Tag: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

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.

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.

‘ICE Out!’ No Work, School, or Shopping on Jan. 23 in Minnesota

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Minnesotans will again take to the streets on Friday, January 23, in downtown Minneapolis to demand “ICE Out!” A coalition of labor and community groups has called a Day of Truth & Freedom, asking everyone to skip work, school, or shopping and instead march for an end to the Trump administration’s brutal anti-immigrant crackdown. It is a call that deserves support from all working people, youth, and everyone who cares about democratic rights.

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.

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.

Border Agents Harass Striking Workers in Chicago

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This article reports that striking workers in Chicago received an unwelcome visit on their picket line by Gregory Bovino, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection commander spearheading the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign. According to the Teamsters union, Bovino and his agents rolled up on the picket line of workers on strike against the Mauser company and asked to see identification. Bovino asked one of the workers if he was a U.S. citizen.

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.

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.

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.

‘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.

Los Angeles: Thousands Denounce ICE Raids in July 4 Protest

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This article describes a pro-immigrant protest in Los Angeles on July 4. It was a fitting way to mark U.S. Independence Day, given the Trump administration’s intensified workplace raids and deportations of undocumented immigrants. L.A. has been the epicenter of many such protests over the last month since the White House picked the city to launch its aggressive dragnet, carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, targeting millions of workers across the country.

After Social Explosion in L.A., Millions Protest Workplace Raids, Deportations & Attacks on Democratic Rights

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On June 14, U.S. president Donald Trump watched over a military parade in Washington, D.C. The lackluster spectacle was designed to celebrate Trump’s birthday, which coincided with the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, and thus advance the process of establishing one-man rule in the United States. The same day, over 5 million people took part in “No Kings” rallies and marches across the country. These registered the growing opposition to intensifying workplace raids by heavily armed federal agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and to the danger that these — and other actions by the White House — pose to due process, civil liberties, and democratic rights. These protests followed a weeklong social explosion in Los Angeles in response to a spike of ICE raids.

End Immigration Raids! Free David Huerta! Join June 9 Rallies

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On Friday afternoon [June 5, 2025], military-gear-clad ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] agents launched aggressive raids throughout Los Angeles. At one location, SEIU-USWW President David Huerta was assaulted, injured and detained while advocating for immigrant workers. While he has been released from the hospital, he remains in federal custody. Since then, the Trump administration has only escalated its attacks on the Los Angeles community, deploying the military against our own people. This is a clear attack on our communities, workers and our First Amendment rights. Demand that David Huerta be freed and ICE raids end immediately. The SEIU-USSW is organizing rapid-response rallies around the country [on Monday, June 9] to show that we stand with him and all workers targeted by ICE. There are already rallies popping up. Check to see if there’s one near you or organize your own! seiu.co/FreeDavid