Live Reports from the Frontlines
Our work is made possible by the hundreds of communist correspondents across the U.S. whose contributions flood into our offices every day.
Here is a glimpse of those contributions.
New York Workers Say: “ICE Out for Good!”
Erica L, Brooklyn, NY
We arrived to “ICE Out for Good” at Union Square an hour early to have a preparatory political discussion before the rally. Several hundred people gathered around us to listen, so we had to quickly pivot to addressing this wider-than-usual audience rather than having an internally-focused discussion.
When we talked about the need for centralized, democratically accountable leadership structures to organize a general strike, we got cheers and applause. This tactic immediately drew the best contacts in, such as one person who asked us how to get organized in front of everyone. Once we stopped speaking, the organizers suspiciously started the event on time, likely because the crowd thought we were the organizers! That and the low political level of the other speakers is proof of the gaping vacuum of leadership in this movement.
After that, we dispersed to have longer political discussions with those who listened to our rally. We sent pairs out in the crowd, which grew to five or ten thousand people. There were a lot of unorganized people open to our ideas: that to fight ICE and win, the only ingredient missing is organization. One person said she was already a fan of our articles and the podcast, and wanted to join!
As the rally ended, we pulled out a megaphone and led chants. A marching band eagerly accompanied us. “Fight ICE with a general strike, workers of the world unite!” and “the workers united will never be defeated” were popular.
Talking Tactics with My Waitress
Josh M, Minneapolis, MN
After a long day of political discussions with new recruits, I decided to treat myself with a meal. I picked a restaurant about a mile away from where Alex Pretti was murdered.
As I paid my bill, I asked the waitress whether they had plans if ICE showed up. The answer was, “Yes!” She described the protocol that the employees and manager had come up with, as well as the security measures that they are taking.
I asked her if they had coordinated with the employees of the neighboring businesses. Her eyes went wide. She said that it was an amazing idea, and started brainstorming out loud about developing communication lines between all of the local establishments, so that the workers could all mobilize if ICE shows up.
We discussed the conflicting interests of workers and corporate owners on the issue of workplace safety, and ways that the movement could escalate with citywide leadership, and even link up with other cities! She happily grabbed our leaflets for herself and her coworkers.
Skyline Students Walk Out!
NEA Member at Skyline High School, Mesa, AZ
During lunch, students at Skyline High School walked out in protest against ICE. Carrying signs that read “Keep ICE Out” and “No One is Illegal,” the students gathered at a street corner before marching off campus.
The mood was electric. Cars honked in support. One student said, “We have to walk out. They can apparently just arrest anyone, and that’s crazy.” Meanwhile reports have already come in that other schools in Mesa have also had walkouts!
Students are fed up and showing that they will not only stand up for themselves but also for their fellow students, families, and neighbors. To quote the immortal words of The Who, “The kids are all right.”
Local Organizations Looking to Escalate!
Jason R, Minneapolis, MN
Yesterday I attended an in-person meeting of a local Signal group chat, wearing my RCA beanie. There were 11 other people in the “business outreach” breakout session, mostly middle-aged.
At first, I listened. Someone said corporate-chain managers are much less receptive to anti-ICE procedures and training, and more focused on keeping profits flowing.
I asked whether we should be talking to managers or employees. I told them other RCA comrades noticed the same divide between managers and employees when they visited Target and Home Depot. We should talk to employees rather than managers, and encourage them to organize their own procedures and link up with other locations as possible. I heard people audibly exclaim “ooooh!” in agreement.
After the meeting, I got a very warm reception from an older lady who has been doing the vast majority of the outreach work over the last three months. She was nodding along with a big smile on her face as I talked about being conscious of the conflicting interests between bosses and workers, and the fact that the ICE problem runs much deeper than just Trump.
Democrat Tries to Co-opt Neighborhood Meeting
Milos M, Minneapolis, MN
On the eve of the January 23 strike, I joined 300 attendees at a neighborhood defense Zoom meeting. Most had never participated in a meeting of this kind.
The main speakers claimed that this was a leaderless group and not an organization. However, they did demand organizational discipline: members couldn’t speak to the press on behalf of the neighborhood defense group, they were expected to follow the guidelines of the Signal group chat, etc.
I spoke, raising the need for unions to hold organizing drives, and for extending the strike to the facilities that ICE relies on to operate—such as the airport, hotels, and restaurants—and strike indefinitely until all demands are met.
