Category Archives: Immigration

Anarchist, Asheville, Bookfair, General, Immigration, repression, Texas, Transcribed, United States, Virginia, zine

DFW Support Committee, A Better World Bookfair + Save The UNCA Woods

montage of a flyer for A Better World Book Fair with line drawings of simple items and a circle A, alongside a picture of a mockingbird on a mesquite branch in front of a blue sky, a graphic for Save The Woods featuring a number of animals
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This week on the podcast, we’re featuring three segments. First up, A member of DFW Support Committee, then organizers of the A Better World Bookfair in Waynesboro, VA and finally, organizers working to save the UNCA woods

  •  Transcript
  • PDF (Unimposed)
  • Zine (Imposed PDF)

DFW Support Committee

First up, you’ll hear a member of the DFW Support Committee supporting the defendants arrested on and around July 4th in relation to a solidarity noise demonstration outside the Prairieland ICE Detention Facility in Alvarado, Texas, in which a local police officer was injured. We speak about the case, the expanding web of repression against leftists in the area, what’s at stake in the case and how to support the 11 defendants.

You can reach them at dfwsupportcommittee@hacari.com and you can donate at https://www.givesendgo.com/supportdfwprotestors  and here’s a zine of info put out thus far by DFW Support Committee [00:01:40 – 00:35:19]

MAILING INSTRUCTIONS

Guidelines for writing (important!)
All mail is monitored by state and federal law enforcement. Be extremely mindful of what you are writing. Do not under any circumstance discuss the facts of the case, and do not include overtly political commentary. Consider writing about fun things you’ve done, telling stories, or sending poetry!
All addresses must be formatted as follows and should include a return address if possible.
Full name
Johnson County Detention Center 1800 Ridgemar Drive
Cleburne, TX 76031

NAMES AND BOOKING NUMBERS

  • Savanna Batten 202502020
  • Ines Soto 202502008
  • Elizabeth Soto 202502014
  • Seth Sikes 202502010
  • Maricela Rueda 202502018
  • Meagan Morris 202502011
  • Joy Gibson 202502016
  • Nathan Baumann 202502009
  • Autumn Hill 202502023
  • Zachary Evetts 202502013
  • Daniel Sanchez Estrada 202502039

A Better World Book Fair

Next, you’ll hear Beet and Mad Dog, two anarchists organizing the upcoming A Better World Bookfair in Waynesboro, VA on Saturday, July 26th. We talk about the bookfair and taking space in rural locales as leftists and strengthening our bonds amidst the rise of the right under Trump 2.0. [00:35:56 – 01:02:11]

Save The UNCA Woods

Then, you’ll hear Callie and Heather of Friends of the Woods talking about their campaign to save the UNCA woods, 45 acres in Asheville’s Five Points neighborhood from destruction by the university in a scheme to build a 5,000 seat soccer stadium, market rate housing and retail spaces. You can learn more at www.SaveUNCAWoods.org. [ 01:02:58 – 01:42:44 ]

Finally, Sean Swain speaks about the ODRC’s war on art… his art… [ 01:42:44 – 01:51:10 ]

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Featured Track:

  • Mercy, Mercy, Mercy by Cannonball Adderly from The Best of Cannonball Adderly The Capitol Years

Continue reading DFW Support Committee, A Better World Bookfair + Save The UNCA Woods →

Anarchist, California, General, Immigration, Police, Transcribed, United States, zine

Rapid Responses To Immigration Raids + Homeless Sweeps in So Cal

"TFSR 6-22-25 | Rapid Responses to Immigration Raids + Homeless Sweeps in So Cal" featuring a photo of two masked youth with signs reading "ICE out of Fontana" and "Fuck ICE"
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This week on the show we feature an interview with two anarchists activists in southern California about the recent resistance to Federal-led immigration raids in Los Angeles and the wider region. Both guests speak about their experiences working in rapid response structures to immigration raids, to anti-homeless sweeps and other community needs over the years and how they’ve changed as conditions and technologies have changed. We talk about inviting and engaging new activists and some strategies that showed success.

Some great writings from the streets can be found at Ediciones Ineditas: https://ineditas.noblogs.org/post/2025/06/18/fuck-i-c-e-city-wide-los-angeles-goes-up/

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Featured Track:

  • Bella Ciao by La Plebe from Brazo En Brazo

Continue reading Rapid Responses To Immigration Raids + Homeless Sweeps in So Cal →

General, Immigration, LGBTQ, Prisons, Queer, repression, Transcribed, United States, zine

Former Uprising Defendant from ICE Detention (Ángel Espinosa-Villegas)

"TFSR 5-4-25 | Former Uprising Defendant from ICE Detention (Angel Espinosa-Villegas)" + Selfie of Angel in a leather jacket, framed by white clouds in a blue sky, beside hir dog
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This week, we’re sharing an interview with Ángel, an ICE detainee currently incarcerated in Otero Detention Center in New Mexico. Ángel is a trans-masculine lesbian of Mapuche heritage, whose family moved hir to the US from Chile at the age of 7 and has lived undocumented since, attaining DACA status under Obama. During the 2020 George Floyd Uprising she pled guilty to charges related to arson of police vehicles in Little Rock, serving 15 months before moving to Chicago and where s/he was detained by ICE. Approaching 30 years old, the majority of which has been in the so-called USA, Angel made the hard choice to waive the right to fight deportation and has been in detention centers since on hir way to being sent to Chile to join hir mother and family now living there.

