One week since the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) murder of Renée Nicole Good, the immigration Gestapo continue their reign of terror throughout the Twin Cities area, harassing children at schools by parking outside them, spraying tear gas near schools, breaking car windows, dragging people through the streets, etc.
In response to widespread demonstrations, the Trump administration is deploying more federal agents to Minneapolis, bringing the total now to 3,000, effectively putting the Twin Cities under quasi–martial law. This is taking place as the regime is spending $100 million on recruitment for the immigration Gestapo, trying to recruit some of the most rotten elements of society, including white supremacists, with slogans such as “we’ll have our home again,” expressing their racist and fascistic worldview.
Since the murder of Good, the Trump administration has embarked on a propaganda campaign based on utter lies, reminiscent of the Nazi regime, claiming that Good was a “domestic terrorist” and that she injured the ICE agent Jonathan Ross. A week after the murder, CBS reported that Ross supposedly suffered “internal bleeding,” a euphemism for a bruise, as video shows him casually walking away from the scene of the crime unscathed and unbothered.
Youth and workers have defied threats from Trump’s brownshirts, launching various protests and demonstrations. Tuesday night, hundreds gathered outside the Graduate by Hilton hotel on the University of Minnesota campus to demonstrate against ICE agents. A wave of cacophony was unleashed by demonstrators, many of whom honked horns, blew whistles, banged drums and more to prevent ICE agents from sleeping.
On Wednesday, hundreds of students from multiple high schools in St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota, staged walkouts protesting ICE’s presence in their communities and marched on the state Capitol building.
ICE showed up outside Aquila Elementary School and was met with disgust by parents parked outside. Additionally, a parent of an elementary school student from Robbinsdale Elementary School was detained by ICE, while the child was not.
Meanwhile, in other parts of Minneapolis, multiple people who were arrested by ICE and reporters with Status Coup said federal agents hurled insults at protesters, calling Renée Nicole Good a “lesbian bitch.” They also told demonstrators something to the effect that if they continued to block ICE operations, more people would be killed like Good. These statements by ICE agents confirm that federal officials are defending a killing that many witnesses and experts say was unjustified, and that Ross was not acting in self-defense, as video of the encounter already demonstrates.
Speaking to the World Socialist Web Site, one protesting student said, “We’re students from Como Park Senior High School. We’re at the Capitol right now protesting with the other students from different schools. And the current situation with ICE, I think, is getting out of hand because students are afraid to show up to school. And they’re missing the lesson because they’re worried about ICE.”
Another student added, “And I think it’s important to speak out for what’s right. As you can see, there’s so many people here that are against ICE, and I think that ICE should leave them alone.”
WSWS reporters spoke to another student, who said, “First, we all, we’re all refugees. We came here legally, and we’re working our asses off. We’re working for this country. Our people are just doing the best we can. And you know, there’s fear of deportation here and there. But, you know, even with all that, we’re going to keep doing what we do.
“We’re going to keep fighting the good fight. We’re going to keep, we’re going to keep doing what is right—fighting for what’s right. What’s happening here is tragic. What happened to Renée Good is tragic. You know, we don’t want that again. Genocide is happening all over the world right now, free Palestine. I just want to say that I’m proud of everybody here. And I’m glad that they’re using their voice for the First Amendment.”
Another student expressed the growing disgust and anger against the Trump’s administration’s fascistic attacks against immigrants, stating, “I think, like, you just see every day on your ‘For You’ page, ICE, is like, being violent to citizens, US citizens, they don’t even check, without them doing anything to them. They are complying with them, and they are still violent. And I know there’s people that say that nonviolent protests do nothing, but when you’re here and you organize and you meet with people and you build a plan and you walk out, things will change. And it takes time, but we need to keep up the momentum to actually stop what’s happening.”
The question of a general strike to force ICE out was posed to another group of protesting students, who commented, “Yeah, I do. I support it. I support it. I think we should all do it. I think some people are afraid to do it. They’re afraid to lose their jobs, and they have people to abide to and have responsibilities to take care of. And if you’re in that situation, I understand. But if you can make time, if you can, if you feel really passionate about the topic, I think you should come out here and try to strike.”
Standing beside them, another student spoke, “In a capitalist society where we’re forced to work for our lives, I understand why people don’t want to go on strike and why they don’t want to sacrifice those hours that they could be making money. Because we’re made to put that work above what we believe in, like our causes we want to fight for. But I think it’s really important that we all kind of band together to show that we’re in support of this and show these companies and corporations and all these higher-ups what we’re about.”
Another student added, “Yeah, I definitely agree with others like definitely a power in numbers, and I think if you organize it right, you can be very successful.”
The walkouts and demonstrations by hundreds of students, combined with the growing protests across Minnesota and the United States, show that the class struggle is entering a new upswing—leading to a direct confrontation with the Trump administration and the American oligarchy. Trump’s siege on Minneapolis and the attempt to impose a presidential dictatorship are the efforts of a desperate and crumbling ruling class to maintain its rule. However, the rising tide of the class struggle must be guided by a clear socialist perspective.
What is needed is the formation of rank-and-file committees to organize and counter ICE and the fascist regime in the White House. In order to counter the modern-day brownshirts or squadristi, what is needed is to form rank-and-file committees to prepare for a general strike. Making moral appeals to fascists will only result in catastrophe, which is why the working class needs political independence from all bourgeois parties.
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