Making Ourselves Clear at the Beginning of the Year

At Mental Health In A Box Co., our mission has always been clear: self-care should be accessible to everyone, regardless of race, class, immigration status, ability, or background. We build self care boxes, host retreat-style events, and source community resources and educational content because we believe that nurturing mental health is an essential, human right and NOT a luxury. That commitment is rooted in inclusion and compassion, never in exclusion, hierarchy, or systems of oppression.

It has taken me a couple of weeks to sit down and write this blog exactly the way I think it should be written. We want to be unequivocal about something important as we begin 2026. We do not support or condone the actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). We also do not support or condone the policies of any political administration (including and expressly the Trump Administration) that expand federal enforcement powers in ways that result in unnecessary, disproportionate force or harm to civilians and our communities.

Our belief that self care and human dignity should be universal can never be confused with support for policies or actions that uphold hate, supremacy, or violence. Self-care is about healing and resilience, not just for some people, but for all people. That means explicitly rejecting actions by federal agencies or leaders that harm individuals, families, and communities, or that perpetuate fear rather than safety.

Recent events have stirred deep pain and understandable, justified outrage across the country and among our own team, our friends, and our community of mental health advocates. We have been devastated by reports of multiple killings at the hands of federal agents of civilian lives this year. These incidents have sparked protests, calls for accountability, and urgent discussions about coercive power and individual rights. We encourage you to be a part of those conversations, and to start them if they don’t already exist in your circles. 

To be clear: we stand with peaceful protest, community solidarity, grief for lost lives, and the demand for transparent investigations, especially when use of unjustified and unnecessary force results in death. We believe structural reform should always prioritize human dignity and accountability. We believe that ICE should be abolished, and that the way it is operating is causing incomprehensible harm to our society.

We also want to honor the individuals whose names have been at the center of national conversations. These were human beings with families, friends, and stories. They are not just headlines.

Who They Were

Keith Porter Jr. was a 43-year-old father of two daughters who was fatally shot by an off-duty ICE agent on New Year’s Eve in Los Angeles. Friends and loved ones remembered him as someone who brought joy, humor, and warmth into people’s lives, and whose loss has left a profound void for his family and his community. 

source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/16/keith-porter-jr-ice-killing

Renée Nicole Good was a 37-year-old U.S. citizen, mother of three, poet and writer who had recently moved from Kansas City to Minneapolis. She was killed by an ICE agent during an immigration enforcement operation in early January. Her death has been officially ruled a homicide by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner, and she is mourned by family and community members who described her as kind, caring, and devoted to her loved ones. 

source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1jepdjy256o

Alex Jeffrey Pretti, also 37, was an ICU nurse at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Minneapolis. He was loved by patients, colleagues, and neighbors for his kindness, dedication, and empathy. An avid outdoorsman and caring friend, he had participated in protests following Renee Good’s killing. He was killed by a Border Patrol agent later in January. Family members say he had no criminal record and was deeply committed to helping people in his work and in his community.

source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62r4g590wqo.amp

In remembering Keith, Renée, and Alex, we affirm that every life lost is a life with meaning behind it, a life that has left behind loved ones, and life full of stories worth telling. Their deaths remind us why compassion, accountability, and justice are inseparable from our mission of caring for the whole human being. We cannot honor their lives without denouncing the actions of ICE. 

If you have any questions or comments about this statement, I encourage you to use the comment box below, or to comment on our recent social media post regarding this statement. 

Stay Safe,

Allison from MHIB