On the 10th anniversary of the 8M Women’s Strike Fest in New York City,  the need to put forward an affirmative vision against fascism and its politics of terror, one grounded in socialist feminism and an ethics of care, is more dire than ever.  This is why, this year, Undocumented Women’s Fund–the anchor of the Fest since 2020–and dozens of partner organizations are taking to the streets under the phrase: Care beats hate. Our love melts ICE. 

During the last year, we have seen how the institutional apparatus built during the last two decades with bipartisan support, in order to criminalize, survey, detain, deport, and most importantly, profit from the targeting of “essential immigrant workers”, has been redeployed against all people in the United States, as a means of suppressing dissent and instilling terror. Minnesota has made clear the current administration’s intentions; the inhumane imprisonment of Leqaa Kordia reveals its desire to silence us; and the heinous murder of Renee Nicole Good by masked men shows how far it is willing to go, if we let it. 

This year’s attacks, however, require us to dissent publicly, lovingly and as loudly and clearly as possible. Instead of investing in care, this administration is funding paramilitary forces and cages at home and neocolonial, imperialist wars and genocide abroad. Gaza, Venezuela, Cuba, Iran…  the list continues to grow. At home, while cuts in social services deepen and millions of families are left without access to lifeline programs, such as food stamps, billions are invested in making ICE the most funded enforcement agency in the history of this country.  

As the case of Liam Conejo Ramos illustrated, during the last year we have witnessed a six fold increase in the detention of children and a push to restart and expand the policy of detaining entire families. The politics of fear articulated through ICE further excludes undocumented and mixed status households, since it turns spaces of care–such as hospitals, schools, and public benefits offices–into potential sites for detention or sharing of data with agencies specialized in state-sanctioned kidnapping. In this way, under the excuse of going after “the worst of the worst”, the Trump administration is pushing the most exploited and vulnerable among us further into the shadows. 

The inhumane conditions in for-profit immigration detention have worsened, making 2025 the deadliest year in the last two decades. Within detention facilities, the crackdown on reproductive health and freedom that has characterized this administration has had its darkest consequences. The recent cases of dozens of teenage pregnat girls—many of whom were raped—sent to detention in Texas, where they can not exercise the right to get an abortion, adds up to the history of reproductive injustices at the core of the crimmigration system,  such as the sterilization of dozens of detaineeds in the Irwin County Detention Center (ICDC) in Georgia, back in 2020, and the “zero tolerance” family separation policy during the first Trump administration.

In this situation, we must resist MAGA’s attempt at conceptual erasure: once again, we must be able to call each thing by its rightful name. For example, the massive cover-up of the crimes and abuse by men from the world elite, including the current and, perhaps, some former presidents, against vulnerable, underage women must make us consider the urgency of, once again, denouncing  patriarchy; while the betrayal of the promises made by MAGA to the working people illuminates the class division that the scapegoating of immigrants is meant to cover up. Just as the brutality of the Trump wars demands that we describe its aims and methods as imperialistic and neocolonial, the tactics we have seen ICE deploy all throughout the country are those of paramilitary police forces characteristic of totalitarian regimes, designed to crush dissent through violence and fear. 

We believe, however, this is not a time for despair. In spite of its bleakness, there are reasons for hope. The horrors in the Twin Cities have been met by resilient empathy and solidarity, pointing towards the enduring political possibilities of community organizing and mass mobilization. Little Liam’s case produced heartfelt, generalized outrage; while Leqaa’s bravery reminded us how women who resist cannot easily be silenced. NYC also showed it can remain steadfast, by electing an immigrant, democratic socialist as mayor. The groundbreaking rollout of the 2k childcare program paved the way towards universal childcare, showing it is possible to grow a municipal care platform that secures the right to be looked after for everyone, while centering the needs and rights of care workers, many of whom are low wage racialized immigrant women.

Today, calls to defund ICE have become louder and widespread and MAGA’s newspeak farce is becoming harder to sustain; and, in this opening, the better angels of our nature can cry out: Care beats hate. Our love melts ICE! On this International Working Women’s Day we gather to demand an end to terror, warmongering, and institutionalized hatred; but, also, to celebrate resilience, diversity, solidarity, and empathy, as well as caring, lifegiving love. Our hearts, united, are reason enough to hope. Come join us this Sunday, March 8th, from 12:00 to 4:00 pm in Maria Hernandez Park, for a day of rallying, participatory and performance art, live music, tabling organizations and joyful resistance.