This letter was printed in my local newspaper in early February, 2026.
I oppose aggression by State agents (ICE or otherwise), and support peaceful protest. …But I also feel compelled to speak out against what I see as (accidental?) attacks on small, local business in the name of identity-alignment and coalition politics of any variety.

I want to reiterate at the top here that this reflects my opinion alone, as a fellow community-member and consumer in the local economy. I do not own nor invest in nor steer the tactics of any local businesses.
This footnote is some more exposition about “identity-alignment and coalition politics”: 1

The letter below, as printed.

To the editor:

I chose not to participate in the “ICE OUT” boycott day Friday. I truly respect your decision to have participated, and I understand the motivation. My refusal wasn’t because I disagree with the spirit of the event or I condone the recent behavior of federal agents — quite the opposite! The basis of my personal moral framework and the thrust of my professional life is characterized by resistance to all forms of violent coercion and tyranny; achieved in part by working to build and support strong, bottom-up, voluntary collectives that foster self-determination and defend individuals’ rights and freedoms.

It was with those goals in mind that I refused to boycott local businesses on January 30th.

If that seems counter-intuitive to you, consider how the following recipe works counter to those ends:

Deprive our local businesses of the patronage they rely on to survive and continue providing value to our communities. “Shut down” the town economy, which is simply an abstraction of our critical local infrastructure (surely you don’t want to shut down a neighborhood farmers’ market?).

Lock the doors and turn off the lights of the welcoming spaces that offer face-to-face connection and conversation. Pass up the opportunity to bolster social resilience and a sense of unity between neighbors with divergent beliefs.

In an instance of friendly fire (hopefully accidental), shame those members of the community who build and maintain the nodes we all rely on to ensure that the bonds of our local networks remain stronger than any forces which threaten to sever them (whether those forces are overseas, across state lines, in Washington D.C. or next door).
To the extent that these are the tactics of boycotts such as these, I’ll continue to pass.

A local economy is a representation of the community’s capacity to survive, act and determine its own fate. My suggestion: resist oppression from a position of strength and resilience, not self-harm. The Mom & Pop shop on the corner is not your enemy. If a social media post has convinced you otherwise, perhaps reconsider how you aim your attention.

I hope I saw you at your independent business on January 30th, doors open for friendly conversation and to receive my cash or bitcoin payment — whether you choose to report the transaction to help fund the federal government’s enforcement agencies is up to you. This is not tax advice.

If I didn’t catch you Friday because you were at a protest or boycotting from home, I do hope it was a safe and fulfilling experience! This letter was written - on January 30th — in a spirit of unity, honesty and mutual support. Please read it that way. It reflects my views alone and not the opinion of any friends, family or colleagues.

Vinney Cavallo

  1. [This footnote did not appear in the letter.] ICE receives its funding from Congressional appropriations, not retail sales. one-day “shutdowns” mostly impact hourly workers and small businesses2. The “shutdown” part of the day’s tactics don’t appear to materially impact ICE or immigration policy - at least not in a proportion that excuses the harm they cause to the most vulnerable and delicate parts of our communities. A tax protest or a targeted boycott of firms that directly contract or enable enforcement agencies would be an entirely different story. Sign me up! What efforts like these do accomplish is coalition-building, ideological signaling and moral/identity alignment. These are the sorts ends that I see as polarizing and instigating without pragmatic effectiveness. Be ineffective all you want and I’ll stay quiet, but once its coming at the expense of my local economy, I’m going to at least write a letter :) ↩

  2. Footnote to the footnote. Some ICE OUT materials did advise carve-outs for “Queer and BIPOC-owned businesses”. I’ll leave it as an exercise for the reader to determine if shopping at queer small businesses while boycotting… what would it be…? “straight small businesses”? is an effective tactic against ICE or an attempt at broad political coalition-building and identity-alignment. ↩