Category: US Politics

Disquiet Grows in U.S. Military, Fueled by War on Iran

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The Center on Conscience and War, which helps run a 24-hour GI Rights Hotline, is set up to inform members of the U.S. armed forces about their options for military discharge. The group has recently experienced a spike in calls by active-duty servicemen and women asking how they can become conscientious objectors. In this article, Bill Galvin, the center’s counseling director, told National Public Radio in early April that nearly all the callers he talks to mention the bombing of a girls’ school in Iran on February 28, the first day of the U.S.-Israeli war, which killed at least 165 civilians, most of them children. A preliminary assessment determined the U.S. military was at fault.

‘No Kings, No ICE, No War’: Millions Protest Across U.S.

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On March 28, 2026, marches and rallies took place in about 3,300 cities, towns, and villages across the United States for the third national “No Kings” mobilization. More than 8 million turned out, a significant increase over the October 2025 participation, marking an historic overall turnout of protesters and an unprecedented number of individual actions. Nearly two thirds of the actions took place in smaller cities or towns. The No Kings mobilizations have drawn forces with a variety of concerns under an umbrella of opposition to the increasing concentration of power in the executive branch and threats to basic democratic rights — including due process, free speech, and voting rights — posing the danger of one-man rule.

Oppose Gov’t Censorship of Iran War Coverage

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On March 14, 2025, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) head Brendan Carr took another shot at the fundamental right of freedom of the press. Using the language with which the administration of U.S. president Donald Trump has answered every criticism of its policies, Carr wrote on his social media account: “Broadcasters that are running hoaxes and news distortions — also known as the fake news — have a chance now to correct course before their license renewals come up.” Carr’s threat is the latest volley in efforts by the Trump administration to undermine freedom of the press and free speech and censor the news. As Washington prosecutes its broadly unpopular war against Iran, these attempts to block access to facts and information are intensifying, providing more evidence of the march toward authoritarian rule that has characterized the course of this administration from day one.

Opinions Shift Among Cuban Americans: ‘We Want Engagement, Not Escalation’

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In this column, Cuban-American Danny Valdes explains that Washington’s myth about the source of the Cuba’s economic challenges has been exposed, most recently and most clearly, by U.S. president Donald Trump. “There’s an embargo. There’s no oil, there’s no money, there’s no anything,” Trump said last month. “There is … a growing shift,” Valdes adds. “Whether in Miami or in New Jersey, we are today seeing a wave of Cuban Americans who are mobilizing to demand engagement, rather than escalation.”

Minnesotans Keep the Heat on Despite ICE ‘Drawdown’

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MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota, February 19, 2026 — After nearly three months, the largest anti-immigrant operation in U.S. history has officially “ended” — beaten back by a massive, sustained, and well-organized resistance involving hundreds of thousands throughout the state of Minnesota and across the country. The fight for immigrant rights is at the center of turning the tide, of winning workers to the understanding that “an injury to one is an injury to all.” Convincing rank-and-file workers to take up the campaign for legalization of their immigrant brothers and sisters is part of pulling together the forces needed to fight for better working conditions and democratic rights for all. The success of the fight in Minnesota, which has drawn tens of thousands of working people, youth, and others into action — many of them for the very first time, is an example of where we need to begin.

Students Protesting ICE Stand Up to Disciplinary Actions

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High school students have continued grassroots initiatives to organize walkouts and protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) since their first nationwide protests on January 30. At the same time, school authorities, state and local politicians, and police are trying to intimidate these teenagers and their supporters with threats of investigations, suspensions, and even criminal charges. Student protesters are seeking to make use of legal precedents to defend their right to freedom of speech in face of such threats.

How Minnesota School District Defended Students from ICE

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This article illustrates a good example of the widespread popular resistance to the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant crackdown in Minneapolis, its suburbs, and across Minnesota over the last two months. A resistance that forced the federal government to back down and announce on February 12 it is ending its “Operation Metro Surge” by beginning to withdraw most of the 3,000 ICE and Border Patrol agents it unleashed against the state’s working people.

Bad Bunny Joins Pro-Immigrant Protests

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“Before I say thanks to God, I’m gonna say: ICE out!” proclaimed Bad Bunny on February 1, while accepting the Grammy award for best urban music album. Bad Bunny, one of the most well-known and awarded U.S. musicians today, repeated his pro-immigrant message a week later at the Super Bowl halftime show, without making an explicit anti-ICE statement, as in the Grammys. This time the musician delivered his message with a performance seen by millions as a pro-worker celebration of an America encompassing everyone from Alaska and Canada to the U.S. mainland, the Caribbean, and the entire central and southern parts of the continent. A feature of the halftime show — with more than 135 million people tuned in — were explicit expressions of Puerto Rican pride.

