San Jose, CA – On Wednesday, March 26, at noon, around 60 students gathered by the San Jose State University Student Union for a speakout for Mahmoud Khalil and other victims of ICE detainments. The program of the action put forward demands on San Jose State administration and SJSU President Cynthia Teniente Matison for increased protection against ICE, especially for mixed status and undocumented students as well as activists.

The program began with chants. Slogans such as “No fear, no hate, no ICE in our state!” and “We want justice you say how, release Mahmoud Khalil now!” Many chants and slogans revolved around SJSU administration’s inaction around ICE activity, particularly its lackluster response and lack of a statement against ICE. One such slogan encompassed these sentiments, “Admin, admin where’s your spine? You're enabling ICE’s crimes!”

The program then had a sequence of several speakers, first with SDS’s treasurer reading out Khalil’s letter from ICE detention.

Oli Harter, SDS’s political organizing co-chair told the crowd, “SJSU administration is all too familiar with silence. They stand on the sidelines, refusing to divest from war-profiteers and refusing to protect students from ICE.”

Harter continued, “SJSU students demand admin take real, material, measures in defending our community from ICE! We demand divestment from Lockheed Martin, we demand removal of student repression through TMP policies, we demand a statement condemning Mahmoud Khalil’s arrest, and we demand accountability from the cowardly dogs hiding in silence: And until then – No justice! No peace!”

Dominique Thomas from Black Women’s Collective stated, “This may feel like a temporary movement to some, but this is representative of a war we have been fighting alongside all of our ancestors. These wars are fueled by capitalism and white supremacy.”

A speaker from UNITE then emphasized that organization’s own demands, which they shared with the broader activist coalition, including full protection for undocumented and mixed status students.

Sofía Calderon, president of Mecha, spoke on how Trump’s policies reflect an increasingly bigoted political climate. “Mahmoud’s story, like many others reflected the experiences of undocumented folks across the country. Families are being torn apart,” she said. “All this rhetoric and these illegal detainment practices are cruel and evil.”

Finn Albano stated, “Lewelyn Dixon, a Filipina aunty who lived in the U.S. for 50 years as a migrant worker on a valid green card who had zero public ties to the pro-Palestinian movement was arrested and sent to a detention facility just as recently as four days ago. She was detained solely because she was a migrant.”

Nikki Flowers said, “I am the grandchild of a Holocaust survivor. I look around, and I see the current U.S. administration pushing for registries and identification cards. I see ICE kidnapping and disappearing Mahmoud and Leqaa, who are of a people undergoing genocide right now – Palestinians.”

Then, Rachel Abeyta, intern of Students for a Quality Education, read out a statement from her organization co-signed by SDS, SJP and other student organizations.

Lastly, John Duroyan, president of SDS San Jose chapter, gave a speech putting forward a demand towards SJSU admin to condemn Khalil’s arrest and ICE activity on the Bay Area, as well as repeating an ongoing demand centered around SJSU cutting ties with war profiteers.

After concluding remarks from the chant leaders, the attendees posted sticky notes with various demands around the exterior of the Student Union, demanding divestment, statements condemning the arrest, and freedom for Palestinians and victims of ICE detainment.

The action was called by Students for a Democratic Society, alongside other campus organizations including Black Women’s Collective, Students for Quality Education, UNITE, MeCha, League of Filipino Students, and Students Against Mass Incarceration, among several others.

#SanJoseCA #CA #AntiWarMovement #StudentMovement

Grand Rapids, MI – In the wake of over 400 Palestinians being killed by Israel’s repeated violation of the January ceasefire agreement, on March 19 nearly 100 community members rallied at the corner of Rosa Parks Circle in solidarity with Palestine. After chants condemning the actions of both Israel and the United States, the group took to a march towards the Gerald R. Ford Federal Building.

