Pacifica Network’s Lisa Loving discusses ICE & activism with Politics Done Right’s Egberto Willies

Pacifica Network journalist Lisa Loving interviews “Egberto off the Record” newsletter publisher/Radio Host Egberto Willies on ICE abuses, immigrant scapegoating, and grassroots resistance in Texas.

Lisa Loving discusses ICE & activism with Egberto Off The Record.

Watch Politics Done Right T.V. here.

Podcasts (Video — Audio)

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Summary

Pacifica Radio’s Lisa Loving interviewed activist journalist Egberto Willies about ICE abuses, immigration, and grassroots resistance in Texas. Willies highlighted how immigrant scapegoating fuels profit for political elites while grassroots organizers, particularly women, confront fear with courage, sustaining democracy through activism and truth-telling.

• Egberto Willies defines himself as an activist journalist, committed to truth and dismantling false equivalencies in the mainstream.
• He describes ICE’s actions as state-sanctioned kidnappings, targeting people based on skin tone, accent, or ethnicity.
• Willies denounces immigration enforcement as a moneymaking scheme for political allies, where contracts and deportations enrich conservative donors.
• Grassroots activism in Texas, led mainly by women in conservative communities, stands up weekly to protest lawmakers like Dan Crenshaw and John Cornyn.
• He insists immigrants strengthen America, economically and socially, and argues that overcoming fear through mass activism is essential.

This conversation exposes how ICE weaponizes fear, while elites profit from human suffering. Willies insists that true patriotism means rejecting scapegoating and standing with immigrants. The path forward lies in grassroots organizing, fearless activism, and independent media that tells the truth without corporate distortion.

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Premium Content (Complimentary)

The interview between Pacifica Radio’s Lisa Loving and Politics Done Right host Egberto Willies lays bare the sinister undercurrents of America’s immigration system, while also uplifting the role of grassroots activism in resisting authoritarian tendencies. Willies identifies himself not simply as a journalist but as an “activist journalist,” rejecting the false neutrality that has allowed mainstream outlets to peddle dangerous “both-sides” narratives. He stresses that journalism should be rooted in truth, not corporate obedience, and that independent media must function as a counterweight to misinformation and fear.

At the center of the conversation is Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Willies describes ICE’s actions as little more than legalized kidnappings, where people of color—particularly Latinos—are targeted based on skin tone or accent. In Texas, this cruelty is normalized by Governor Greg Abbott, who deploys razor wire, militarized patrols, and stunts like transporting asylum seekers to blue states. As Willies makes clear, these policies are not about law or security—they are about power and money.

Willies draws a crucial link between immigration enforcement and the enrichment of political elites. Rather than using existing airlines to transport asylum seekers, Abbott spends millions on private charter flights operated by political allies. For-profit detention centers, razor-wire contractors, and transportation deals form what Willies calls a “gangster government”—a system designed not for justice but for graft. In this scheme, immigrants become pawns in a profit-driven enterprise that stokes racial resentment while quietly funneling wealth to those in power.

Yet, Willies does not dwell solely on oppression. He emphasizes the transformative power of grassroots activism, particularly the work of women in deeply conservative areas, such as Kingwood, Texas. Despite threats, intimidation, and open displays of firearms by right-wing agitators, these women persist in weekly protests against figures like Dan Crenshaw and John Cornyn. Their courage demonstrates that even in hostile political environments, communities can challenge power structures and plant seeds of change. This echoes the history of movements like Occupy Kingwood and Indivisible, where ordinary citizens stood together to demand accountability.

Willies also underscores the economic necessity of immigrants. Far from being a burden, immigrants bolster Social Security, harvest crops, sustain industries, and provide essential labor that many Americans refuse to do. Deportations not only betray moral obligations but also undermine the nation’s economic foundation. He stresses that “we need immigrants more than they need us,” a point too often erased in mainstream narratives dominated by xenophobic propaganda.

The interview closes with a reminder of the power of mass mobilization. Willies cites the “3.5% rule,” which shows that when just 3.5% of a population engages in sustained activism, systemic change becomes inevitable. Fear, he insists, must not paralyze the public; instead, collective courage must fuel the pendulum swing toward justice, where universal healthcare, basic income, and economic fairness become achievable realities.

Ultimately, this dialogue underscores a profound truth: immigrant justice and democratic renewal are inextricably linked. Defending immigrants from ICE’s predation is not charity—it is an act of national survival. Independent media, grassroots organizing, and fearless truth-telling remain the tools by which ordinary Americans can dismantle gangster government and reclaim a democracy that works for all.