In this paper, we investigate the pressures placed upon English teaching by neo-nationalist politics, particularly as it overlays existing neoliberal constraints. We focus on the experiences and perspectives of Brazilian teachers who are committed to critical language education even as it carries increasing risks to themselves. Interviews with five teachers are used to illustrate the ways in which their work is regulated through a form of power working through fear and threat of violence that has been termed (in)securitization (Rampton et al., 2022). By identifying the metapragmatic strategies adopted by teachers faced with hostile neo-nationalist (in)securitization, including through what we are terming border talk, teachers and other agents in other settings are in a better position to strengthen critical language teaching and, as a consequence, fight for a more democratic future.