in any way. The purpose of the community organizers to communicate with the thugs as shown is to tell them the communities views that they are not welcome – to shame them and appeal to their empty souls for a morsel of humanity – and to do it loudly so that the community hears them and is aware that ICE is on the scene but also that they are supported in their fight to protect their families and there is at least one line of defense between them and harm.
- A primary objective is to alert the community so that anyone who could come under attack – which means everybody but particular those who are non-white, with accents, look ethnic, look like targeted ethnicities (there are many) – so that they know to stay out of sight and lock their home and business doors. Bullhorns, sirens, shouting “La Migra! ICE!”, any and all loud calamitous noise. Often once the noise is triggered the sleazy sneaky ICE m.o. is undermined – especially on fishing expeditions where they do not have a specific target.
- Another important part of the videography is to create and evidentiary artifact for use after the incident. The videos communicate the incident to the community – to continue to educate on the dangers, to document the history but also to show the communities – to bring strength – about the unity that the rapid response teams bring, to send a message to the repressive forces that the community is taking risks and has tremendous unification and roots with their targets and that they do not have smooth sailing and to show government and particularly Democratic Party politicians that the people are not waiting for the government to protect the community especially when they continue to vote to fund Trump’s ICE terror – and of course in NJ when Murphy vetoed his own party’s ITA bills.
- In addition to ICE lawlessness and in the first of the two videos below, the Rapid Response teams are also monitoring police who in NJ are not supposed to be aiding ICE terrorization. In this case the very same police officer that had arrested on a previous ICE defense mission Asma Elhuni, shows up with an entourage of other Trenton City cops. Asma Elhuni repeatedly calls to one of the officers by name, the one that had arrested her who first – like a fool waves like his pal just called out but then is seen shutting his window – since he does not want to listen to Asma Elhuni ask what the police are doing helping ICE. In this particular case another accomplishment was evidence was gathered that documents Trenton police out of compliance with NJ’s OAG Directive against NJ police participation in federal ICE terror operations except on criminal matters. Hopefully soon those documentation pieces can be collected and organized for disciplinary investigations or criminal investigations into the improper collusion of Trenton police and its officers with ICE fishing expeditions in the community.
” What we know is that when we show up as a community before they pick anyone up, ICE leaves. No local officials and no police will protect us. We have experienced on multiple occasions that when police were present they assisted ICE in abductions by using city resources to create perimeters for ICE and sadly calling ICE on immigrants when with charges even when we know charges do not equate guilt but sadly the constitutional right of due process is not applied to immigrants. So as a community we will continue to show up for our neighbors.” Asma Elhuni, a lead coordinator of Rapid Response teams in Trenton area cities on behalf of Resistencia en Acción NJ
The first step toward volunteering with Resistencia En Accion NJ is to text them at this phone number:
Resistencia en Accion 640-466-2386 Mercer County call / text Insta Facebook
To volunteer for anywhere in NJ, start by e-mailing to: ICEOutofNJ@proton.me .
You will likely be asked to attend a training event and which are happening regularly throughout NJ.
Also please join and support the Resistencia en Accion NJ / ICE Out of NJ Bus Tour:
El Tour De La Justicia, una iniciativa de la coalición ICE Out of NJ que recorrerá el estado exigiendo dignidad, respeto y el fin de la criminalización de nuestras comunidades inmigrantes.
Este viernes 27 de marzo, el bus hará paradas en varias ciudades incluyendo Atlantic City, Princeton/Trenton, Freehold, New Brunswick, North Bergen y Roxbury.
Esta es una oportunidad para que nuestra comunidad se informe, se organice y levante su voz en defensa de nuestros derechos.
La justicia se construye en comunidad.
¡Súmate al recorrido y haz escuchar tu voz!
#RadioJornaleraNJ #ICEOutOfNJ #TourDeLaJusticia #NJResiste #JusticiaParaTodo
The Justice Tour is coming to New Jersey!
The Tour De La Justice, an initiative of the ICE Out of NJ coalition that will tour the state demanding dignity, respect, and an end to the criminalization of our immigrant communities.
This Friday, March 27, the bus will make stops in several cities including Atlantic City, Princeton/Trenton, Freehold, New Brunswick, North Bergen and Roxbury.
This is an opportunity for our community to get informed, get organized, and raise their voice in defense of our rights.
Justice is built in community.
Join the ride and make your voice heard! https://www.facebook.com/RadioJornaleraNJ/posts/pfbid034xXZymm1Lpztqu4vbmDD4mF111sbpvT6VyUmRhe8bXkJsoPHdMbtPUUy9emqaNGgl
The way the Rapid Response teams work is the state of NJ is covered by various sets of community support organizations embedded with every kind of network connection to community members constantly being reinforced in the daily interactions with the community. The phone numbers of the various coverage zones are spread through social media and community communications. When ICE is spotted by community members or by the Rapid Responsje teams that also monitor and patrol neighborhoods watching out, the responders show up and engage similar to the above videos. In these cases the community organizers drove the violent forces from their activitys – often just revealing their presences upsets their game. Other times thought ICE still snatches victims even when defenders are present. The following link has the information about the various coverage zones. Interested potential volunteers can also call the numbers – most of the numbers also accept text messages.
