“No ICE please!”

There’s a moment that happens dozens of times a day across America.
A barista asks, “Would you like that iced?”
A server says, “Ice with your water?”

It’s such an ordinary exchange that it barely registers. Pure autopilot.

But what if this tiny interaction could double as political expression? What if the simple act of ordering a drink could quietly signal resistance to Trump’s version of law enforcement cosplay?

Here’s my proposal.

When asked about ice in your beverage, respond:

“I don’t support ICE.”
or “Who needs ICE?”
or “I don’t need no stinkin’ ICE.”
or simply, “No ICE, please.”

Yes, it’s a pun.
Yes, it’s a little absurd.
And, yes, very me.

In my experience, the best forms of peaceful resistance usually come with a smirk.

Why This Works

The genius of this approach is its accessibility.

You don’t need to attend a march (though you should).
You don’t need to donate money (though that helps).
You don’t need special skills, a sign, or a Substack essay.

You just need to order a drink — something you were going to do anyway.

The double meaning creates an easy conversational hook. The barista might laugh. They might look confused. They might just nod and move on. All you have to do is smile.

You don’t need to launch into a TED Talk about immigration policy. If they ask, explain. If they don’t, that’s fine too. The seed is planted.

This isn’t about ambushing service workers with political diatribes. It’s about small, human moments of awareness. Less lecture, more signal flare.

Politics isn’t separate from daily life.
It is daily life. Even at the coffee counter.

The Power of Repetition

Now imagine thousands of people doing this.

Baristas hear it five times a shift.
Servers start recognizing it.
It spreads from coffee shops to diners to airport bars.

It becomes a quiet, low-key signal — a wink between strangers. A tiny “hey, me too.”

That’s how ideas travel. Through repetition. Through ordinary spaces.

“We are the 99 percent.”
“Black Lives Matter.”
Simple phrases that moved from words to movements.

“No ICE, please” isn’t trying to be the next historic slogan — but it can still do something useful: keep the issue alive in our heads.

Because it’s easy to read a brutal news story about raids or deportations, feel furious for 20 minutes, and then go back to scrolling.

But if you’re saying this every time you order coffee, you’re reminded. Regularly. Personally.

It stays with you.

Discomfort as a Feature, Not a Bug

Some people will find this awkward.

Good.

Comfort is rarely where change happens.

When we confine politics to protests or social media, the rest of life stays neatly undisturbed. Meanwhile, immigration policy is disturbing people’s lives every single day.

A mildly weird moment at the counter feels like a fair trade.

That said: read the room.

If your server is drowning in a lunch rush or clearly exhausted, maybe just skip the ice and spare them the bit. The goal is awareness, not making underpaid workers endure your performance art.

Be kind. Be human.
Just also be willing to be a little weird.

From Beverages to Ballots

Let’s be clear: refusing ice will not reform immigration policy.

This is symbolic. And symbols alone are empty.

But symbols paired with action? That’s where things get interesting.

Think of this as a gateway habit.

Start with the joke.
Then donate.
Volunteer.
Call your reps.
Show up locally.
Vote like it matters — because it does.

The drink order isn’t the revolution. It’s the reminder.

The Revolution Will Be Caffeinated

Or decaf. Your call.

Resistance doesn’t always look like marches and megaphones. Sometimes it looks like a dad joke with a political edge. Sometimes it’s just refusing to let the most important issues of our time disappear into the background noise of everyday life.

So the next time someone asks if you want ice?

You know what to say.

No ICE, please.