Their anger was pointed out and they had three specific targets. First, toward Israel and its continued violation of the January ceasefire agreement, denying even basic supplies to enter the country, and its endless murder of the Palestinian people. Second, toward their own local government, which is complicit in its repression of both its pro-Palestine movement and its support of Israeli businesses. And third, toward the federal government, which continues to provide direct support for the genocide of the Palestinian people and for its acts of political repression against pro-Palestine activists across the country.

The rally comes after the arrest of both Mahmoud Khalil and Leqaa Kordia on New York’s Columbia University’s campus and demonstrated a continued escalation of repression against the pro-Palestine student movement which began during President Biden’s administration.

Anthony O’Hegarty, a member of Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids (PSGR), told those in attendance, “This is nothing new for activists – In fact, the Antiwar 23, a group of activists from Grand Rapids, Minnesota and Chicago were raided by the FBI, subpoenaed to a grand jury, and accused of material support for terrorism for their anti-war activism in 2010.”

“Now Israel is promising to send ground troops into Gaza. They’ve killed 400-plus people in mere hours – What’s happening in Gaza right now is extermination. Israel has been given a blank check by the U.S. to exterminate and disappear whoever they wish,” said O’Hegarty.

The mood of the evening was not defeat and despair, but energy and determination. The organizers remained stalwart in their vows against the atrocities and injustices perpetrated by both the United States and by Israel.

In an era of ever-escalating political repression, the people of Grand Rapids are committed to continuing their fight for a free Palestine. The events were a rallying cry to all those who stand against injustice to join the long march alongside them.

#GrandRapidsMI #MI #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #PSGR

Aurora, CO – On the evening of Monday March 24, around 300 community members rallied in front of the GEO Group ICE Processing Center in Aurora, Colorado for a vigil protesting the unjust detention of community organizer Jeanette Vizguerra. It marked one week since Jeanette was abducted by ICE from her place of work without warning.

Vizguerra joined the rally over a phone call from within the detention center, and had her words translated by her daughter Luna Baez. She thanked the people for their presence in the fight and said, “I want everyone here to grow, for more people to show up every single Monday and keep in mind that there are other people in here, and that they have the same needs and wants at the end of the day. They all just want to go back to their family as well as address all the injustices that this administration has done to us. We need to see the people rise up.”

Those at the action came from different sectors of the people’s struggle and from all over Colorado. Dr. Mohamed Kuziez, a local pediatrician and member of Doctors Against Genocide who recently returned from providing medical aid to the children of Gaza said, “Jeanette is a part of this community. She has been part of this community longer than I have. But by fate or fortune, I was born in the U.S. She has contributed to this community and given back.” He went on, “Jeanette is a model of the kind of person that I love having in my community, and I'm determined to fight for her.”

Members of Aurora Unidos CSO held a banner of a red fist punching through a wall that read, “Nadie es ilegal en tierras robadas – No one is illegal on stolen land.”

Brandon Gherke, an organizer with Aurora Unidos CSO said, “Jeanette has been an organizer in the movement for years now, and we’ve got to stand up for people in our movement and defend our political prisoners and stand against these deportations.”

Gherke continued, “We know that coming out one time is not gonna fix the problem. We’re gonna start building campaigns to free Jeanette, consistently putting on pressure. The people make history, and that’s how we’re going to achieve freedom for Jeanette.”

Local musicians also performed at the rally. Los Mocochetes, a local Chicano Funk band, performed songs of liberation and one calling for the freeing of Vizguerra, while the crowd clapped in unison with the beat. The music could be heard echoing off the walls of the facility, loud enough for those inside to hear.

Among the musical performers was Jamie “Jonny Five” Laurie, a lead vocalist of the Flobots. Laurie joined the action to raise his voice for Vizguerra. Asked what he would say to Vizguerra if given the opportunity Laurie said, “I would say thank you for continuing to organize inside those walls.”

Laurie continued, “I have some community connection to other people who are who have cousins in there, who have other folks even from countries that don't get much attention and don't have a common language with people and so I know there's a lot of people in there that feel truly alone and to have somebody like her taking the time to organize and tell other people stories even as she's struggling with her own struggle, you know just speaks to the very best of humanity and so I would just want to thank her.”

