As members of the Leagues of Women Voters of San Mateo County, we are deeply alarmed by the recent and escalating use of force by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the threat of domestic military engagement in our country.
Recent incidents, including events in Minnesota and Oregon, represent a troubling abuse of federal authority and a direct assault on core constitutional protections, including the First Amendment rights to free speech and peaceful assembly.
The use of intimidation, militarized tactics and physical force against individuals lawfully exercising their rights is both unacceptable and incompatible with democratic values. As the League of Women Voters of the United States has made clear, federal law enforcement must never be weaponized to silence dissent or suppress civic engagement. We join our state and national leagues in calling on Congress to launch an immediate, independent investigation into recent use-of-force incidents involving federal immigration enforcement personnel.
A call for congressional oversight
We urge members of our community to contact our congressional representatives and demand:
• A full and transparent congressional investigation into ICE’s conduct.
• Accountability for any violations of civil rights or misuse of federal authority.
• Immediate steps to ensure federal agencies respect constitutional protections and democratic norms.
State level efforts in California
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While federal oversight is essential, we also recognize the importance of action at the state level. In California, there is new legislation proposing multiple strategies to hold ICE accountable for its actions within our state. These proposals reflect growing recognition that state-level action is essential to protect residents, uphold civil liberties and establish meaningful guardrails on federal enforcement practices. The league is actively reviewing these bills and will continue to advocate for policies that protect communities and strengthen democratic oversight.
Taking action in San Mateo County
Here in San Mateo County, we applaud the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors for strengthening policies to build transparency and trust. Protecting our neighbors and communities starts with being informed and prepared. If you share our concern, the following resources can help ensure community safety and civic resilience:
• San Mateo County Rapid Response Hotline: call (203) 666-4472 ((203) NO-MIGRA) in case of ICE contact or sightings.
• Know Your Rights toolkit from the Immigrant Legal Resource Center: Practical guidance for individuals and families.
• Asian Law Caucus Know Your Rights Guides: available in multiple languages, including information on ICE home encounters and legal protections.
• California’s Immigration Protections Webinar: Resistance & Resilience — an in-depth look at state-based protections for immigrant communities from the league.
The League of Women Voters stands for open government, equal rights and the protection of our democratic institutions. Today, those values compel us to speak out. We urge all San Mateo County residents to stay informed, stand up for civil liberties and help ensure our communities remain places of dignity, safety and constitutional integrity — for everyone.
Tina Doede is the president of the League of Women Voters of North & Central San Mateo County. Lucia Tedesco is the president of the League of Women Voters of South San Mateo County
Government officials should investigate the facts before making judgments. And, if they want to be taken seriously, government critics should follow the same policy.
Thanks, Ms. Doede and Ms. Tedesco, for showing us that the League of Women Voters of North & Central and South San Mateo are okay with violent protests and attacks on law enforcement as well as putting the welfare of criminals and terrorists over the American people. I guess we can toss out any goodwill or credibility the League of Women Voters previously established.
Meanwhile, I’d recommend that should any type of protest occur in your neighborhood or public street, to film them in high resolution, if possible. Park on streets facing their march and turn on the dashcam. If you live or work in a two-story or higher building, film them to capture as many details as possible. We need everyone, especially patriots and citizen journalists, to see something, say something. Note that you can submit names and/or photos and/or videos to ICE through their online tip portal.
Spotters and cutouts, clandestine digital “drops”, disciplined communications, role specialization, and a willingness to take losses while steadily exhausting a stronger force.
What appears to be emerging in Minneapolis right now doesn’t look like a typical, spontaneous protest ecosystem. It resembles early-stage insurgency infrastructure: large segmented Signal channels, defined roles (i.e., mobile observers, license plate checkers, dispatch/coordination nodes), and standardized reporting that echoes SALUTE-style formats (Size, Activity, Location, Unit, Time, Equipment) for tracking suspected federal vehicles. Add routine OPSEC practices (vetting new participants, timed deletions, rotating chats to complicate forensic recovery) and you have something that’s closer to a distributed command-and-control network than a loose crowd.
To be clear, not every participant is “an insurgent,” and motives may range from fear to activism. But the organizational pattern matters. When communities build parallel intelligence, rapid-response coordination, and harassment/doxxing pipelines aimed at federal officers, the line between civil disobedience and a sustained resistance campaign starts to blur; especially if incidents are already escalating toward violence.
These observations are gleaned from a Special Forces Officer who spent decades dismantling networks like this overseas. Seeing similar tactics take shape domestically should worry anyone who cares about public safety and democratic stability. These systems rarely unwind on their own once they’re built and the organizers believe they’re winning the narrative. This is Phase 1 of something the US National Security community has spent decades trying to prevent at home.
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(3) comments
Government officials should investigate the facts before making judgments. And, if they want to be taken seriously, government critics should follow the same policy.
Thanks, Ms. Doede and Ms. Tedesco, for showing us that the League of Women Voters of North & Central and South San Mateo are okay with violent protests and attacks on law enforcement as well as putting the welfare of criminals and terrorists over the American people. I guess we can toss out any goodwill or credibility the League of Women Voters previously established.
Meanwhile, I’d recommend that should any type of protest occur in your neighborhood or public street, to film them in high resolution, if possible. Park on streets facing their march and turn on the dashcam. If you live or work in a two-story or higher building, film them to capture as many details as possible. We need everyone, especially patriots and citizen journalists, to see something, say something. Note that you can submit names and/or photos and/or videos to ICE through their online tip portal.
Spotters and cutouts, clandestine digital “drops”, disciplined communications, role specialization, and a willingness to take losses while steadily exhausting a stronger force.
What appears to be emerging in Minneapolis right now doesn’t look like a typical, spontaneous protest ecosystem. It resembles early-stage insurgency infrastructure: large segmented Signal channels, defined roles (i.e., mobile observers, license plate checkers, dispatch/coordination nodes), and standardized reporting that echoes SALUTE-style formats (Size, Activity, Location, Unit, Time, Equipment) for tracking suspected federal vehicles. Add routine OPSEC practices (vetting new participants, timed deletions, rotating chats to complicate forensic recovery) and you have something that’s closer to a distributed command-and-control network than a loose crowd.
To be clear, not every participant is “an insurgent,” and motives may range from fear to activism. But the organizational pattern matters. When communities build parallel intelligence, rapid-response coordination, and harassment/doxxing pipelines aimed at federal officers, the line between civil disobedience and a sustained resistance campaign starts to blur; especially if incidents are already escalating toward violence.
These observations are gleaned from a Special Forces Officer who spent decades dismantling networks like this overseas. Seeing similar tactics take shape domestically should worry anyone who cares about public safety and democratic stability. These systems rarely unwind on their own once they’re built and the organizers believe they’re winning the narrative. This is Phase 1 of something the US National Security community has spent decades trying to prevent at home.
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.