March 13, 2026
Dear Senator_________,
I write as a resident of the State of ________ with a gift and a plea. The
enclosed red hat/pin, known in knitting circles as the “Melt-the-Ice hat,” was
designed by an employee working in a yarn store in Minnesota. It is based on
a hat worn in Norway during World World II to protest the Nazi occupation.
 

Today, crafters in the US are making and wearing this hat to protest the
actions of ICE agents in our country. If you have worked to oppose and curtail
the actions of the Office of Homeland Security regarding immigration, please
consider the enclosed as a token of my thanks.

As a Senator representing the State of _______, you have a special
connection to the red liberty cap because it appears on the Seal of the U.S.
Senate adopted in 1886. Its history as a symbol of protest and freedom goes
much further back, however. Drawing on ancient Phrygian, Greek and Roman
associations with the red cap and emancipation from slavery, Paul Revere
carved a liberty cap on a stone obelisk in the Boston Common, and local
towns often placed a red liberty cap on a pole or tree to signify their
allegiance to the resistance. As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of our
nation’s founding in an act of resistance against oppression, the meaning of
the red liberty cap is more important than ever. I ask that you honor this
history represented on the seal of the U.S. Senate in actively opposing all
funding of ICE activity.

As your constituent, I ask that you signal your resistance by wearing
this hat/pin that I made. In doing so, you will be joining a quiet, but powerful
movement to oppose the illegal and unlawful treatment that our neighbors
and friends are receiving at the hands of ICE agents. As of this writing, over
$650,000 have been raised through the sale of the Melt-the-Ice hat pattern
($5), with all proceeds going to benefit Minnesota Immigration Aid
organizations. The pattern has also been sold in 43 countries. The movement
might have started in a quiet corner of a Minnesota yarn store, but it's big
now, and it's growing. Will you wear the enclosed and join us? Or better yet,
lead the fight?

Sincerely yours,    (Name, Resident and Voting Citizen of the State of --,
Address, Email)