CAUTION ICE
By: A Disgruntled Citizen Of the United States of America
Ice sucks. Sure, it’s fun to jib some frozen slabs on the side of trails, but there’s nothing worse than rolling up to the mountain and hearing the chattery screech of metal edges on ice rip through the air. The glistening sheen of the sun reflecting off bulletproof ice makes it nearly impossible for even a half-drunk weekend warrior to miss. This unforgivingly hard surface has claimed more than its fair share of slams, taken our wrists, our asses, and is definitely responsible for more than a few concussions. Growing up on the East Coast, we’ve had to adapt to these harsh conditions. We bend over backwards to deal with this bully, but I’m fed up. This year, it's our turn to give it the finger and say “FUCK ICE”.
It feels like a routine now - through bleary slits in my eyes, my brain slowly gains consciousness, my phone almost inexplicably in-hand with my IG feed blaring. Rene soaring on another impossibly stylish axis, LJ stomping some incalculably fucked up trick into a boardslide, Zebulon doing things only Zeb could do, a group of armed ICE agents ripping a mother away from her newly born baby, to be held and sent god knows where. I click my phone shut, no longer excited, just sick to my stomach. It’s not the act of deportation; that's been around for thousands of years. It’s the dehumanization, the demonization, the gleeful hatred, and brutal mistreatment of human beings who are working hard just to provide a better life for their families.
I already know what some of you might be thinking, “Oh my god, stop making snowboarding political, it’s just a sport.” Respectfully, sit down and shut up. Whether we like it or not, politics is a part of snowboarding, and if we want to keep snowboarding around, we’re going to have to get a little dirty, since we know those Capitol Hill suits don’t care about us (except you, BMJJ, we know you love us). You don’t have to be a member of POW to see how the economy, tariffs, climate policies, travel, and international relations can affect our sport. We’ve seen companies come and go, snowfall totals fluctuate and dry up, and the lands and mountains we ride go up for sale. Now, though, we’re seeing the non-profits and future generation of snowboarders take the hit. Local snowboard foundations that help get kids on snowboards, who otherwise wouldn’t have the funds/access, have reported a steep drop-off in participation as of late.
We sat down with a community leader and snowboarding non-profit owner (referred to as “Ted” in this article) to chat about how their programs and participants are being affected by ICE and this political landscape. We’ve seen individuals and organizations who speak up become targets of both the government and ICE. To protect the organization and its participants, we’re going to keep their identities a secret. “We normally have between 35 and 40 participants per program; this winter we had 25,” says Ted. During the first Trump presidency, their hometown was heavily targeted by ICE, leading to a similar decline in participation, with families fearing sending their kids out to ride and not having them come home. “I’m getting wind that some of that is going on again,” he says.
For most of us, we don’t snowboard to make money; we actually probably lose hundreds or thousands every year to do it. These mountains, hills, and AC’d domes that we call home are places where we go to escape, to have fun, and be around friends. To some of us, it’s our sanctuary; for others, it has become a place that is no longer safe. We’re slowly seeing some of the pieces of our snowboarding puzzle lost and hidden away. Not because of the physical risks snowboarding poses - not the risk of slipping on ice, but rather being abducted by it.
Go to any major resort, and you’ll be hard-pressed not to find workers from South America and other international origins, freezing their asses off to keep lines moving, cooking overpriced lunches, serving apres beers, or shoveling and cleaning the lodge and patio areas, all so they can squeeze in some laps between shifts. Resorts and ski towns across the US rely every winter on the work of immigrants. Despite all of that, they are still targeted or face difficulty in keeping these jobs, even through completely legal means.
During Trump’s first presidency, he banned J-1, H-2B, and other visas, and in 2025 has already halted new student visas, paused visa appointments, and made the process even more difficult for the seasonal J-1 workers to apply. According to the National Ski Resort Association of America, in a 2020 article with the New York Post, foreign workers (J-1 & H-2B visas) accounted for 5-10% of the workforce at US Ski Resorts. Those positions cover lift operations, front of house, back of house, and other service jobs at resorts. This past year, we’ve heard more and more reports about resorts being understaffed, unable to safely open trails, maintain lifts, lodge services, etc. These operations can’t afford to lose an additional 5-10% of workers. Loses like that would bring understaffing percentages back up to 80% like in 2020. For those who are going to argue, “Great, it’s more jobs for Americans!” Sorry, buddy, resorts have been understaffed for a long time. If an “American” hasn’t taken the job by now, they probably never will.