Haitians, Neighbors in Springfield, Ohio, Resist Anti-Immigrant Crackdown

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“In the September 10 [2024] nationally televised presidential debate watched by 67 million people, Republican candidate Donald Trump declared, ‘In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs. The people that came in, they’re eating the cats. They’re eating, they’re eating, the pets of the people that live there. And this is what’s happening in this country,’” reported an article World-Outlook published on September 22, 2024. “This reprehensible, wild, and utterly false claim was directed primarily at Haitian workers who have moved to Springfield in the recent past. It’s an example of a political technique known as the ‘Big Lie.’ It consists of amplifying a falsehood over and over with the intention of persuading large numbers of people that the lie is the truth.” Since then, Trump was elected to a second term in the White House. In the year since his inauguration, the Trump administration has turned Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) into the president’s thuggish, private army. It has unleashed masked and heavily armed ICE and Border Patrol agents across the country to terrorize immigrants and undermine everyone’s democratic rights. This anti-immigrant crackdown has included revoking Temporary Protected Status from many refugees, including 350,000 Haitians residing legally in the United States. But with support from most of their neighbors, Haitians in Springfield, a city of 60,000 up to a quarter of whom are Haitians, are resisting this frontal assault on the working class.

Houston High School Students Protest ICE, Defy Attempts to Restrict Free Speech

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On Friday, February 6, 2026, students at Bellaire High School in Houston, Texas, walked out as part of a coordinated regional effort involving several area schools to protest operations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) amid fears that its agents will be allowed onto school property to detain students and their families. The widespread high-school student walkouts on January 30 are now being followed by new and similar grassroots initiatives at schools around the country. At the same time, Texas governor Greg Abbott and other local authorities and school districts are threatening suspensions and even criminal charges against students and teachers accused of exercising such freedom of speech and assembly. 

Disabled Woman Terrorized by ICE: ‘I’m Here for Those Who Can’t Tell Their Stories’

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Aliya Rahman, a U.S. citizen who is autistic and has a traumatic brain injury, was on her way to a doctor’s appointment in Minneapolis on January 13. She got stuck in a traffic jam created by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in Minneapolis; Rahman was dragged from her vehicle by federal agents, cuffed, and taken to the Whipple federal building, where ICE processes immigrants targeted for deportation. At Whipple, Rahman witnessed first-hand the brutality that so many others have faced. Denied medical care, she blacked out in a cell as her cellmate pleaded for help. She gives testimony in the video published here to say she is “not afraid” and to pledge to continue to tell the story that others cannot.

Nearly 30,000 Minnesotans Trained to Monitor ICE Occupation

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Federal Gov’t Tries to Defuse Resistance with Cosmetic Changes. This is an article that first appeared on Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) News. It describes an explosion in the number of trained volunteer observers — now nearly 30,000 across Minnesota — who monitor and record the activities of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol agents. This registers the breadth of popular resistance to the terror by federal thugs deployed by the Trump administration to crack down on immigrant workers and undermine everyone’s democratic rights in that state. This activity is coupled with mass protests that have included rallies by tens of thousands and walkouts by high school students after federal goons murdered in cold blood two of these volunteer observers — U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti. In response, the Trump administration is trying to diffuse the growing resistance through cosmetic changes.

‘Education, Not Deportation!’

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On January 30, 2026, youth at a number of Seattle, Washington, high schools staged walkouts to protest the nationwide federal immigration crackdown, joining a call for action with students in other U.S. cities. The walkouts continued on February 2 at two more King County schools. Growing numbers of actions by high school students follow the example set by young people in Minnesota, which has been ground zero in the fight against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in recent weeks. “The heart of the message is to express our need for justice,” said Ria de Looze, an organizer of one of several Minneapolis walkouts following the murder of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent on January 7. “Youth voices are so often overlooked, and this is one of our few ways to organize youth in such a powerful way. We really wanted to get the message out and inspire people to keep up the work.”

High School Students Walk Out Across U.S., Denounce ICE Terror

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SAN FRANCISCO, California, January 30, 2026 — Large mobilizations took part today across the United States. Demonstrators denounced the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant crackdown and demanded justice for the two U.S. citizens — Renee Good and Alex Pretti — murdered in cold blood by federal agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota, earlier this month while documenting operations by Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) thugs. Walkouts and marches and rallies by high school students across the country were a feature of the protests.

