How Museums Can Stand Up to ICE

Reflections on a MuseumExpert Webinar

Since taking office in January of this year, the current administration has launched Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) raids throughout the country, including in sanctuary cities. Notably, the Trump administration reversed the policy of the previous administration and gave ICE permission to raid schools, hospitals and places of worship. These operations involve visible enforcement tactics, including the deployment of uniformed and masked agents, the use of unmarked vans, and targeting individuals in public spaces. Museums are inevitably impacted; they serve communities and employ individuals who are being actively targeted by these aggressions.

To explore how museums can stand up to ICE from a caring and mission-centered place, MuseumExpert convened a webinar on the topic. Guests Leticia Rhi Buckley, Chief Executive Officer of LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes in LA and Sara Phalen, a nonprofit attorney and museum director working in the western suburbs of Chicago joined Rose, who acted as the session’s facilitator.

To open the session, Leticia and Sara shared how the ICE raids had been impacting their communities and institutions. Next, we explored a key question from Sara’s piece published on this platform: “how can museums offer care, connection, and cultural affirmation in a time when physical safety cannot be guaranteed?” We closed the session with questions from the audience. Below are some key points from our discussion.

• Leticia reminded us that, for La Plaza, standing up to harm inflicted on communities isn’t new; that, “our existence is resistance.” As such, she sees it as part of the organization’s responsibility to counter the harmful narratives that are fueling the raids while continuing to be a place of safety and belonging.

• Considering safety, Leticia and Sara spoke about changes that can be made to how visitor data is collected, including what information is collected. For example, event signups can be amended to omit personal information (e.g., names and phone numbers) that could be used against visitors.

• Both guests highlighted that museums are more than their buildings. How can outdoor museum spaces be activated? Where else can you run your programs? Who can you partner with?

  • Art kits that can be dropped off at community members’ home can be a great option for those that can’t leave their homes due to safety issues.

  • Are there covid-era protocols and programs that are appropriate in this situation (the above take-home art kits)?

• Leticia and Sara also reminded us that museums exist within a network of partners such as rapid response teams, mutual aid groups, and other organizations serving targeted populations. How can these networks be strengthened? How can museums offer resources, such as their space (e.g., a meeting room) to support community partner needs? Other ideas include:

  • Amplify messages from other organizations

  • Offer space for a mutual aid’s group fundraiser

  • Have conversations with the city and elected officials.

  • Connect with schools and consider how you’re welcoming school groups and promoting safety.

  • Learn from organizing in red states

• Importantly, we spoke about how museum workers can support their teams:

  • Remember that community members impacted can include staff and their families.

  • Implement mental health days

  • Provide staff, especially front-of house staff and those working with communities, the resources they need (e.g., training on how to prepare for ICE in the workplace, “know your rights” cards)

• Museums already have safety plans in place for various situations such as natural disasters. Developing an internal safety plan to deal with ICE violence can be useful for supporting staff and reassuring external vendors.

  • Have both an extensive plan on hand as well as a one-pager that can be shared with, for example, vendors.

  • Here is an example safety plan from La Plaza de Cultura y Artes.

• Another key point at this time is looking for opportunities to make connections and build bridges across audience groups in your communities. For example, Sara related her experience with an exhibition about immigration to the neighborhood 100 years ago that helped create entry points to consider immigration today.

• In closing, Sara brought up the importance of being transparent: make clear that you know your community is being affected at this time. Doing so can have a big impact.

Thank you to all those who participated and shared thoughtful questions. If you weren’t able to join, you can access a recording of the webinar here.

Thank you to Leticia and Sara for sharing their expertise, Walter Staveloz, Founder of MuseumExpert for convening the webinar, Colleen Carter for monitoring the chat and bringing audience questions forward, and other MuseumExpert team members for supporting this gathering.

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NEWS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY

• Exciting news from the Citizen Historians initiative we described in our Sept. 8, 2025 post, Documentation as Resistance. The project has now attracted over 1400 volunteers and has aready uploaded over 30,000 images and videos documenting exhibitions at the eight Smithsonian museums targeted for review by the Administration. The goal is to create a public record of the original exhibitions in case they are subject to censorship or closure. Check out the website for news of the expanding initiative which now includes virtual lectures.

• Two Artists Withdraw From Smithsonian Symposium: Lingít and Unangax̂ artist Nicholas Galanin and Mexican-American sculptor Margarita Cabrera withdrew from a symposium at the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) on September 12, alleging that the institution’s decision to make the event private effectively censored participants amid pressure from the Trump administration.

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• In Wyoming, two museums bounced back from NEH cuts. But they’re unlikely to apply again: The Jim Gatchell Memorial Museum in Buffalo and Meeteetse Museums both lost federal funding when the Trump administration terminated NEH grants across the country earlier this year. They’ve since made up the difference, but staff are now thinking twice about seeking out those sorts of grants moving forward.

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• White House fires many members of the National Council on the Humanities: The White House fired many members of the National Council on the Humanities on October 1, with the council’s website showing that only four appointees of President Donald Trump were retained.