The situation in Minneapolis is escalating– Trump is threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act, another person was shot by ICE yesterday, and there are ongoing attacks by the 3,000 ICE agents on the ground. Meanwhile, the far right propaganda machine is working overtime to valorize ICE and demonize anyone who stands in their way. And while Minneapolis is seeing the largest mobilization right now, ICE is on the move across the country.
This escalating show of force from the Trump administration is a panicked response because MAGA knows the majority of Americans are opposed to their authoritarian agenda. A new CNN poll shows that half of Americans believe ICE is making American cities less safe. We’ve never had a better opportunity to welcome white people into campaigns to defund ICE and elect working-class fighters who can defeat MAGA in the midterms.
If you are watching in horror and want to be in solidarity and ensure your own community is prepared to respond, join us for our two-part Solidarity Mobilization training that begins next Tuesday.
Last year, we trained 6,000 SURJ members alongside the immigrant-run organization Solidarity Organizing Initiative to stand up for our immigrant neighbors and run local campaigns to get institutions to challenge ICE’s lawless and cruel attacks on our communities. Through virtual training and a coaching program focused on growing our base and applying principles of nonviolent resistance, SURJ and SOI are building infrastructure for civic participation and community-building that will help us all to stand up for our neighbors, our values and our democracy.
After participating in the training program, our Twin Cities SURJ chapter partnered with a local immigrants’ rights group and collectively ran a campaign to pressure Target to use its influence in the Twin Cities area to demand an end to ICE attacks and prevent ICE from entering its properties without a signed judicial warrant. While they’ve been running powerful neighborhood solidarity work on the ground, they’re also working to shift the institutional levels of power that need to move to make immigrants safer for the long term. This is what solidarity looks like!
Will you join us for our next SOI training program that begins next Tuesday, January 20th?