“You’re gonna see more ICE agents than you’ve ever seen in New York City. And it’s coming. I just reviewed an operational plan. I’m not going to tell you exactly when it’s going to happen, but it’s coming. I’m keeping my promise.”

In these menacing terms, Border Czar Tom Homan informed Fox News of his plan to unleash ICE on NYC. The threats were framed as a response to Governor Kathy Hochul ending collaboration agreements between local cops and federal agents—an election-year stunt to bolster her anti-ICE credentials. 

For months, the Iran War has overshadowed headlines of masked paramilitaries kidnapping workers on US soil. Following his humiliating defeat, however, Trump might be desperate for yet another mass distraction. The threat to deploy these federal shock troops into the country’s biggest city should, therefore, be taken seriously. 

Lessons of Minneapolis

Six months ago, the working class of Minneapolis forced ICE to back down through a mass struggle that drew in tens of thousands. It’s now up to New York’s workers to study the lessons from the experience of the Twin Cities. 

Led by the notorious ex-commander-at-large Gregory Bovino, the cross-country ICE raids had surged into bigger cities with larger migrant populations like Los Angeles and Chicago. But as Bovino noted, Minneapolis posed an altogether different challenge: “The groups are a bit better organized, and they’ve got some excellent communications … that makes it a difficult operating environment at times.”

On January 23, the movement culminated in the first political general strike in over 80 years. This terrified the ruling class. / Image: Lorie Shaull, Flickr

The neighborhood defense networks that sprang up during the 2020 George Floyd movement were revived. School auditoriums were transformed into venues for mass neighborhood assemblies. Workplaces across the city buzzed with a single practical question: “What will we do when ICE comes?” 

Thousands flooded into Signal chats that alerted of ICE sightings. Armored DHS vehicles rolled through normally quiet suburban streets, tailed closely by civilian patrols. “Commuters” in Subarus and soccer-mom minivans were dispatched by rolling command centers providing real-time updates of the agents’ every move. Elementary schools were guarded by observers at all hours. Coffee shops and restaurants refused service to the invaders. 

Calls for a general strike grew louder. Pressure from below forced the union leaders to endorse a day of action—in their typical milquetoast manner. On January 23, the movement culminated in the first political general strike in over 80 years. 

This terrified the ruling class. After the murder of Alex Pretti on January 24, 60 Minnesota CEOs signed an open letter calling for “immediate de-escalation of tensions”—begging Trump to back down lest he provoke a social explosion. Within a week, Trump retreated and ICE was drawn down. 

With a revolutionary leadership prepared in advance, the movement could have gone much further. It was necessary to spread the neighborhood committees into the workplaces, and to link them up in a citywide coordinating body so that the masses could begin to plan and act as one. From there, an appeal to spread the movement nationwide would’ve found an eager reception.

Bring the lessons of Minneapolis to NYC!

So far, ICE has had to operate quietly in NYC. Subtle after-hours raids and courthouse ambushes have kept nearly 10,000 arrests since January 2025 out of the headlines. A surge would be a major provocation. New York is a densely packed city with 3.1 million immigrants—600,000 of them undocumented. With an average population density of 29,300 people per square mile, New Yorkers vastly outnumber the 20,000 ICE agents in the entire country.

NYC might not have the same traditions that grew out of 2020 in Minneapolis. But there are forces that could organize a cohesive and militant struggle. 

Less than a year ago, the NYC DSA mobilized 100,000 volunteers for Mamdani’s mayoral campaign. They knocked on three million doors. This robust canvassing machine churned out a political message that reached the mass of the population. 

After his victory, Zohran and the DSA dissolved the volunteer base into an electoral non-profit called “Our Time,” which has dwindled in activity and laid off most of its staff. Unfortunately, instead of preparing the working class for a mass struggle, Zohran has spent the last six months horse-trading with Democrats, swapping endorsements, and trying to balance the budget without upsetting the billionaires who own the city.

Still, Zohran has repeatedly called for “abolishing ICE.” If he and the DSA were to break from the ruling class and their logic, they could reactivate the volunteer base and mobilize a campaign to systematically transmit the lessons of Minneapolis to New York’s workers, thereby preparing the political-organizational infrastructure needed for a mass, citywide struggle against ICE. 

The unions also have the resources to organize a mass resistance campaign to defend workers from Homan’s thugs. The NYC Central Labor Council represents 1.3 million workers, 20% of whom are immigrants. 

In Minneapolis, the conservative union leaderships were forced into action under pressure from below. Likewise, New York City’s Labor Council was forced to mobilize for May Day this year for the first time in 60 years. 

A call by a group as influential as the DSA for an all-out general strike against ICE could have the same effect as in Minneapolis. If the labor leaders felt the ground shake beneath them, they might have no choice but to endorse it. A general strike in the “capital of capitalism” would send shockwaves around the world. 

An instructive example

Last October, ICE attempted to raid migrant street vendors in Manhattan’s bustling Chinatown. To their surprise, hundreds of workers surrounded the agents within minutes, shouting, chanting, and blocking their vehicles. The protesters followed the federal caravan all the way to the detention center, despite having guns and pepper spray pointed at them. This happened without prior organization, whistles, or group chats. It’s a small taste of the type of spontaneous resistance Homan can expect from his “operational plan.”