The vigil ended with a statement from Vizguerra's daughter Luna, saying “Go ahead and spread the campaign. #JeanetteBelongsHere on any and all sorts of platforms. I just say let's keep on fighting as much as they try to go ahead and shut our voices down. They tried to shut my mom down. They fucked up. She has citizen children here. I don't shut up either.”

#AuroraCO #CO #ImmigrantRights #AUCSO #ICE #Vizguerra

Portland, OR – On Sunday, March 23, Portlanders rallied at Terry Schrunk Plaza to reject the Trump administration’s mass deportations and demand legalization for all undocumented immigrants in the United States. The assembled crowd was 100 strong and was made up of people of all ages.

Sky Reimer, a member of Students for a Democratic Society at Portland State University (SDS) spoke on the need for solidarity between the student, anti-war and immigrant rights movements, citing ICE’s detainment of Palestinian student activists Mahmoud Khalil and Leqaa Kordia. Reimer. They said, “These racist policies of our universities aren't just happening at Columbia, they are happening countrywide.” Reimer later said, “By getting into the streets to protest Trump's agenda, we prove that the people hold the power, that we hold the power.”

Cass Cano of Portland Contra las Deportaciones (PDXCD) brought up the paper-thin justifications used by ICE to detain and deport immigrants, including incredibly broad definitions of gang affiliation tattoos. Over 200 Venezuelan immigrants were recently detained by ICE and moved to an El Salvadorian prison with a history of human rights abuses. These immigrants were not given due process. “The cruelty is the point,” Cano explained.

Holly Brown of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) declared, “The so-called ‘war on immigration’ is nothing more than a war on the working class. It is a war designed to keep people in constant fear – fear of deportation, fear of detention, fear of separation from families. It is designed to create a permanent underclass of workers who can be exploited without the full rights and protections that should belong to every human being, no matter where they were born!”

After the speeches, the crowd took to the streets and marched through downtown Portland, chanting, “No ban, no wall, legalize them all!” and “No fear, no hate, no ICE in our state!” Bystanders voiced their solidarity as the march went by, and some joined along.

This protest came one month after another pro-immigrant march organized by many of the same groups, in which organizers were harassed by the Portland Police Bureau and fined over $2000 for traffic violations. The groups involved are still in the process of fighting these politically motivated fines, and demand that the citations be dropped by Portland Mayor Keith Wilson and Police Chief Bob Day.

#PortlandOR #ImmigrantRights #PDXCD

Dallas, TX – Over 300 community members marched through the Dallas Oak Lawn “gayborhood,” Sunday, March 23 to protest the spread of anti-LGBTQ bills and laws sweeping the country. Attendees gathered at the Cathedral of Hope in Oak Lawn for speeches calling attention to the diverse needs of the queer and trans community in this political moment. The rally, called by Texas Latino Pride, spoke to the heightened attacks faced by trans women, disabled, Black, and brown queer and trans folks.

At the rally, Emmy-winning drag artist Lushious Massacr lifted up the contributions of trans women to the queer movement and condemned the heightened demonization of the trans community, saying, “We will never be ourselves the way they see us.” After the march in a post on Instagram, she commented, “Today was truly memorable as our community came together in solidarity, standing up for what is right. It was an honor to be surrounded by so many passionate individuals who believe in the power of unity.”

Stacey Monroe, co-lead of the Trans Empowerment Coalition, spoke, remarking, “In Texas, these state-level attacks – from book bans to bathroom bills to criminalizing healthcare to criminalizing our existence – are part of a calculated, coordinated strategy to push us back into the shadows. But we are ungovernable in the face of injustice. We are unstoppable when we organize, when we care for each other, when we refuse to back down.” She also called the crowd to attend an upcoming Trans Day of Visibility rally at Dallas City Hall on March 30 at 11 a.m.