We Stand with Congresswoman Ilhan Omar

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On January 27, 2026, a man attacked U.S. congresswoman Ihan Omar while she was addressing a town hall meeting in Minneapolis, a city she represents along with a number of its suburbs. The attacker, using a syringe, sprayed Omar with a pungent liquid before he was tackled and taken away by security. There is little doubt that behind this odious assault was the unceasing bigotry and vilification of Omar and the entire Somali American community in Minnesota by U.S. president Donald Trump and much of the Republican Party establishment.

Billy Bragg Releases Anti-ICE Protest Song ‘City of Heroes’

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“The murder of Alex Pretti was horrifically shocking, all the more so as we are still reeling from the images of the murder of Renee Good. That these crimes can be committed in broad daylight, on camera and yet no one is held accountable only adds to the injustice,” said Billy Bragg, the renowned English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and working-class activist, also known as the “Bard of Barking,” while releasing his new song “City of Heroes” on January 28, 2026.

Bruce Springsteen Releases Anti-ICE Protest Song ‘Streets of Minneapolis’

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On January 28, 2026, Bruce Springsteen, also known as The Boss, released “Streets of Minneapolis.” His new song is part of a protest movement across the United States demanding an end to the terror unleashed by the Trump administration through its Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol thugs against undocumented immigrants and all working people.

ICE Murders 2nd Minneapolis Volunteer Observer in Cold Blood

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MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota, January 25, 2026 — Tens of thousands of protesters, as many as 50,000 by some estimates, marched through the streets of this city on January 23. It was a historic day of peaceful, often buoyant show of resistance against the federal government’s crackdown on immigrant workers and efforts to intimidate anyone protesting this terroristic invasion across the state. The promise of a calm Saturday disappeared shortly after 9 a.m. the next morning, January 24. That is when half a dozen Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol agents held down Alex Pretti and pumped 10 bullets into his body, killing him in cold blood.

Minneapolis: Counter-protests Against Ultra-rightists and Defense of Free Speech

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Ultra-rightist Jake Lang and about 10 supporters arrived at Minneapolis City Hall on January 17 for a planned “March Against Minnesota Fraud.” Rather than finding a crowd supportive of his call, he faced hundreds of counter-protesters carrying signs reading “ICE Out!” and “We Love our Somali Neighbors.” The decision to counter-mobilize against Jake Lang was spot on. But the physical attacks on Lang by a small number of protesters — whether carried out by genuine opponents of ICE terror or by provocateurs, who easily blend into such situations — undermined the political space and moral high ground that tens of thousands have carved out in the Twin Cities recently.

Vilified by Trump, Somalis Stand Up to ICE Occupation

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A central target of Washington’s intensifying occupation of Minneapolis, Minnesota, is the Somali community. “The armed men and women, with their faces covered, roaming our streets and profiling us,” said Imam Yusuf Abdulle, quoted in the article published below. “We thought we had left all that behind, but now this moment in America is reminding us again of the Somali civil war.” In the face of the threats and violence of ICE in recent weeks, the Somali community has not remained passive.

High School Youth Step Forward in Fight Against ICE

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Roseville, MN — Wearing black T-shirts and jackets, about 300 students at Maple Grove Senior High School marched towards Fernbrook Lane, congregating at the intersection on Monday.  Chanting, “This is what democracy looks like,” students carried signs reading “Remember Renee Good” and “ICE should be in my latte, not in my streets.” “The heart of the message is to express our need for justice,” said senior Ria de Looze. “Youth voices are so often overlooked, and this is one of our few ways to organize youth in such a powerful way. We really wanted to get the message out and inspire people to keep up the work.”

Protests Erupt Against ICE Killing in Minnesota

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MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota, January 12, 2026 — Two days ago, tens of thousands of people, according to unofficial police estimates, took to the streets here to protest the killing in cold blood of a legal observer by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent. It was the latest of angry protests that have erupted in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul. At least three other actions took place in the area also on January 10.
Three days earlier, on January 7, Renee Nicole Good was gunned down by ICE agent John F. Ross. She was observing and documenting a federal immigration operation in Minneapolis. Good was shot while attempting to drive away from the scene. Within hours, thousands of people gathered in the residential neighborhood near the site of the shooting to demand accountability and justice. Protests have been ongoing since. They show no sign of subsiding.