It’s not just the resorts, though; ski towns as recognizable as Jackson, WY, are also at risk. With immigrants making up about 30% of the workforce there and in similar resort towns, your favorite shred vacation could look a lot different the next time you go. Whether it’s the cleaning staff at the hotels, cooks at your favorite restaurant/bar, or the owners of the local market/beer distributor, immigrants have a hand in all aspects of the service industries in ski towns, which keep them thriving.
According to SIA’s 2024 participation reports, Latinos are the second biggest demographic in snowboarding and all snow sports. They make up just shy of 2 million riders, and across the entire snowsports industry (5.13 million). Not saying all 2 million of those riders would be deported, but ICE has a great track record of detaining and deporting even legal US citizens, and if Trump can actually repeal birthright citizenship, the number of impacted people would skyrocket. It isn’t implausible to assume that a large chunk of those 2 million riders would directly be impacted by these policies. If you thought snowboarding was struggling, just wait. With these damaging policies and tariffs to boot, we can’t be sure how the landscape is going to change.
One of the hardest parts about watching this all unfold, though, is seeing people take joy in and cheer on these families being ripped apart. It’s sickening to watch people being illegally detained, mistreated, and abused in these holding facilities before being deported. The picture is being painted as they are “here to steal your jobs”, that they’re all “criminals,” ”rapists,” and “drug dealers.” Yet we’ve seen the proof of the opposite in the numbers - illegal immigrants contribute $96.7 billion annually in taxes, for services of which they don’t benefit. $96 billion that only “benefits” American citizens, which is now being used to throw immigrants, both illegal and legal, in cages. They’re working low-paying jobs that none of us would ever take or agree to. One person may have 2-3 jobs just to provide for their family, and somehow still manage to give back to their community. If it were about these people being criminals, they wouldn’t be targeting them at their workplace.
“When we start to demonize, we don’t recognize that these communities have the same work ethic that is part of the American mythos, that’s part of the American Dream, where hard work is supposed to elevate you to a different class. These individuals are coming here and demonstrating that ethos; they’re not coming in and taking jobs, they’re not destroying communities, they’re not doing any of this. They’re coming in to work hard, to take part in what MAGA would argue is the American Dream”, explains Ted. You could argue that this demonization stems from not expanding social circles - small circles become echo chambers for those who share the same perspectives, and suddenly, beliefs become more polarizing and easier to settle into. Next thing you know, you no longer talk with your buddy just because they voted for one person or another. No one is exactly alike - we don’t all have to agree on everything - but universally, we should be willing to have conversations and be open to other perspectives. That’s how we grow as people, and how we can fight back against the demonization of any group of people.
“I think the more opportunities we have to interact with one another, the more opportunities we have to know one another, and the more empathy we can have for each other”. Ted mentions they’ve seen this open communication in their programming between kids who are from different sides of the city and different walks of life - “they get together and realize, we have a lot of similarities besides snowboarding.” By providing avenues for kids to grow their world view and communicate with others, they’ll be able to take that knowledge and experience forward through their lives and apply it to their personal and political decision making process.
What's the best way you can take action to support snowboarding and the people in it, I asked Ted. “I mean, and not to sound self-serving, to volunteer and help raise money for inclusive organizations. We are concerned because, as we are focused on providing safe access, we know we're running against an administration that is totally anti-what we're trying to do, which means that funding for what we do may or may not be there”. The fear of participating in snowboarding has a far-reaching impact; it’s not just a problem for a select few, it’s about our community as a whole.
Snowboarding planted its roots while facing discrimination, restrictions, and legal means to prevent us from doing something as simple as existing on a mountain. It’s the same battle, but with broader implications. Snowboarders and organizations that promote inclusion are helping shape the future of snowboarding and potentially carry a key to helping us better understand and respect one another. Don’t let fear and misguided policy keep others from the freedom of snowboarding.
Support your neighbors, local shop, nonprofit, lifties, kitchen staff, and all the people who make snowboarding amazing. For those who want to learn more or help and don’t know how, we’ve provided a list of different resources below.
Fuck ICE
Resources:
https://immigrantjustice.org/for-immigrants/know-your-rights/what-do-if-you-or-loved-one-detained/
https://immigrantjustice.org/for-immigrants/know-your-rights/ice-encounter/
https://ctrinstitute.com/blog/talking-politics/
MA ONLY - https://www.lucemass.org/
Sources:
https://docs.house.gov/meetings/JU/JU01/20250122/117827/HHRG-119-JU01-20250122-SD003.pdf
https://nypost.com/2020/09/30/ski-resorts-struggle-to-hire-amid-trumps-student-visa-ban/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ski-areas-record-visits-2023-180982191/