Attendees marched from the Cathedral of Hope to the center of the gayborhood, chanting slogans such as “We are queer, we are here, we are going nowhere” and “No hate, no fear, trans people are welcome here.” Community members also highlighted previous decades of queer activism with signs and shirts emblazoned with the pink triangle of the Act Up movement, and led the crowd in chants of “Act up, fight back!”

#DallasTX #TX #LGBTQ #Trans #TEC

Chicago, IL – Over 150 survivors of wrongful convictions, their family members and community members gathered on a cloudy Saturday afternoon, March 22, for an action-focused town hall meeting. The event was organized by the Campaign to Free Incarcerated Survivors of Police Torture (CFIST) and aimed to strengthen the movement to free all survivors of wrongful conviction and end the system of police torture that has made Chicago the torture capitol of the United States.

The two-and-a-half-hour program took place at Sixth Grace Presbyterian Church in the Douglas neighborhood of Chicago’s South Side. 4th Ward Alderman Lamont Robinson, who represents the Douglas neighborhood, was also in attendance, in addition to 25th Ward Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez.

A panel of six survivors of wrongful conviction and police torture opened the event: Frank Chapman, Kevin Jackson, Adolfo Davis, Clayborn Smith, Reginald Henderson and Sean Tyler.

These survivors, whose cases highlight the gross injustice of Chicago’s criminal “justice” system, shared moving testimonies detailing not only the trauma associated with their incarceration, but the strength of the movement that helped them win their freedom and need to keep fighting to free those still inside.

The mental and physical toll of being kidnapped and tortured by CPD detectives, locked up in the worst prison conditions imaginable, and separated from their families for decades, cannot be overstated.

“The only time we saw a sunrise was when we were up at 4 a.m. to be taken in to court” said Clayborn Smith, a survivor of torture and wrongful conviction. Smith was kidnapped in 1992 and tortured for 39 hours by CPD detectives John Halloran, Kenneth Boudreu and James O’Brien, and served 29 years for a murder he had nothing to do with.

But despite the trauma, the panel emphasized the need for further action to fight back against the system of frame-ups and coercion, dubbed the “torture machine” by civil rights lawyer Flint Taylor.

Frank Chapman, executive director of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, was the elder on the panel. After 15 years of wrongful incarceration and 50 years in the movement since, Chapman’s perspective captured the essence of the whole evening.

“Don’t just talk to me about your pain and misery, cuz I done had that too. So have millions of others,” Chapman said. “But if you don’t ever get to the revolutionary side of misery, you don’t ever get to the solution.”

Kevin Jackson, who recently won his freedom after over 23 years of wrongful conviction at the hands of CPD detectives Brian Forberg and John Foster, described the movement’s role in winning his freedom.

“The movement is the reason I’m standing here right now,” Jackson said. “My lawyers were sitting there basically scratching their heads until public attention came to my case.”

During the years-long battle in court to win Jackson’s freedom, the CFIST campaign mobilized family members and movement supporters to attend his court dates and held dozens of press conferences and rallies drawing public attention to the case.

“They moved the needle,” Jackson said.

After the panel of survivors, a panel of legal experts took the stage, including Jorge Soto, a jailhouse lawyer and survivor of wrongful conviction; Michelle Mbekeani, former senior advisor to previous Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx, and Sheila Bedi, a civil rights lawyer and clinical professor with the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law

Mbekeani, who worked for the most progressive State’s Attorney in Cook County in history, Kim Foxx, shared firsthand inside information on the racism and corruption of the office, describing the way that CPD detectives and prosecuting state’s attorneys work in the same building and often have close relationships that help them achieve and uphold wrongful convictions to advance their careers.

Soto, who served the joint-longest wrongful conviction sentence in Illinois history, has seen the corruption of the justice system from all angles.

There’s a pervasiveness of this white, patriarchal racism in the state’s attorney's office, like in CPD,” Soto said. “It’s a culture.”

The final panel of the evening featured the family members of survivors who are still inside. The panel, which included Anette Torres, girlfriend of Elias Gomez; Norma Jean Scales, aunt of Douglas Livingston; Johnnie Hayes, wife of Devon Showers, and Alicia Gill, sister of Michael Minniefield, inspired attendees with their dedication to the struggle to free their loved ones.

