The country is witnessing the revival of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), a white supremacist, far-right hate group in the United States, through ICE and Border Patrol officers terrorizing our communities. The group is infamous for using terrorism, violence, and intimidation to promote white supremacy and oppress minority groups, particularly Black Americans.

The KKK has existed in three distinct iterations and time periods throughout U.S. history, each with similar core beliefs in white nationalism and racial subordination, but also with varying targets and political focuses. 

First Klan (Reconstruction Era, (1865-1872): Founded by six Confederate veterans in Pulaski, Tennessee, as a social club that quickly evolved into a paramilitary force. Its primary goals were to resist the Republican Party’s Reconstruction-era policies and reestablish white control of Southern governments through violence, lynchings, and intimidation of Black Americans and their white allies.

Second Klan (1915-1944): Revived by William Joseph Simmons near Atlanta, Georgia, this iteration was inspired by the film The Birth of a Nation, which glorified the original Klan. It became a nationwide political force, expanding its hatred to include immigrants, Roman Catholics, Jews, and organized labor, in addition to Black people. The Klan introduced the burning cross as a symbol.

Third Klan (Mid-20th Century-Present): Resurging during the Civil Rights Movement, this iteration continued the use of violence, including bombings of Black churches and schools, to oppose desegregation and civil rights activism.  

The archetype of the Third Klan is found in ICE and Border agents, primarily terrorizing and killing people of color with Hispanic-sounding names, immigrants of color, and their white allies.

Throughout history, groups like the KKK and now agencies such as ICE and Border Patrol have acted as arms of our government. They are responsible for kidnapping people (young children from their parents and families) from the streets, their homes, shopping malls, schools, and parks. This leads to the separation of families, the division of communities, and even the deaths of community members, all justified in the name of so-called national safety and security.

This country’s president, vice president, homeland security director, the so-called Department of Justice, and Secretary of State have all openly stated that it is acceptable and support the terrorizing actions and dehumanizing behavior of masked ICE and Border officers.

The current administration is now criminalizing entire communities without due process and states by sending in the National Guard, ICE, and Border Patrol officers.

Around 60 years ago, my late parents left Choctaw County and Mobile, Alabama, due to severe racism, oppression, and violence from the KKK and White Citizens’ Councils, who dominated many rural communities, including our birthplace.

Black people – particularly Black men and boys could be killed if they didn’t adhere to “sundown towns’ rules.” “Sundown rules” primarily refer to historical practices in the U.S., especially before the Civil Rights era, where towns (sundown towns) warned Black people and other minorities to leave town by sunset, enforced by signs, sirens, and violence, creating all-white communities; in a different context, “sundown” in some modern contexts can refer to lingering racial bias or gentrification.  

For Black folks with Southern ties, we remember the KKK, and now our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren are witnessing ICE and Border Patrol officers in our communities emulating the Ku Klux Klan’s tactics (KKK) in 2026!!  Like our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents, we must organize, vote, march, rally, and write letters to our elected officials, demanding they grow a spine and legislate, impeach, and remove the current administration, and pursue peace and social justice at home and globally.

The violence we are witnessing firsthand is enabled by policies that treat immigrants with hate and treat their lives as disposable. We all know that during the COVID crisis, immigrant workers, low-wage workers of color, and people of color were our frontline workers, harvesting and delivering our food and providing essential services. We are deeply connected, and our movements are strongest when we grieve together and organize together.

Many American community members are unfamiliar with immigrants’ status and even less aware of the importance of Temporary Protected Status (TPS).

Therefore, we must stop Trump’s openly racist attack on Haitian and other Black immigrant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders. Temporary Protected Status in the U.S. allows them to live and work legally because their home countries face dangers such as conflict or disaster, and it provides work authorization (EAD) and protection from deportation. Major groups from El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Venezuela, and more make vital contributions as essential workers.

ICE has controversially targeted Somali residents in Minnesota, seeking to terminate their Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Additionally, President Trump’s claims about Somali gang activity and financial crimes in Minnesota have not been independently verified and raise concerns. While the national TPS designation for Somalia remains valid until March 2026, the changes specifically affect the Somali population in Minnesota. Currently, Ethiopia and Sudan are the only African nations with fully active TPS designations.

Community members are connecting the dots and building coalitions to demand justice for those killed, kidnapped, terrorized, and removed from their communities – Say Their Names—Say Their Names!!

 We mourn the deaths of our neighbors by uplifting their names—Say Their Names:

• Keith Porter’s life was stolen when he became the first reported account of an immigration officer killing a U.S. citizen under President Donald Trump on December 31, 2025, but his name is being suppressed. Keith was a son, a dedicated father in California, who did not deserve to die at the hands of ICE. Keith should still be alive, and we need to be uplifting his name.
• Alex Jeffrey Pretti was killed on January 24, 2026. He was an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed going on adventures with Joule, his beloved Catahoula Leopard dog, who also recently passed away. He worked for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as an ICU nurse and had participated in protests.
• Renee Nicole Good, 37, was killed on January 7^th, 2026. She was a beautiful human, a mother, a poet, a singer, a community worker, a wife, and a daughter. She did not deserve to die at the hands of ICE.

They did not deserve to die at the hands of ICE or Border Patrol officers.  Please see the list below of all the senseless deaths of beautiful human beings. Someone’s mother, father, wife, husband, partner, sister, brother, uncle, aunt, grandmother, grandfather, and neighbor!!

Trump threatens to invoke the rarely used Insurrection Act to deal with anti-ICE protests in Minnesota after last week, sparking nationwide protests.  What city and state will be next?  We refuse to tolerate ICE’s lawless attacks on our communities.

It’s been reported that in 2025, 32 people died while in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), making it the agency’s deadliest year in over two decades. 

These deaths occurred both in ICE detention centers and after transfer to hospitals while the individuals remained under ICE custody.  

Alex Jeffrey Pretti- killed on the 24th
Rene Nicole Good – killed on the 7th.

Other deaths in detention centers this month.
Geraldo Lunas Campos
Luis Beltran Yanez-Cruz
Luis Gustavo Nunez Caceres
Heber Sanchaz Domínguez
Victor Manuel Diaz
Parady La

2025
Keith Porter Jr.
Genry Ruiz Guillén
Serawit Gezahegn Dejene
Maksym Chernyak
Juan Alexis Tineo-Martinez
Brayan Rayo-Garzon
Nhon Ngoc Nguyen
Marie Ange Blaise
Abelardo Avelleneda-Delgado
Jesus Molina-Veya
Johnny Noviello
Isidro Perez
Tien Xuan Phan
Chaofeng Ge
Lorenzo Antonio Batrez Vargas
Oscar Rascon Duarte
Norlan Guzman-Fuentes
Miguel Angel Garcia-Hernandez
Huabing Xie
Leo Cruz-Silva
Hasan Ali Moh’D Saleh
Santos Reyes-Banegas
Ismael Ayala-Uribe
Josué Castro Rivera
Gabriel Garcia-Aviles
Kai Yin Wong
Francisco Gaspar-Andres
Pete Sumalo Montejo
Shiraz Fatehali Sachwani
Jean Wilson Brutus
Fouad Saeed Abdulkadir
Delvin Francisco Rodriguez
Nenko Stanev Gantchev

All of these deaths need to and must be investigated.
Community members, faith leaders, activists, and policymakers must demand that ICE be removed from our communities!

Faye Wilson Kennedy is a member of Sacramento Poor People’s Campaign (Sac PPC), the Sacramento Area Black Caucus (SABC), and the Red, Black, and Green Environmental Justice Coalition (RBGEJC).

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