For the hour, Ángel speaks about conditions at Prairieland and Otero detention centers, the conditions of hir fellow prisoners, the hurdles they face in access to healthcare, quality food, clean facilities, legal resources, access to communications with their families, ability to communicate needs and demands with staff and guards who only speak English, and other topics.

Support hir Go Fund Me: https://www.gofundme.com/f/political-prisoner-facing-deportation

If you want to learn more about 2020 Uprising prisoners (from 2022 & 2023), you can find our interview with one of the people running the website UprisingSupport.org linked in our show notes.

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Featured Track:

Continue reading Former Uprising Defendant from ICE Detention (Ángel Espinosa-Villegas) →

Anarchist, Anarchist Media, Art, Author, Comics, General, Immigration, Kristian Williams, North Carolina, Racism, repression, Transcribed, United States, zine

CIMA on Community Defense Against ICE + Kristian Williams on the Comics of Alan Moore

This week on the show, we’re sharing two interviews.

<a href="https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/thefinalstrawradio/tfsr-podcast-20250209-CIMAKristianWilliams.mp3">Download This Episode</a>First up, Dulce, a member of Companeros Inmigrantes en las Montanas en Accion, or CIMA, a local organizing and advocacy group by and for immigrants in western NC about her experience working for dignity and solidarity in light of the current and past administrations. More on CIMA can be found at CIMAWNC.Org

Then, Ian speaks with Kristian Williams, author of Gang Politics, Resist Everything Except Temptation, and Our Enemies in Blue, among others, about his recent book, The Illuminist: Philosophical Explanations in the work of Alan Moore. The chat touches upon Moore’s work and its anarchist underpinnings, his legacy in and out of comics, the necessity of imagination, and the possibilities that arise from death and disaster. The book is available from emergencyhearts.com, emergencyhearts.bandcamp.com, and kristianwilliams.com. You can find past interviews we’ve done with Kristian here.

Continue reading CIMA on Community Defense Against ICE + Kristian Williams on the Comics of Alan Moore →

abolition, Antifa, Deutsch, fascism, Immigration, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, PNW, Prisons, Protest, repression, Transcribed, United States, zine

Resisting Immigration Prison in Tacoma and Fascists in Pittsburgh

This week, we’re featuring three segments in our episode.

Burgundy, yellow and red banner with the words "Shut Down The NWDC", the logo for Pittsburgh Fash Watch featuring the keystone shape of PA plus the three Iron Front arrows in a circle and "We Keep Us Safe"
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First up, you’ll hear Maru Mora-Villalpando talking about the immigration prison known as the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, WA and the organizing that her organization La Resistencia does to shut down this private prison run by Geo Group. [ 00:00:54 – 00:44:00 ]

Then, a member of Pittsburgh Fash Watch, an antifascist group, talks about their mobilization and unmasking of white supremacists in their area, such as WLM and Goyim Defense League (GDL) chud Brandon Cahall. [ 00:45:07 – 00:54:42]

Finally, Sean Swain addresses post-election ennui. [ 00:54:45-end ]

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Featured Track:

  • Bella Ciao by Leslie Fish

Continue reading Resisting Immigration Prison in Tacoma and Fascists in Pittsburgh →

activism, Anarchist, European Union, Immigration, Poland, Politics, repression, Transcribed, zine

Border Repression + Resisting Growing Nationalism in Poland

picture of many modes of transportation with the words "freedom of movement is everybody's right!"
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This week, we’re featuring two conversations relating to the so-called Green Border in Podlaskie region of eastern Poland, on the Belarus border concerning topics of migration, repression, militarization, nationalism and solidarity among residents and people on the move into Fortress Europe.

First up, you’ll hear Alex, a member of the feminist anti-repression group, Szpila Collective, about the H5Poland case of 5 activists facing charges for aiding people in need in what could be a landmark case in Poland and Europe. More at Szpila.BlackBlogs.Org or on Mastodon: @Szpila@kolektiva.social [ 00:01:34 – 00:15:08]

Then, you’ll find a chat with an anarchist who grew up in this border region and returned in adulthood and whose affinity group does solidarity with people on the move through the Białowieża forest. [00:19:58 – 01:32:18]

To hear past interviews about this border, check out our chat with two folks from Grupa Granica, or other chats where we’ve covered / carried chat about the border at Calais, the Mediterranean, the Balkan Route, Australia or the US / Mexico border.

