In recent weeks the Trump administration has ramped up efforts to terrorize, detain and deport immigrant workers. Urged by top immigration officials to “turn the creative knob up to 11,” Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have begun widespread raids on workplaces, farms, sporting events, nightclubs, schools, and more. They were instructed to “push the envelope” and that is exactly what they are now doing.
Raids and arrests on June 8 at workplaces in and around Los Angeles triggered a local fightback against ICE agents and convoys. People heroically put their bodies between ICE agents and their targets, risking their lives to try to stop ICE vehicles from driving away with their friends, co-workers and loved ones. Protests followed at ICE, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) offices and other federal buildings in the area, prompting Trump to federalize and deploy the California National Guard and send U.S. Marines into a U.S. city, both of which he likely wanted to do anyway and needed an excuse. His goal is to portray any protest or resistance as an insurrection or rebellion, and to militarize cities as he moves toward increasingly dictatorial control or perhaps even martial law.
In response, the Democrats are talking a lot, but it’s nothing more than posturing. To the extent that they try to slow or stop the Trump wrecking ball, they continue to rely on legalistic methods and put their hope in the court system. While the Democrats criticize Trump for bringing in the military, it’s not because they support protests. Both California Governor Newsom and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass consistently say that local law enforcement can handle protests better. But any type of law enforcement is designed to control poor and working people, particularly those of color. Los Angeles police have for decades abused their power and acted as a racist and repressive force, brutalizing poor and working class communities. And in recent weeks, L.A. police have protected ICE agents and arrested protesters. This is what the Democrats actually mean when they say that “local law enforcement is better.” When Democrats criticize Trump’s use of federal troops and the National Guard, it’s because they’re trying to score political points, and they believe their cops can be more effective and efficient in the repression. Democratic Presidents, Governors and Mayors have a long history of repressing dissent. In June of 2020, it was Newsom himself who called out 8,000 National Guard troops in the state, with 5,500 in L.A. alone, to help put down protests in the wake of George Floyd’s murder.
So with the Trump administration ramping up its repressive apparatus, and with people showing a willingness to fight back, where does this lead from here?
It is obvious that Trump wants conflict. He and his administration will do everything possible to make sure that protesting ICE is made illegal, that defending other human beings is made illegal, and that Trump can control the entire repressive apparatus and use it as cruelly and violently as possible. The state apparatus is massive, well-armed and equipped, and has more technology on their side than ever before.
But despite these realities, we have already seen glimpses of what can be done to fight back, and we can envision a broader fightback as well.
In numerous communities across the U.S., from north to south, east to west, local people have stood up against detentions and won victories for individuals who were targeted. In New York State, local protests led to the release of a mother and her three children. In Missouri, a beloved waitress was arrested and then released after what seems like the entire town (who had voted overwhelmingly for Trump) rose to demand her release. In Massachusetts, a high school volleyball player was released after his entire high school and townspeople made their graduation a protest march and demanded his release. In San Francisco, when people were told to report to an immigration office, a picket of protesters showed up instead. In New Mexico, a local man with two grandchildren was ordered to appear at an immigration appointment, and protesters went to the appointment with him, protesting outside to guarantee he was let out. A few hours later he was. And there are more cases just like these where people were detained, and then organized, sustained protests that got them released.
While these actions have so far been small and local, they are showing us a way forward. But they alone aren’t the answer.
The massive No Kings protests this weekend give us another glimpse of what can be done. On Saturday at least four million people took to the streets in cities and towns, large and small, to stand up to Trump’s policies, the ICE raids, and his dictatorial ambitions. In small towns and small cities, even in so-called deep Red states that voted for Trump, hundreds and often thousands joined the marches and protests. Many small and midsize towns nationwide had rallies with one thousand or more protesters. In the big cities of L.A., Philadelphia, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, New York and others, tens of thousands or more marched. In New York alone, despite consistent rain, an estimated 200,000 filled more than 20 blocks of Manhattan and lasted more than four hours. In Oakland, San Francisco and San Jose, California, tens of thousands marched and protested. In Baltimore, Maryland, thousands rallied at Patterson Park and other small rallies. In Raleigh, North Carolina, thousands lined Capital Blvd. and then rallied at the statehouse, along with other smaller rallies around the Triangle and in other cities throughout the state. In New Jersey, rallies in Newark drew more than one thousand and Jersey City drew hundreds, while dozens of smaller towns throughout North Jersey also saw local rallies with hundreds or more each. Chants of “this is what democracy looks like” and “shut down ICE” were heard.
These protests offer a glimpse of the growing number of people who are opposed to Trump’s chaos. Combined with the direct and heroic challenges to ICE that some have undertaken, and the local protests that have managed to free individuals, massive protests like these are also part of what can stop the aggressive assault of the Trump administration. Both the direct resistance to ICE raids and detentions. plus the large numbers we saw this Saturday, show us the way forward.
Of course, more will need to be done. To succeed against the powerful forces arrayed against us, this fightback will need to broaden, and the numbers will need to continue to increase. And eventually the resistance to Trump will need to go beyond just street protests, and start to include the participation of a much more organized working class. It is no coincidence that every Democratic politician says repeatedly that as long as protests just chant and march through permitted areas, police will not have to interfere. They say this because they don’t want a real fightback. The real power we have still hasn’t been unleashed yet. The working class enables their whole system to function, and that means workers have the power to shut their system down and transform it.
This hasn’t happened yet, of course. The direct battles against ICE in Los Angeles and some other cities certainly have involved many immigrants and workers. But the working class has not shown up yet in huge numbers as an organized force. Many of the big protests have not yet included a majority of working-class people. Many unions and workers’ organizations have had a minimal presence in the pushback against ICE or at these big marches. But workers are also under direct attack by Trump and the billionaires he represents. And these attacks will only continue. Workers could begin to join the collective efforts to resist to these attacks. And if the working class in the U.S. does begin to enter this struggle, then the balance of forces could tip in a different direction, and even more workers could be drawn into the fight if they see other organized workers fighting collectively.
The localized fightback so far and the weekend of massive marches and rallies nationwide give us a sense of the potential we have. Imagine the power that we can bring to bear if millions of people, especially the organized working class, begin to take sustained, collective action. A significant movement against this slide towards authoritarianism already exists. We must continue to build on that, and increase our organizing efforts to help bring the much larger working class into this struggle.
We can’t rely on Democrats. They’ve paved the way for Trump and aren’t on our side either. We can’t just wait for the courts, which might throw some temporary bumps in the way, but they are being increasingly ignored — they won’t stop the authoritarian, class-war agenda of the Trump administration and all of their attacks.
We have only our own forces, nothing else. But our own forces are the vast majority, and we make our society run. We have all the power. But we still have to recognize our potential and organize ourselves to use it effectively.
