Foreign exchange: Lucinda Martin on US Friends in Europe

‘These signs of support mean a lot.’

by Lucinda Martin 18th September 2026

Many US-born Friends are struggling with feelings of grief, loss, anger and isolation. ICE, a federal law-enforcement agency with questionable training and oversight, is sweeping up people who look or sound ‘foreign’. Digital surveillance is being used to build a database of those who protest. Many US-born Friends fear travelling to the US with their families who have accents and ‘foreign’ names and might be targeted. This is the tip of the iceberg regarding corruption.