“We need to fight and not give up,” Torres said. “Elias is not alone. Your husband, your brother, your son, your nephew, they’re not alone.”

Merawi Gerima, co-chair of the CFIST campaign, also spoke briefly on the connection between the movement to end wrongful conviction and the broader fight for community control of police in Chicago.

Gerima described CFIST’s strategy of organizing around cases of wrongful conviction at the police district level by mobilizing community members to Police District Council meetings, a localized accountability body created by an ordinance fought for and won by CAARPR in 2021.

Decades of struggle to free the wrongfully convicted and end police torture provide more evidence that only a mass movement by and for working and oppressed people can win the power we need to hold the architects and enforcers of this racist system accountable, and replace it with a system that works for the people.

“There’s strength in the community and these organizations,” said Kevin Jackson. “So if you ain’t a part of one, join one!”

#ChicagoIL #InJusticeSystem #CFIST #NAARPR

Chicago, IL – On March 13, over 150 students, staff and faculty members at the University of Illinois-Chicago rallied in front of their administration building to protest budget cuts which threaten five majors, non-tenured faculty, and cultural programs. The emergency protest was called to demand funding for education and a “chop from the top” model, as inflated admin salaries were called to attention. The protest had support from a broad collection of student organizations, faculty and local activists.

Speaking on behalf of Student for a Democratic Society at UIC, Jeremiah Munoz kicked things off by stating, “Instead of cutting out classes, cut the bloated administrator salaries, not our education! Don’t play with our future for that bloated salary. Stop funneling money into police while students struggle to afford tuition. Invest in our cultural centers, our language programs, our communities—not in executives who do nothing but approve cuts to education while collecting a premium salary.”

Next was Liz Rathburn, a member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, who stated, “UIC can find the money to advertise its diversity, it can find the money to raise the salaries of its admin, it can find the money to fund its own police force and it can even find money to buy new real estate, but when students and faculty need support, when it comes to funding what actually makes our university great, admin pleads poverty.”

Ending the rally on behalf of Students for a Democratic Society at UIC, April Rogers stated, “UIC is probably paying a lot to bring military recruiters on campus. They are probably paying a lot to have the CIA, the FBI, and even the State Department come to campus, as has happened multiple times since the start of the 2024-2025 academic year. UIC also gives millions of dollars to companies involved in the Israeli occupation of Palestine, including Boeing and Caterpillar. In 2023, this alone amounted to $21 million. Instead, UIC goes after cultural and language studies.”

Speakers from the Italian Club, Eastern European Student Association and Housing Staff United made it clear that the budget cuts are targeting the entire student body, and a cultural performance during the rally demonstrated the importance of preserving cultural studies and programs at UIC.

Although UIC administration forced the protest to move locations at the very last minute, students, staff and faculty remained undeterred. Despite the change in location, over 150 people marched through the campus chanting, demanding proper funding for education.

The protest was endorsed by Anakbayan, Sokoly, Housing Staff United, Eastern European Student Association, Italian Club, New Students for a Democratic Society. Students for Justice in Palestine, and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

#ChicagoIL #StudentMovement #SDS #Anakbayan #Sokoly #HousingStaffUnited #EasternEuropeanStudentAssociation #ItalianClub #SJP #FRSO

Chicago, IL – Around 80 educators, firefighters and community members gathered on Monday, March 24, to demand decent contracts for the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) Local 1 and the Chicago Fire Fighters Union Local 2. The members of both unions have been working under expired contracts; the teachers for eight months and the firefighters for over three and a half years.

The “Rally for Our Contracts” began with speeches in front of the Chicago Fire Department’s Engine 103 Station in the city’s Near West Side. Patrick Cleary, president of Fire Fighters Local 2, emphasized the need for facilities updates in both Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Fire Department. “[Since] 1987 that thing hasn’t changed,” Cleary said, pointing to the station behind him. “They’re finally putting in female accommodations in 2025.”