An Antiwar GI’s Story: An Interview with Howard Petrick

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“We would go into the barracks — big bays with 50 people in a bay — and we’d stand up on a footlocker and start talking about the war. We would try to get someone who was for the war to debate with us. We found that was the easiest way to bring up all the discrepancies of why we were fighting in Vietnam. There weren’t a lot of guys who would get up and speak for the war. But when there were, we wouldn’t try to destroy them; we would just try to reason. Having this open debate was how we could get many people to listen. It worked really well.”

Artists, Staff Resist Trump Takeover of Kennedy Center

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The installation of the new signage adding Trump’s name to the building is not just an example of the use of government power to feed the ego of the sitting president; it is yet another step in that march toward autocracy. The multiple changes at the Kennedy Center over the last year are a step toward reshaping cultural norms in the United States, which have undergone significant changes in the last half century — what Trump calls “woke culture.”

U.S. Out of Venezuela! No Blood for Oil!

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The U.S. military assault on Venezuela today, and the kidnapping of the country’s president Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, is naked imperialist aggression, and a blatant violation of international law and of Venezuela’s sovereignty. Working people in the United States and the world and anyone supporting democracy need to swiftly condemn this Yankee onslaught and turn to the streets to protest it.

‘U.S. Hands Off Venezuela!’

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MIAMI, Florida, December 23, 2025 – Forty people demonstrated at the downtown Miami Torch of Friendship on Tuesday evening against Washington’s accelerating moves toward war on Venezuela. The protesters rallied at the call of the newly formed Miami Hands Off Venezuela Coalition. The coalition’s two points of unity in action are “U.S. Hands Off Venezuela!” and “No Deportations!”

Fishermen, Wives Help Lead Protests Against Building ICE Detention Center on Oregon Coast

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HILLSBORO, Oregon, December 20, 2025 — For two months Oregon coastal residents, led in part by fishermen and their wives, have been fighting an attempt by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to build an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility at an airport in the town of Newport. So far, the fight has had some successes, but it is far from over.

U.S. Out of the Caribbean; No Blockade of Venezuelan Oil

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In a major escalation of its hostilities against the people of Venezuela and the government of Nicolás Maduro, U.S. president Donald Trump announced on December 16 “a total and complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers” going in and out of that country. This is an act of war, aimed not only at Venezuela but Cuba, and a warning to all governments in Latin America and the Caribbean that dare stand up to the Yankee bully. Coming on the heels of killing at least 95 people in small boats off the Venezuelan and Colombian coasts on the pretext of fighting drug trafficking — nothing but murder at sea — and the seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker, the blockade of Venezuelan oil brings the region a step closer to war.

Minnesotans Defend Somali Community, Immigrant Workers

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Residents of Minneapolis and St. Paul — the Twin Cities — are organizing to defend their Somali neighbors and other immigrants targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), challenging the rhetoric of U.S. president Donald Trump and members of his administration. A highlight of the organizing efforts was a December 3 rally held in subfreezing temperatures outside Signature Aviation, the private aircraft terminal at Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport. ICE agents frequently arrest immigrants leaving Immigration Court at the nearby Whipple Building and bring them directly to the terminal for deportation.

Resistance to Mass Deportations Spreads to Appalachia, Southeast

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This article reports on resistance to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in working-class neighborhoods and rural areas in the Appalachia. This includes Boone, North Carolina, “a small, southern, white, mountain town,” as one student described it to The Appalachian. These protests build on what residents accomplished in Charlotte, North Carolina’s largest city, in mid-November, and earlier in Chicago.

Bigotry, Jew Hatred Take Center Stage in GOP Mainstream

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A string of incidents over the last month has revealed the extent to which bigotry and Jew hatred have taken center stage in the Republican Party and the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, which ushered Donald Trump to a second term in the White House. The widespread antisemitism and racism within the right wing have also led to a public debate among conservative politicians and pundits. And they have taken the fig leaf off Trump’s claims that he is combating antisemitism by arresting and trying to deport pro-Palestinian students, academics, and others; strong-arming universities like Columbia; and threatening non-profits and other groups opposing his policies by applying terrorism designations and more.

Chicago Residents Fight ICE Abductions, Deportations

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Chicago trade unionists speak out against ICE attacks on immigrants

Since the start of Operation Midway Blitz, heavily armed federal agents have descended on this city and the surrounding suburbs. They have shot at least two people and killed one and have sprayed bystanders with pepper balls and tear gas, including a children’s Halloween parade in a neighborhood park. They have beaten protesters, bystanders, and journalists, and have abducted undocumented and legal residents, including children. These attacks, however, have not gone unanswered. Daily life in Chicago has changed in just the three months since Trump announced he was planning to send troops to Chicago; how much so is difficult to describe.