As the Zoom meeting was flooded with hearts and thumbs up reactions, I was cut off by one of the unelected “non-leaders,” who turned out to be a Democrat politician, Dan Engelhart. He said that, since a strike was already planned, we couldn’t put forward my ideas now. I answered that the day of action could act as the launching pad for a full, indefinite general strike to shut down all of Minneapolis. He cut me off again, telling me I wouldn’t be allowed to speak anymore.
He couldn’t outright oppose the idea of a general strike because of its mass appeal—he could only attempt to water it down. The need for class independence is making itself known in these neighborhood meetings as the Democrats try to co-opt the movement. Engelhart may have silenced me, but I was still able to make a handful of contacts!
Organizing a Vigil for Alex Pretti
John N, Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis workers immediately sprung into action after ICE’s public execution of Alex Pretti.
I joined a few organizing group chats, including one called “DA Strike Committee” that stated: “Signal group to coordinate strike action following the execution in Whittier. We need to shut down the flow of profits to Trump and his Billionaire Buddies until ICE leaves Minneapolis (and everywhere else). Invite your coworkers and friends!”
A vigil was initially called at the scene of the killing. However, in the hours that followed the shooting the Whittier neighborhood became a warzone. People set up makeshift barricades to defend against the riot police and ICE. The state deployed so much tear gas that a college four blocks away had to evacuate some dorms because of gas leaking in through the windows and vents. Tim Walz deployed the national guard and the original vigil was hastily canceled.
In the absence of an “official” vigil, ordinary people took it upon themselves to organize vigils at parks in different parts of the city. I joined my neighborhood’s planning group chat for the vigil at Van Cleve Park, which already had 70 participants.
After familiarizing myself with the conversation thus far, I asked the group, “Do we think we should use this as an opportunity to discuss as a community what the way forward is?” I made the argument that, “We need mourning but we need to also avenge the dead by kicking ICE out for good.” People enthusiastically agreed, and asked if I could lead the discussion.
In parallel, other people were working on leaflets and posters to spread the word. I gave some suggestions for the content—some of which were accepted—as well as to enlist more help from the group for an outreach team. Six volunteers heeded the call, posting hundreds of leaflets across our neighborhood, door knocking, and calling on everyone to spread the word. Others shared the leaflet through Signal, Instagram, and Yik Yak.
I called an in-person meeting of vigil organizers prior to the vigil, to hold a short political discussion and finalize planning. 13 people, including 2 RCA comrades, attended. We asked the workers at a local restaurant for permission to host the meeting in their space. Not only did they gladly accept, but they thanked us and also offered their restaurant as a warming room for vigil attendees.
The vigil started with steady streams of people coming from streets all around the park. Everything needed for the event found its way there without any sort of bureaucratic planning. I brought a megaphone. Several people brought extra whistles to hand out. A park table was used to stage the candles and hot chocolate, others brought a fire pit, and lyric sheets.
An estimated 300 people formed a sizable crowd around me and a few of the organizers. One of them started with a eulogy and lighting of candles. The next step was discussion. I introduced myself as a member of the RCA, and spoke connecting the recent killing to Bloody Friday in the Minneapolis 1934 Teamsters’ Strike. I explained how the city responded to the killing of strikers with a general strike.
At different points of my speech, the crowd cheered on. However, an older gentleman cut me off to say, “this is just old stuff that doesn’t matter for today.” A couple older people joined in on these grievances, but then received a large response from at least a dozen other people who responded that “history repeats itself,” and that “we have to learn from history.”
I wrapped up my remarks and opened up the mic for anyone else to share their perspective. Many people who came up to speak had never held a megaphone before and had to be taught how it worked. Many people were actively shaking off their fears and looking to enter into the mass movement for the first time. One worker explained he had grown up trusting the cops, the state, and politicians—but that every single one of these institutions has proven they are against the people. He ended by saying that we can only trust ourselves.
At one point, I asked if we can trust the national guard or the police to save us. The crowd responded decisively with a “NO!” I also called upon union members in the crowd to go back to their unions and continue to pressure leadership for a general strike. It is ultimately our choice whether or not production continues, and if the leadership refuses, we can organize through other means, such as workplace action committees. Every few speeches, someone would lead a song. An Italian asked to lead “Bella Ciao,” starting with a brief explanation of its political history.
