The Articles of Extraction: A Call for Active Resistance

Jim LaVilla-Havelin

July 5, 2026

I’m thinking we’ll need

good heavy wire/fence cutters to open holes in the

detention holding tanks.

a bunch of large, strong folks with implements to 

cut open locks or knock down doors,

wearing bullet-proof vests  (if they’re going

to shoot us, they’ll have to go for our heads)

and some of these strong folks should be ordained

and with collars (is it harder for them to shoot

nuns and priests?)

Spanish speakers to translate at every site

some people ready to get arrested if need be

thousands of people waiting outside the fences –

a crowd to blend into

vans at each site to fill with people to take away to

safe houses set up in advance - sanctuaries, families,

ready to take them in

and no GPS, so no one can hack in

a single night

fearlessness, but not foolhardiness

a level of disgust with holding children and families,

huddled masses, that makes doing this

the only answer

a song to sing in the darkness that makes us,

keeps us strong in the face of everything.

I’m thinking every day we wait is a life lost.

Jim LaVilla-Havelin is an educator, editor, community arts activist, and the author of eight poetry books, including 2025's A Thoreau Book and Mesquites Teach Us to Bend. He co-edited the University of Houston Press volume on Rosemary Catacalos, serving as her literary executor.

A creative writing teacher for 50 years, LaVilla-Havelin has taught diverse populations, from juvenile correctional centers to senior programs and high schools. He served as Poetry Editor for the San Antonio Express-News for over a decade and has coordinated San Antonio’s National Poetry Month for 18 years. He received the 2019 San Antonio Distinction in the Arts.