From Fear to Preparedness in NYC: “Now I Know Exactly What to Do”

“Every day I was really afraid to come to work. But now I have practiced how it would feel in my body if ICE were to show up in real life. Now I know exactly what to do.”  – NYC training participant

For years in New York City, NP has been working side by side with community partners to keep people safe. Responsive to community needs, our protection work has spanned organizing safety teams at protests, to accompanying elders to the grocery store, to, now, preparing neighbors for interactions with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

In Astoria, Queens, a six-year-old first grader, Yuanxin, was taken by ICE during what was supposed to be a routine check-in at 26 Federal Plaza. His father was not told where his child was taken. That lack of communication and transparency is deeply alarming. It exposes serious accountability gaps and has sent waves of fear through immigrant families across the city.

At the same time, Damayan Migrant Workers Association, an NP partner, reported a surge in ICE and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) activity throughout Queens. Community members described multiple unmarked vehicles, helicopters overhead, and heavily armed agents conducting operations. Damayan confirmed that at least two people, a man and a woman, were taken during these actions.

Many of our partners provide direct services and advocacy, including food pantries and medical and mental health service providers. Knowing these incidents, and others in their community, staff at these organizations are worried about immigration agents showing up—what would they do? There are resources in the city for people to know their rights in these situations, but our partners were asking for something more—how do I exercise my rights in a high-stress moment? How can I stay grounded and calm enough to engage with immigration officers?

In response, NP developed immigration safety trainings.

The training begins by introducing core unarmed civilian protection ideas and skills, like situational awareness and the CLARA method for de-escalation. These practices help participants regulate their bodies, sharpen awareness, and remain steady under pressure. 

The heart of the training are our simulation exercises. NP team members act as immigration officers in different scenarios. They demand to enter the organization’s offices, or they show up at a community event. They ignore and talk over the staff and get into their faces. The team makes the situation as real as possible, while still maintaining a safe environment.  

The participants have lots of different reactions—they respond by asking for a warrant, or closing the door, or recording.  We encourage them to notice what reactions arise naturally and to practice responding from a place of steadiness rather than panic.

After we role play, we then debrief together with questions like:

• How did that feel for you?
• What did you notice that someone else did?
• What activated you?
• What grounded you?

The debrief is where the community learns from one another, not only on tactics, but on their internal responses as well. The roleplays are intended to develop our lived experience in these situations—developing muscle memory of how to respond so that these safety tools are easier to draw upon if the situation happens in real life.

At the end of the training, we leave each participant with a safety worksheet so they can develop their personal and organizational safety protocol, including identifying additional questions or needs they have for support. Participants have left the training telling us “I know what to do now when ICE shows up, and I know what to practice.”

In the past month, NP has trained about 80 nonprofit staff across New York City on how to respond if they encounter ICE at the office or in the streets. Across New York and around the country, we have witnessed a powerful increase in community building during this time. Where individuals once came to us seeking skills, now entire organizations attend together. When whole teams train side by side, trust deepens, bonds strengthen, and collective resilience grows.

As activist Grace Lee Boggs championed, “The only way to survive is by taking care of one another.” Each training, each roleplay lays the building blocks of survival. We refuse to let fear win, we refuse to stand by it. We prepare, we don't panic.”