At the end, the vigil broke out into smaller discussions with people finding their neighbors. I gave one last appeal that if anyone was interested in discussing the overarching strategies and tactics of this movement and how to abolish ICE once and for all they can meet me by my car. Throughout the event, we handed out 50 RCA leaflets, and six people signed up to get organized in the party. One even joined our debrief at my apartment, and joined the RCA at $128/month dues.
From the Picket Line: NYC Nurses on Strike!
Kathleen L, NYSNA, Brooklyn, NY
15,000 private-sector nurses walked off the job last month, marking the largest healthcare strike New York City has ever seen. The nurses demanded what should be an established baseline: safe staffing, fair wages, full healthcare coverage and pensions, benefits for retired nurses aged 60 to 65, and safer workplaces.
Four RCA comrades joined the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) picket line at Columbia Presbyterian. Barricades were set up on either side of the street, far from the hospital doors—and the foot traffic.
We engaged with nurses in the crowd, asking about the conditions they faced on the job and what they thought it would take to win the strike.
Several of the other New York-Presbyterian campuses were not on strike because their contracts, by design, expire later in the year. We started asking nurses what they thought about some hospitals striking, while others were not. Effectively, it amounts to half of the union unintentionally scabbing on the other half. Many of the nurses didn’t even know this was happening.
After about an hour, the union leaders marched the strikers around the block, supposedly to bring them to an area with food and drinks. One comrade was in the middle of a conversation and stayed behind, witnessing two large buses filled with scab nurses unloading near where the picket line had been.
Once the scab buses were gone, the leaders marched the rank and file back to the front of the building. Mere coincidence? Or an intentional tactic to keep the union nurses from seeing scabs flooding into the building?
Comrade Dave got talking to a nurse practitioner about it. He asked, “What if the union blocked the entrance and made a political appeal to the scabs? They could say, ‘We’re out here fighting for better wages, benefits, and conditions. We can only win if you’re on our side. If we win, you win. We can win better wages and conditions and wages when we struggle together.’” The nurse enthusiastically supported Dave’s suggestion, and said she wanted to bring it to her union delegate.
Comrades got some good experience talking to workers on the picket line and seeing first hand how union bureaucrats operate. Just as in 1938, “The world political situation as a whole is chiefly characterized by a historical crisis of the leadership of the proletariat.” We must continue to build our party and help our fellow workers build the leadership we deserve!
My Workplace Is Buzzing with Political Discussion
Megan L, Minneapolis, MN
The politicized atmosphere in Minnesota has taken over even the most unlikely of places—rooms full of gray cubicles.
I work at a large multinational company headquartered in the Twin Cities. I often discuss politics with my coworkers, but since the shooting of Renee Good, my workplace has been buzzing with political discussion, even from people who have never discussed politics at work.
Many of my coworkers are upset that our company’s policy is to let ICE in the building first and validate that they have a judicial warrant once they’re inside. Letting a bunch of guys with guns into the building is understandably not a popular decision, especially when handed down by people who don’t even work in the building!
My coworkers and I agree that we should decide how we handle ICE raids. We are feeling an instinctual proletarian urge for worker’s control.
My manager and I talk politics semi-regularly, and he is a self-described anarchist. Last week, I submitted PTO for January 23 and told my boss that some of the unions had called for a day action and I would be taking time off in solidarity.
Today, he told me he realized why I took time off, and then told me that I shouldn’t work or take PTO because Friday was a “general strike,” and strikers don’t take PTO!
This may be coming from my boss, but in a large company like this, the lowest-level supervisors often share the same class interests as those they manage, even if they may be part of a more privileged layer of the working class. I think this goes to show that all layers of the working class in Minneapolis are being drawn into the struggle against ICE, with growing interest in class-struggle methods.
Coworkers Strategize against ICE Terror
Mason M, Minneapolis, MN
I work in a small restaurant, and ICE terror is forcing my coworkers to strategize for our own protection. At work today, ICE vehicles were reported about 10 blocks away. One of my coworkers gave me a whistle. We locked all the doors except for the front, where a coworker stood on the lookout.
Everyone was on high alert, including the customers. Some shared information and strategized with us, and offered their assistance if anything happened. A coworker barricaded chairs. The owner of the restaurant threw a fit, but his “concerns”—for “business as usual”—were easily disregarded.
