The Black Association of Behavior Analysts Release Statement of Solidarity and Resistance Against ICE Raids
Public Statement
For Immediate Release
Tuesday June 17
Contact: [email protected]
As Black liberationists, behavior analysts, and socially conscious humans, we condemn the ongoing ICE raids across California, Georgia, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the broader United States as acts of state-sanctioned violence, rooted in the same oppressive systems that have long criminalized Black, Brown, and Indigenous existence. We recognize that the surveillance, displacement, and terrorization of immigrant communities, including Black migrants, is part of a historical continuum of white supremacist control. The criminalization of migration echoes the fugitive slave laws, militarized law enforcement being weaponized during The Civil Rights Movement, militarized law enforcement being weaponized throughout the Stonewall movement, the internment of Japanese populations, and the targeting of Black and Brown people through over-policing, mass incarceration, and wrongful detention. We affirm that none of us are free until all of us are free, and that the liberation of Black people is inextricably tied to the liberation of all oppressed peoples.
As Black behavior analysts, we are ethically committed to the dignity, rights, and autonomy of all individuals. The tactics of fear and coercion employed in these raids are antithetical to our mission, vision, and values of our Black behavior analytic principles and practice. We understand that environments shape behavior, and when entire communities are subjected to militarized raids and familial destruction, we are reinforcing trauma, fear, and oppression.
It is our opinion that these raids are a manifestation of the same white supremacist system that aims to oppress all marginalized populations. The militarization of immigration enforcement reflects a broader trend of authoritarian governance, undermining civil liberties in the name of “America” and “order”. We stand against policies that violate human rights and weaponize citizenship as a tool of exclusion.
We call on our communities, elected officials, and fellow practitioners to resist and disrupt these oppressive systems. Demand sanctuary for all. Demand liberation not just for some of us, but for all of us.
The resources below offer information, such as ways to be in community during times of unrest and injustice and guidance on how to prepare for immigration raids. We aim to share more with our community, over time. We also ask those who have additional resources, and would like them to be shared with our community, please email us.
Resources:
Black Alliance for Just Immigration
Immigrant Rising Mental Health Resources
Informed Immigrant Mental Health Resources
