Exploring the Pathways of Resistance to ICE Deportation: A Preliminary Framework

This article provides a preliminary description of the pathways activists took to resist Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deportation operations in a mid-sized southern U.S. city. The findings establish a preliminary framework to define the context of anti-deportation resistance and inform anti-oppressive social work practice strategies.

Using a qualitative case study design, content analysis was conducted on regional newspaper coverage alongside semi-structured interviews with a targeted sample of activist respondents to examine mechanisms of resistance.

This exploration of the lived experiences of ICE resistors and their grassroots networks demonstrates how community-led anti-deportation initiatives can expand practitioners' understanding of resistance and advance anti-oppressive social work methods.

Although further research is needed, the proposed framework establishes core terminology and conceptual assumptions that social workers can use to support and engage communities in collective grassroots resistance activities against immigration enforcement.