Defend all victims of ICE Terror & Repression
Nick Wozniak
This article was first published on the website of “Socialist Refoundation”
Community is not a conspiracy
“We’re the ones in the courtroom, but the real target is the whole movement – Cal, MN 15 defendant
Working people won a victory of enormous consequence in Minnesota at the beginning of this year. A mass strike hundreds of thousands strong, the likes of which hasn’t been seen for eighty years in the United States, shut down a marauding ICE occupation of the Twin Cities – “Operation Metro Surge.” Trump’s grotesquely racist and cruel “mass deportation” campaign was set back and he was forced to fire the thugs in charge, Kristi Noem and Greg Bovino. ICE had to retreat, forced to adjust its tactics under new leadership.
Running federal forces off the streets of the Twin Cities with strike action set an example – working people possess truly astounding power to stand up for our democratic rights and the safety of our communities. Not for an instant do we have to accept our neighbors and coworkers being abducted by masked, violent federal gangs.
Minnesota was a confidence boost for the nationwide Anti-ICE movement. And now we must support those Minnesota activists who led the way as the Trump administration attempts to get revenge by prosecuting the Minnesota 15 case.
Socialist Refoundation members extend our solidarity to the Minnesota 15 defendants.
They are fifteen union members, organizers, and community-member rapid responders who are being threatened with jail time by the Trump administration for joining the mass movement to stop the lawless federal assault on their cities. We intend to give active support to the MN15 Anti Repression Committee. Please consider a donation to the legal defense fund, passing resolution or statement of solidarity in your union or organization.
All defendants are facing a felony charge of “conspiracy” to impede or injure federal agents, with a couple of additional charges tacked onto a few defendants – yet the government is not claiming any injuries suffered by its agents. On June 16th, their homes were aggressively raided by heavily-armored federal agents, guns drawn. The 15 are not currently in jail while their case proceeds, but all except two have a no-contact order – they cannot talk to their co-defendants.The first hearing was held in September.
A summary of the publicly available indictment says it, “does not describe one specific action, but rather a series of meetings and protests held throughout Operation Metro Surge in the Winter of 2026. The accusations include making anti-ICE statements online, planning and attending anti-ICE protests, and engaging in rapid response and mutual aid to defend our immigrant neighbors.” In other words, Trump wants to criminalize the ICE watch activism performed by tens of thousands of people in the Twin Cities and many other cities.
The message is clear. The Trump administration was defeated in the Twin Cities. They want revenge. They want to show that you will pay if you and your city use your constitutional First Amendment rights to resist federal violence and ICE deportations. The entire movement against Trump needs to stop this message from being sent. We need to raise up the Minnesota 15, and all similar cases of repression, such as the Praireland, Texas case. With one voice, we need to say that Trump will not isolate and scapegoat anyone protecting our neighbors. We must organize to defeat these bogus charges and stop this intimidation.
At a meeting in Chicago organized by the Chicago committee of the MN 15 campaign, in which I participated, two visiting defendants, Isaac and Cal, made the essential points about where their case stands in relation to the rest of the Anti-ICE movement. They did not feel that they were particularly central to the victory against ICE. Rather, “we were convenient targets because we are very proud revolutionary anarchists” and “conjuring up ‘dangerous’ anarchists out of thin air is a good way to get promoted” as a federal agent. Cal and Isaac correctly emphasized that the Trump administration’s transparent fear-mongering about left ideologies is a divide-and-conquer strategy that tries to draw attention away from their criminalization of the whole movement. Through fact finding, the Minnesota 15 case has already revealed a vast effort by the federal government to infiltrate and spy on progressive groups, unions, and community organizations of all kinds.
The Chicago meeting also discussed the reality that ICE was, of course, not fully defeated and abolished after the mass strike. ICE has been putting local and state police forces to work across the country has increased deportations to record numbers this past summer. While Cal and Isaac defend themselves in court, they encouraged the rest of the movement to continue the fight, to support other important cases like that of Alexio, and remembers the heroic known and not yet known resistance going on in ICE’s horrific archipelago of detention camps. Minnesota and other struggles pushed ICE agents back off our streets, but the federal government’s repression and violence continues in many respects unabated. The Minnesota 15 defense should be linked to building the wider movement against ICE, Trump, and the right.
Socialist Refoundation supports the demands of the MN15 Anti- Repression Committee:
- ICE Out of Our Communities!
- Return the Abducted & Deported – Reunite the Families!
- Drop the Charges Against All Anti-ICE Protesters!
- Justice for Renee, Victor, Alex, Keith, Lorenzo, Joan, and All Victims of ICE Violence.