Now, I imagine this scene being repeated at restaurants all throughout Minneapolis and Saint Paul. While the inflammatory surge of ICE in Minneapolis has become the center of national attention, distracting from important events on a global scale, these events are also bringing many workers into action in their own workplaces. The needs of employee security often directly contradict corporate interests. I don’t think raising class consciousness was Trump’s intention with “Operation Metro Surge,” but it is a direct result of his continual and escalating attacks on the working class of our city.
Spontaneous Anti-ICE Mass Meeting In South Minneapolis
John N, Minneapolis, MN
This evening three RCA comrades attended a community meeting at Whittier International Elementary School in South Minneapolis. People were flooding towards the school from all directions. By the beginning of the meeting, over 1,000 people had filled the entire school was completely. It was standing room only in every large room.
The Whittier Alliance Neighborhood Association organized the meeting and was visibly overwhelmed. They had a small speakers list including a city council member, a state rep, and a park board commissioner. With these speakers came the standard liberal moral appeals. A representative of the South MPLS Tenants Union voiced the need for in-person neighborhood committees organized in every block in the city, providing basically the only source of direction in the entire meeting.
Afterwards, time was provided for residents to break out and “find their neighbors.” Comrades used the opportunity to spread out into the meetings and talk with as many people as possible.
The movement seems to be picking up where the George Floyd uprising left off five years ago. The momentum towards neighborhood action committees is far stronger than ever before.
There is also growing enthusiasm for a turning the January 23 day of action into statewide general strike. Some people are recognizing that the union bureaucrats are acting as a barrier but don’t know what to do about it.
The whirlwind of information, organizations, and lines of communication have been overwhelming for a lot of people. To most everyone we talked to we consistently raised the following ideas:
- Make these mass meetings regular
- Discuss the lessons of the neighborhood committees and generalize them across the movement.
- Elect a centralized leadership made up of delegates from each neighborhood committee. Draw in the unions. Have union members form their own strike committees if necessary to maneuver around their leadership.
- Ultimately, we need to organize city and statewide general strikes to paralyze the city until ICE is forced out entirely.
Our ideas were met with the enthusiasm. One person even admired how our ideas were more clear and well thought out than any other in the meeting. The mood on the ground suggests that this movement will continue to escalate.
Hatred of ICE Drives People to the Communists
Erica L, Brooklyn, NY
The fight against ICE in Minneapolis is resonating with workers everywhere—and it was on display during my cell’s weekly recruiting stall in a subway station.
We usually have a political discussion beforehand to increase the quality of our conversations. But the comrade who started off couldn’t finish a sentence before we were swarmed. People wanted to talk about ICE!
When asked how to fight back, many of them brought up mutual aid, but not in the typical charity way; they saw it as a tool to organize and fight back. When we explained that the working class could defeat ICE by electing action committees linked up city- and nationwide to coordinate a fightback, copies of The Communist and other Marxist literature sold themselves. One person insisted on buying his paper for double price, unprompted.
Fighting Mood at Minneapolis Anti-ICE Protest
Athithi J, Minneapolis, MN
The killing of Renee Good by ICE officers sparked an emergency vigil at Portland and 33 on January 7. There were thousands of people filing into the streets to hear agitational speeches, holding candles and paying their respects to the deceased.
Demonstrators were filled with anger and the mood was electric. Almost everyone our RCA contingent spoke to was outraged and looking to get organized. Many agreed that to fight ICE, we need a revolution. One person, when asked how we could oppose ICE, even said we need a general strike. Another, said without prompting, “We need a revolution … and it must be violent.”
At the end of the protest, a car barreled through the street in frustration, threatening the lives of many protesters. One protestor, with whom we’d been discussion our revolutionary perspectives earlier in the evening, immediately began agitating with the perspectives he heard from us. He said that the ruling class has us fighting amongst ourselves when they are the real enemy.
Interestingly enough, a couple of the contacts we made first clarified by asking us “Are you with the RCA,” showing that we have already established a consistent presence in this city. Another indicated that she was planning on hosting a watch party for The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, something the comrades had already done three days prior.
The Communist practically sold itself at the demonstration, all we had to do was hold it up. It was clear from the mood of the demonstrators that the reformists and the Stalinists do not have the control they once enjoyed over the movement. At the end, the people who remained (which was still a sizeable number) started a spontaneous march through Minneapolis and even marched through Lake Street.
After we returned from the protest, we recorded a video for our social media calling on our periphery to march with us at Saturday’s protest. Fundamentally, this could potentially be the start of a mass movement. We need our forces ready for what is to come.