Reinstate Professor Tom Alter! Defend Free Speech!

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On September 10, 2025, Dr. Tom Alter, a tenured professor of history at Texas State University (TSU) in San Marcos, Texas, was fired for remarks made at an online socialist conference, speaking in his capacity as a private citizen. Alter was terminated by TSU President Kelly Damphousse without even a hearing. This denial of due process was a clear violation of both Texas State University policy and Texas state law. In addition to providing the facts of the case, this article explains what can be done to support the campaign to reinstate Alter and defend free speech.

Chicago Activists Organize to Counter Gov’t Anti-Immigrant Crackdown

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This is an eyewitness report on a Community Defense Workshop held in Chicago on October 4, 2025. The brief account is all the more important in light of preparations by the Trump administration to deploy National Guard troops to Chicago. It provides an example of the kind of resistance necessary to counter the Trump administration’s anti-working-class crackdown, which is compounded by an onslaught on democratic rights.

Chicago Unions, Community Groups Fight ICE Raids, Nat’l Guard Deployment Threats

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This article documents the wave of protests in Chicago and its suburbs in September 2025 opposing stepped-up immigration raids and deportations and the Trump administration’s threats to deploy National Guard troops in this city. The protests, led by trade unions and community groups, prompted the White House to step back from deploying military forces here, at least for now.

In the Aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s Murder: Defend Free Speech

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The September 10 assassination of right-wing “influencer” Charlie Kirk was an attack on free speech of the most serious and dangerous kind. It should be unequivocally condemned. Kirk’s murder served up an excuse on a silver platter for the Trump administration and its allies to accelerate their assault on democratic rights. The White House is now using the horrendous killing to propel Trump’s drive toward autocratic rule.

Trump’s Unmistakable March Toward One-Man Rule

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On August 25, the White House released another executive order by U.S. president Donald Trump, ostensibly “to address the crime emergency in the District of Columbia” (D.C.). Coming on the heels of Trump’s hostile takeover of the D.C. police, and his deployment of more than 2,000 National Guard troops and hundreds of federal agents in the U.S. capital, Trump’s August 25 executive order represents a major escalation in his unmistakable march toward dictatorial rule.

National Guard’s Role in Strikebreaking: A Lesson from History

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This article, which first appeared in the Marxist magazine New International in June 1938, is a review of a pamphlet published that year by the American Civil Liberties Union on the use of National Guard troops to break strikes. In light of the recent deployments of National Guard troops by U.S. president Donald Trump across the country, the lessons of history outlined in this article seem relevant today.

‘Which Way American Man?’ U.S. Homeland Security Posts ‘Antisemitic Dog Whistles’ in ICE Recruitment Tweets

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This article documents what it describes as “antisemitic dog whistle” posts by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. A number of the posts were ads by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in its effort to recruit thousands of new agents to implement the Trump administration’s goal of rounding up and deporting millions of undocumented immigrants. The revelations show that the Trump administration’s drive to “combat antisemitism” on U.S. campuses and elsewhere is a sham.

No to Federal Takeover of Washington! D.C. Statehood Now!

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On August 12, the White House took control of the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C., and deployed 2,200 National Guard troops and hundreds of federal agents in the city. For working people and the vast majority in the United States the military takeover is among the most dangerous steps taken by the Trump administration so far. It is part of a rapidly developing pattern leading toward one-man rule.

‘I Spent Decades at Columbia. I’m Withdrawing My Fall Course Due to Its Deal with Trump’

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This is an open letter by Rashid Khalidi to the administration of Columbia University, where the renown Palestinian American historian served as the Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies for 23 years. “Although I have retired, I was scheduled to teach a large lecture course on this topic in the fall as a ‘special lecturer’ but I cannot do so under the conditions Columbia has accepted by capitulating to the Trump administration in June,” Khalidi explains.

‘Gaza, Gaza, Food and Water! U.S. Israel Stop the Slaughter!’

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As part of an International Day of Action, more than 1,000 people rallied in front of the United Nations headquarters in New York City on July 25 to demand “Stop Starving Gaza Now!” The rally, and subsequent march through midtown Manhattan, was organized by the local chapter of the Palestinian Youth Movement, with the support of many partner organizations, such as Jewish Voice for Peace. This eyewitness photo montage provides a vivid representation of this protest, one among many, frequent pro-Palestinian actions in New York City over the last 20 months.