A Matter of Degrees Melting ICE: The Climate Movement Defends Democracy
Feb 26, 2026
Emily Atkin, independent climate reporter and founder of HEATED; Ben Passer, Midwest climate policy leader at McKnight Foundation; and Aru Shiney-Ajay, Sunrise Movement director and frontline organizer. They recount Minneapolis resistance to ICE, how climate organizing defended democracy, links between fossil fuel power and state violence, and tactics that disrupted enforcement while protecting community and climate wins.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Use Direct Action When Negotiation Fails
- Use historical movement tactics and disruptive direct action when negotiation fails with a violent state.
- Aru cites Letter From Birmingham Jail and global movements like Otpor as playbooks for creating crises that force negotiation.
Authoritarian Moves Often Are Climate Policy
- Fossil-fueled geopolitics and militarized interventions are themselves climate policy that protects oil interests.
- Aru links border walls, invasions, and resource grabs to deliberate climate-policy choices that serve fossil fuel power.
Local Groups Shifted Roles To Defend Communities
- Minnesota groups stepped outside traditional roles to meet community needs during the ICE surge.
- Ben Passer recounts Citizens Utility Board educating on utility-worker ID and Land Stewardship Project joining the Immigrant Defense Network.
