Last Friday, tens of thousands of people gathered in Minneapolis for a second day of No Work, No School, No Shopping, No ICE mass demonstrations. Schools shut down and hundreds of small businesses closed, and thousands of workers did not go to work. And this time, Minneapolis called on cities across the country to do the same. And the people responded!
In addition to Minneapolis, we saw over 300 protests in cities across the country, from New York, Chicago, and San Francisco to cities in Maine, Nebraska, Arizona, and many more. Thousands of middle and high school students walked out of class as small businesses closed their doors and workers skipped work to attend rallies held during school and work hours. The message across the country was clear: we will not accept ICE terror in our cities; we will organize to defend our communities; and we will stop business as usual until ICE leaves. This is exactly what needs to happen, and last Friday was another important step towards building up our forces and seeing the power we have. The people of Minnesota have shown us that no one is coming to save us, and it depends on us.
For weeks, the Trump administration has sent an occupying army of 3,000 ICE and Border Patrol agents to terrorize the Minneapolis region. They have ripped people from their cars and homes, detained and disappeared children, and racially profiled people walking down the street, demanding proof of citizenship. And despite their blatant murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, caught on video for the world to see, they have faced no consequences. Instead, the Trump administration has continued their support of ICE, even saying that it was appropriate to kill Good and Pretti because they were “domestic terrorists.” It’s clear that ICE has full immunity to terrorize our communities and even kill those who dare to stand up.
But the people of Minnesota have refused to cave to ICE terror and intimidation. They have continued to show up in greater and greater numbers. They’ve formed neighborhood networks to monitor ICE, communicating through chat groups. They’ve organized foot patrol teams to blow whistles when ICE is present, grouped together to get in ICE’s way, and used their phones to film everything. They were able to show the rest of the country and the world the extent of the terror and brutality ICE was raining down on their city. The footage of these masked ICE thugs brutalizing workers, young students, and entire families, and blatantly murdering two innocent civilians was impossible for people to accept. People need a place to put their outrage, and the people of Minnesota have shown all of us that we can put it into organizing our communities just as they have done.
If ICE does retreat from Minnesota, it is only because tens of thousands of ordinary people have been willing to stand up to ICE. It is not because of the politicians and their empty words. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Democratic Governor Walz have done nothing but talk. Despite what comes out of their mouths, they have both used local police and the National Guard to attack protestors, ultimately providing cover for ICE’s brutality.
The daily resistance to ICE along with these days of mass demonstrations with no work and no school show the power we all have. They remind us of how many people cannot just sit back as this administration carries out its terror at home and abroad. We have to keep building on this momentum. We must deepen our organizing and connections to each other. In our communities, we can begin to connect with our neighbors and prepare what to do if ICE comes to our city or a neighboring city. In our schools, we can coordinate a response to support and defend our immigrant students and colleagues. In our workplaces, we can build up a network to take action in opposition to ICE when they show up. And we can connect all of these efforts, so we defend our whole city together. Even if ICE hasn’t yet raided every city like it has the Minneapolis region, we still need to get organized and prepared for when they do. And together, we can follow the lead of Minnesota and work to organize city-wide days of mass protests of No Work, No School, No Business as Usual until ICE is driven out of our communities.
With this organizing, we can see our common interests and our potential to resist the terror of this administration. It is these efforts that build our power to stand up against ICE and all of the attacks that the Trump administration and the billionaires are imposing on our lives. It is our collective power that has the potential not just to resist their brutal system of exploitation, but to end it, and transform our world to meet the needs of all working people. This is the present that we have to fight against, and the future that we need to fight for.
