By Cliff Potts
Leyte, Philippines — October 2025

Excerpt: From 8,000 miles away, the author reflects on how to resist fascism, protect immigrant families, and fight for justice — even when you can’t march in the streets. This is what solidarity looks like when a neighbor hides a child from ICE in Chicago.

I made the decision early on to fight from 8,000 miles away. I’m not in physical shape to be active on the street. Age is reality, and the body sets limits the mind refuses to honor. But the fight for justice doesn’t disappear just because you can’t march anymore. Some of us pick up signs; others pick up keyboards. In this moment of creeping fascism, both are weapons — and both matter.

The story that broke my heart today came from Chicago: a neighbor hid a seven-year-old child from ICE. A kid — terrified, confused, hunted. That’s not the America we were told to believe in. That’s not liberty or justice for anyone. It’s authoritarian cruelty dressed up in paperwork and prayers.

When someone hides a child from the state, it’s not an act of defiance — it’s an act of love. It’s a moral line drawn in the sand, saying, you will not destroy this family on my watch. That kind of courage humbles me. It’s the reason I still write, still publish, still call this resistance a duty.

From 8,000 miles away, there are things I can’t do — I can’t open my door to that child, or stand on the porch to block an ICE van. But there’s plenty I can do. I can send money to the right places. I can amplify the right stories. I can make sure that those who stand their ground aren’t standing alone.

Here’s what matters most:

1. The hotline that saves lives.
In Chicago, families facing ICE raids can call 1-855-HELP-MY-FAMILY (1-855-435-7693) — a 24/7 Family Support Hotline run by the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. That number is a lifeline. It connects families to rapid-response legal help, translators, and advocates who know exactly what to do.

2. Legal defense wins battles.
The National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) provides direct legal aid. In immigration fights, lawyers are the front line. Every dollar donated turns into hours of defense, filed appeals, and families kept together.

3. Money moves faster than borders.
Organizations like RAICES can pay bonds and fund emergency housing. Even from halfway around the world, I can send a small amount that keeps a child out of detention. The fascists rely on fear and isolation — money and communication cut through both.

4. Spread the truth.
A single social-media post, copied and pasted a hundred times, can reach millions. Here’s one anyone can share safely:

“A neighbor in Chicago is sheltering a 7-year-old from ICE. Call ICIRR Family Support Hotline 1-855-HELP-MY-FAMILY. Donate to NIJC or RAICES. Stand up for humanity. #SanctuaryNow #EndFamilySeparation”

Visibility is protection. Silence is complicity.

Let’s be blunt: this isn’t about immigration anymore — it’s about the character of a nation collapsing under the weight of cruelty. The same government that cages children will happily cage dissenters next. That’s how fascism works — it doesn’t stop with them. It comes for everyone.

The good news? Resistance doesn’t need a passport. It just needs willpower and a Wi-Fi signal. Every message, every repost, every dollar, every essay is a blow against tyranny.

I fight from 8,000 miles away. That’s not retreat — that’s deployment. The front line is wherever you choose to make it. And today, it runs from a kitchen table in Chicago to a keyboard in the Philippines, connected by one shared belief: we don’t abandon children to the state.

Because that’s what separates us from them.

Call to Action:

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