A volunteer orientation meeting hosted by the Party for Socialism and Liberation in partnership with Houston Leads outlined plans to establish a rapid response network against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in Houston.
The session, attended by about a dozen participants, emphasized organizing volunteers to counter deportations, raids, and detentions.
A speaker described the initiative’s objective, stating, “We want to build a long-term movement that fights back against deportations, raids, detention, and all other forms of immigration-related terror.”
Organizers drew inspiration from VC Defensa, a group in Ventura County, California, which maintains a network of 500 active volunteers to disrupt federal law enforcement operations.
They recounted a recent incident at a marijuana farming operation where activists confronted ICE agents. “VC Defensa bravely stood in-between them and the workers at the farm, and they weren’t able to prevent every deportation because they didn’t have the weaponry to fight back that way, but they prevented a lot of detention and a lot of detainment,” an organizer said.
Authorities rescued several illegal alien children during that raid.
The Houston group reported a membership of approximately 150 individuals and said it aims to expand to 500 members to enable more effective interventions. “The goal is to eventually have enough numbers where we can really take direct action and stop them,” another organizer stated.
Tactics discussed include responding to ICE sightings by recording agents, slowing operations, and mobilizing at locations. Volunteers are advised to identify as neutral observers to avoid affiliation disclosure.
“What you say is that you’re a volunteer legal observer … we never say what we are a part of,” instructed an organizer.
The meeting covered legal rights, such as refusing searches without warrants, and potential risks like being arrested for obstructing justice. “We are just inevitably going to be facing up against law enforcement and ICE agents,” speakers noted.
Organizers said they are monitoring four immigration courts in Houston with volunteer shifts to detect activity.
The group also touched on advanced actions. “If people really do want to de-arrest to defend people from being kidnapped, then that’s something we find training to do,” one said, referring to physically intervening in arrests.
This recording follows a prior Texas Scorecard interview with a Houston Leads activist describing the “SCOUTS” program—a response team of over 100 members that documents ICE activities, including officers’ names, in Houston.
The Houston Mayor’s Office, Harris County Sheriff’s Office, and ICE have not responded to requests for comment.
A Houston Police Department spokesperson said they cannot comment and advised reporting threats to ICE directly or to 9-1-1.
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