From red beanies to nail art, US creatives turn crafts into anti-ICE protests

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota — Knitting needles and nail polish have become the latest tools of political protest as a creative movement targeting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) gains momentum across the country.

The movement began at a yarn shop in suburban Minneapolis, where owner Gilah Mashaal launched a project to knit red hats as a symbol of defiance. Mashaal drew inspiration from the red caps worn by Norwegian resistance fighters to protest the Nazi occupation during World War II.

Patterns for the hats are sold for $5 on Ravelry, a social media network for knitting and crochet enthusiasts. In less than two weeks, the project has sold nearly 70,000 patterns, raising more than $250,000 for immigrant advocacy organizations.

The protest has expanded beyond the knitting community into other traditionally non-political online spaces. On Reddit forums, users are sharing nail art featuring anti-ICE slogans and messages of protest.

Artists are also creating new works inspired by viral images of the demonstrations. The trend highlights a growing shift in how personal hobbies and creative spaces are being transformed into platforms for political activism.

The emergence of decentralized, craft-based resistance serves as a potent indicator of the deepening political fragmentation within the United States. By weaponizing niche digital communities—most notably platforms like Ravelry and Reddit—activists are effectively eroding the boundary between private leisure and public advocacy, transforming digital hobbyist spaces into frontline political arenas.

Central to this movement is a calculated effort to "reclaim" the color red from the MAGA movement’s visual monopoly. Projects such as the "Melt the ICE" beanies represent a sophisticated form of symbolic warfare, attempting to co-opt and redefine one of the most recognizable visual cues in the modern American political landscape. This indicates that the battle for policy influence is no longer confined to legislative halls or street protests, but is being fought through the deliberate manipulation of cultural iconography.

The movement’s efficacy is driven by its exceptionally low barrier to entry. By utilizing domestic tools like knitting needles or nail polish, participants achieve a sense of collective agency and empowerment that traditional top-down organizing often lacks. Furthermore, the monetization of these efforts—specifically through the sale of design patterns to fund legal aid or support for those affected by shifts in asylum and immigration enforcement—converts symbolic protest into tangible financial capital. This phenomenon reflects a broader systemic trend where consumerism and grassroots activism intersect, turning everyday commodities into vehicles for high-stakes political expression.

The rise of nail art as a form of protest against ICE hits close to home for the Vietnamese-American community, which remains the backbone of the U.S. nail salon industry. This movement creates a complicated dynamic for Vietnamese business owners. While many technicians use their craft to show solidarity with fellow immigrants or to highlight issues surrounding immigration policies and visa categories like F2B or TPS, bringing political activism into the salon can be a double-edged sword. In politically polarized regions, displaying sensitive messages risks alienating customers and threatening the steady revenue needed to sustain local businesses and provide remittances to families back home. For small business owners—from those running phở restaurants to the bustling salons of Little Saigon—the challenge lies in balancing their employees’ freedom of expression with the need to maintain a neutral, professional environment.