Like so many of us, Rebecca Smith and the artists at Tokki Tokki Tattoo in downtown Minneapolis are looking for any way to help that they can in the face of the Twin Cities' ongoing ICE invasion.
The shop has assembled protest kits with baby shampoo, whistles, and hand warmers. In their adjacent art studio, one artist is painting protest signs people can grab if they don't have time to make their own. Tokki Tokki has been selling "fuck ICE" bandanas, with the proceeds going to immigrant causes, and on Friday, they're collecting food, baby formula, and diapers for a group of 20 families in need.
But Smith and her colleagues are feeling angry and frustrated that even with so many of their neighbors trying to help, ICE continues to rampage through the Twin Cities and its surrounding communities.
"My best friend, who is Mexican American, he was born here, but he is scared, and all of his people are scared," Smith tells Racket. "My coworker came in one day, and her best friend got gassed on the way to work, and she was just like, 'chinga la migra?' and pointed at her arm."
Hey, in these cases, sometimes all you can do is get a tattoo.
After that coworker, Tokki Tokki owner Heather Kim, shared the Instagram post above on Wednesday, Smith was inundated with DMs. She did nine "chinga la migra" flash tattoos that day, working them in around her existing appointments, and she has another 11 scheduled for Monday, with a few more scattered in over the weekend.
"I didn't think it was going to go anywhere, but now I'm getting booked solid," Smith says. ("Chinga la migra," for those who don't know, translates more or less to “fuck the immigration cops” or “fuck ICE," and it's a phrase that's been around for about as long as the feds have been hassling Latino immigrants in the U.S.) Smith's minimum is usually $200 for a tattoo; she's been offering these for $100, mostly to cover the cost of supplies.
As she tattoos, Smith says she's hearing folks' stories about standing up to ICE.
"I had a client yesterday ... they've been trying to protect their neighbors, like, they haven't left long, but apparently ICE came and broke down their door without a warrant," she says. Another client told Smith she's only here on papers—she hasn't felt safe protesting, but she came to get the tattoo.
Over half of the people who work at Tokki Tokki are people of color, and Smith says that even though they're a tiny shop, they'll continue trying help out in whatever way they can. She's still getting messages about "chinga la migra" tattoos, and she plans to keep doing them; you can message her on Instagram if you want to get on her books.
"I have not run out of fuel yet, honesty I'm filled with so much anger and stress," Smith says. "I was really tired yesterday after, but when I saw that more people wanted it, I was like, 'Let's go. Let's keep it going.'"
