22 Comments
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Leu2500's avatar

Mike, thanks for this. It gives me ideas for signs at the next protest I participate in.

Mark W.'s avatar

I read today that the DHS will be spending $millions pushing positive ICE messaging through online alt-Right messengers. I can't imagine this is how most Americans, Republican or Democrat, want their tax dollars spent. This was a great read. Thank you, Mike. I appreciate you including ideas for messaging. It will come in handy for the upcoming No King's Rally.

Mike Madrid's avatar

Thanks Mark 🙏🏼

J AZ's avatar

Mark - Yes! It’s so important to remember how well the information machines are organized & funded for Trump, MAGA, Republicans. Anti-authoritarian groups don’t have such powerful megaphones. We need to capitalize on the news to maintain & expand this shift in broad opinion.

Some people who may have been on the sidelines are starting to pay attention. Like with child separation in 2018. But public opinion swung back Trump’s way during Biden’s term. It’s difficult to keep enough of a majority informed & engaged. Mike’s insights sure can help

Christine Delfeld's avatar

This is great information in a highly digestable format.

That 39% of the public still supports ICE and 10% want ICE to employ even harsher tactics just floors me. Who are these heartless, soulless individuals who applaud cruelty and inhumanity? What does this say about our society?

I am encouraged by the investigation into the possibilty that ICE hired Jan 6 offenders and members of ultra right miltia groups. It is ironic that, while some states such as Illinois put policies into place forbidding Jan 6 offenders from holding state jobs, our federal government employs them to terrorize our communities.

Contact your legislators to encourage the ongoing investigation into ICE employment of Jan 6 offenders and militia members and demand a thorough federal investigation into Renee Good's murder.

Linda Aldrich's avatar

Data grounds us, making the overreach obvious. That narrowing gap between the George Floyd BLM movement and the Good Citizens’ Lives Matter moment is an excellent and telling data point that clearly shows the significance of changing public sentiment.

Marina Oshana's avatar

This is the best resource I’ve seen for messaging. Data driven, unassailable figures and talking points that are bound to resonate across the spectrum (save for the irredeemable MAGA cult). Thank you for sharing your expertise with us. It’s empowering and encouraging.

J AZ's avatar

Mike - this is thorough & well explained. Thank you! Signs of hope AND I focus on this:

"NOTE: The danger here is in overplaying a winning hand. ‘Abolishing ICE’ can quicky become the next “Defund the police’ or ‘Open Borders’ frame"

To the extent some voters chose Trump because he's "strong on the border," or didn't vote because they rejected Trump but didn't like Dems on immigration, let's emphasize ideas you mention:

- Make our communities safe & peaceful - masked, militarized gangs don't provide that, they disrupt it.

- When you get a federal job, serve your community with pride & honor - you don't want a job where you need to hide your face.

- Violent criminals should be tracked down & locked up - government wastes resources needed for that effort by sending dozens of agents to mill around a suburban neighborhood with no warrant to serve nor any crime reported to them.

- Shift the ridiculously inflated DHS budget to local policing community grants, where local elected officials are accountable to us, the local citizens.

Mike Madrid's avatar

Excellent additions!! Thank you 🙏🏼

Antonia Scatton's avatar

Thank you for this! I would love your thoughts on my latest messaging and strategy memo, "A Call to Freeze ICE". I think it synchs with your advice.

https://reframingamerica.substack.com/p/a-call-to-freeze-ice

Eddie Dickey's avatar

Thanks for this Mike! Brilliant piece. The messaging is spot on and will help me articulate the issue of overreach to friends and family and anyone who will listen.

Mike Madrid's avatar

Thank you Eddie 🙏🏼

Julie Stauch's avatar

This is excellent! Thank you so much for sharing the analysis!

Lenny Goldberg's avatar

I get the importance of the messaging--very helpful in the short to medium term--but the problem is that it allows the Democrats and others to avoid the underlying immigration issue. Should 600,000 Venezuelans and hundreds of thousands more Nicaraguans and Haitians here legally whose TPS has been cancelled be deported? What about the Dreamers? The Afghan refugees? And should all those who have been here after the Reagan amnesty be sent back to wherever? Or just the most recent who came in the Biden wave? Steve Miller's dreams/our nightmare have to be countered directly and often. By focusing on ICE atrocities, the Dems have an easier out (and a politically more successful one) than dealing with the questions of immigration reform. Mike, you raised this issue a while back, and it's a discussion that has to be raised over and over until at some future time there can develop support by the broad majority who oppose these ICE atrocities but have yet to reckon with the underly issue of the millions of law-abiding immigrants who are in the US, legally or not. Having seen the depths that mass deportations has brought us to, maybe there's hope out the other side.

Mike Madrid's avatar

Democrats have misplayed this issue for forty years. And no - they’ve never been serious about getting a deal done. This doesn’t change that it just gives the country the opportunity to live another day

Lenny Goldberg's avatar

Agree, it's just frustrating to see them waxing eloquently over ICE while never saying, you know, it goes deeper than that, we have some decisions that have to be made. Oh well, maybe this moves it forward, timing is everything in politics as I learned about 50 years ago.

djkerner's avatar

Mike, thank you

Nenapoma's avatar

Well duh ….. I mean anyone with empathy is like didnt sign up or vote for kidnappings and killings. Also they also decided to rollup into central fl. Its pathetic really. Central Florida is home to mainly Puerto Ricans and percentages of Central and South America hispanics.

VEE LAVALLEE's avatar

Mike I know you deal with numbers being a numbers guy, that show support for ICEstapo falling yet I'm still shocked that among the approval regular and approval strongly, the numbers are still as high as they are! That shift isn't big enough to give me any peace! BTW I'm in the UK and this only bothers me because "when America sneezes" we Brits get the effing cold!

Tracy J's avatar

Did you see the Buiwark’s article about memo circulating Dems?