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Featured Track:

Continue reading Border Repression + Resisting Growing Nationalism in Poland →

activism, Arizona, Autonomy, California, Frontera, General, Health, Immigration, Mexico, Mutual Aid, New Mexico, Police, Politics, Racism, Texas, Transcribed, United States, zine

No More Deaths / No Más Muertes on the Mexico / US Frontier

No More Deaths / No Más Muertes on the Mexico / US Frontier

a photo water jugs left in the desert with kind notes scrawled on them
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This week, I spoke with two members of No More Deaths, a 20 year old humanitarian organization operating in the borderlands between Mexico and the USA. We talked about the organization, the work it does, how the border has changed, the political legacy of the Republicans and Democrats in the current situation for immigrants, deaths at the border and ways to get involved in supporting people on the move. Here’s a chat from 2017 we did with NMD as well.

. … . ..

Featured Track:

  • La Frontera by Lhasa from The Living Road

Continue reading No More Deaths / No Más Muertes on the Mexico / US Frontier →

Anarchist, Asheville, Bookfair, European Union, General, Immigration, Mediterranean

Migrant Solidarity in the Mediterranean Sea by Quoyle (ACAB 2023)

Migrant Solidarity in the Mediterranean Sea by Quoyle

"Migrant solidarity at sea: a report back from a wayward American anarchist in the Mediterranean search-and-rescue scene - Sunday 3:30 @ Different Wrld" over a photo of a sailboat and other worn out boat at sea
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This week, we’re sharing a presentation from the 2023 Another Carolina Anarchist Bookfair in so-called Asheville, NC. From the presentation:

The Mediterranean Sea is Europe’s deadliest border. For years, non-state actors like Sea-Watch and other NGO’s have played a part in humanitarian search-and-rescue operations. In spite of legal repression and the technical challenges of maintaining a “civil fleet”, anarchists, anti-fascists, and other activists try to stop needless death at sea.

Hear a report back from a wayward American yacht-punk who spent the summer doing rotations on two different SAR (Search And Rescue) ships. We’ll discuss the general political situation, the reality of everyday operations and how you could get involved.

One case Quoyle mentioned was the Luventa Crew in Italy, they were acquitted of all charges in April of 2024!

For more audios from ACABookfair 2023, check out the site. To hear a 2023 interview we conducted with an activist with Maldusa on a similar topic, you can find it at our website.

We also have this 2016 interview by A-Radio Berlin that we aired in 2016 about conditions  a No Border Camp in Greece. And here’s one we conducted with an immigrant from Africa and a supporter in Germany in 2016. Also, check out this podcast called The Civil Fleet with voices of others involved in solidarity in the Mediterranean route.

activism, Belarus, European Union, Immigration, Poland, Politics, repression, Transcribed, zine

Grupa Granica Activsists Speak About Perils on the Belarus / Poland Border

Grupa Granica Activsists Speak About Perils on the Belarus / Poland Border

"TFSR 7-28-24 | Grupa Granica Activists Speak About Perils on the Belarus / Poland Border" featuring a photo of masked Polish soldiers and border guards looming over people on the move, centrally two children, in Bialoweza forest
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This week, we’re featuring an interview with Dominika Ożyńska (Egala Association) and Aleksandra Chrzanowska (Association for Legal Intervention [polish: Stowarzyszenie Interwencji Prawnej SIP]), two human rights activists in eastern Poland near the Belarus border who speak about the situation with the migrant route through the Białowieża forest in the midst of increased militarization on both sides of the border through this ancient forest and through the region. Both are active in the umbrella Grupa Granica, or border group, movement supporting people on the move.

In coming weeks we hope to feature more conversations with activists on the ground in this region and elsewhere speaking on similar topics, including locals who’ve seen social and environmental changes as tensions build between the neighboring nation-states and international alliances and how it impacts people seeking asylum and engaging their freedom of movement.

Grupa Granica (Border Group) & Related Links:

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Continue reading Grupa Granica Activsists Speak About Perils on the Belarus / Poland Border →

Anarcho-Syndicalism, Art, Capitalism, Cartoons, Comics, General, History, Immigration, IWW, Labor, PM Press, Transcribed, United States, zine

Mr. Block’s Past and Legacy (with Sean Carleton and Iain McIntyre)

Mr. Block’s Past and Legacy (with Sean Carleton and Iain McIntyre)

book cover of "Mr Block: The Subversive Comics and Writings of Ernest Riebe" featuring a drawing of Mr Block saying "Bosses know best!"
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This week, Ian talks to Sean Carleton of Graphic History Collective and Labor historian and activist Iain McIntyre about the recent release of Mr. Block: The Subversive Comics and Writings of Ernest Riebe by PM Press. After some background on their respective projects, they talk about the legacy of the IWW cartoonist, the origins and process of putting the book together, and what aspects of his work are still relevant today. Here’s a hint: just about all of them are.

. … . ..

Featured Track:

  • Mr. Block performed by Utah Philips from Rebel Voices: Songs of the Industrial Workers of the World
  • Beware The Friendly Stranger by Boards Of Canada from Alpha and Omega

Continue reading Mr. Block’s Past and Legacy (with Sean Carleton and Iain McIntyre) →