CTU President Stacy Davis Gates followed this with a call for contracts that place the city’s essential workers and their working conditions “not last on the priority list but first on the priority list.” After the rally at the station, participants lined up behind a fire engine and marched toward the nearby Whitney M. Young Magnet High School, operated by Chicago Public Schools. They emphasized the critical services that both union’s workers provide the city, with signs reading, “We put out fires every day!” and “Take care of the people who take care of Chicago!”

These messages echoed an earlier joint statement of Friday, March 21, in which the unions emphasized the indispensability of their work for people of Chicago, calling for the city to respond with the “security of a contract” as well as the “resources and staffing they need to adequately serve the public.”

Both unions attribute delays in negotiations to the proper city officials not attending bargaining sessions. “They don’t send the decision-makers to negotiations,” Cleary said during a joint press conference by the two unions on Friday, March 21. “If you’re not the decision-maker, you shouldn’t be in the room then.”

With negotiations stalled, Cleary says the department is short-staffed and working with outdated equipment that poses safety concerns. Furthermore, the contract expiration means firefighters have not won a pay raise in over four years.

Meanwhile, the CTU has criticized the chief executive officer of Chicago Public Schools (CPS), Pedro Martinez, for “chronic absenteeism.” Martinez has not attended a single bargaining session since they began eleven months ago, in April 2024. Martinez further stalled negotiations by filing a restraining order to prevent CTU from negotiating directly with the board of education in December 2024. While CTU has made progress at the bargaining table with Martinez’s team at CPS, when it comes to closing the deal, Stacy Davis Gates said, “We have to find someone.”

With CTU having secured hundreds of items, the final sticking points are changes to make the teacher evaluation system more equitable, pay raises for veteran teachers, and 20 minutes of increased continuous prep time for elementary teachers, after Rahm Emanuel’s administration reduced this time by 30 minutes in 2012.

#ChicagoIL #IL #Labor #CTU

Los Angeles, CA – On April 12 and 13 immigrant rights activists and organizations will be convening at the Emergency Southwest Summit Against Deportations in the historic Chicano community of Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, California.

This Emergency Southwest Summit is an opportunity for immigrant rights activists to come together in the Southwest, historically significant for Chicanos and Mexicanos, to share lessons on how to organize and successfully fight back against Trump’s and ICE attacks.

Since Trump’s Inauguration, there has been a surge of militant protests and struggle throughout the country, and masses of Chicanos, Mexicanos and Central Americans have taken to the streets to fight the Trump administration’s deportation campaign.

Grassroots and community activists have fought against ICE attacks, leading thousands in marches in cities like Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago, Minneapolis and San José. Students have joined mass high school walkouts. Rapid response networks and neighborhood defense groups have sprung into action to keep community members safe from ICE.

The Emergency Southwest Summit Against Deportations will take place over the course of two days on April 12 and 13. This summit is sponsored by Centro CSO, the La Mesa Brown Berets, MEchA Santee HS, and Legalization for All Network. We are calling on all immigrant rights activists in the Southwest and nationwide to join us. We must oppose the use of ICE and the threat of deportations in the U.S. Trump's attacks against undocumented immigrants are a threat to all whether we are immigrants, Chicano, Mexicano or Central American. Build the movement against Trump. No deportations!

Speakers at the summit will include Carlos Montes, lifelong activist in the Chicano movement; Luna Baez, daughter of detained Colorado community activist Jeanette Viguerra; Elvira Arellano, Chicago sanctuary activist, and Amerika Garcia Grewal of the Eagle Pass Border Coalition.

Register online at: https://tinyurl.com/summitagainstdeportations

#LosAngelesCA #CA #ImmigrantRights #L4A #Featured

Minneapolis, MN – “We set big goals and surpass them, whether that is buying a building, or expanding rapidly in new cities all across the country,” said Sydney Loving of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization’s Central Committee. “To make the next qualitative leap in our work and shore up our hard-won achievements, we need to raise $100,000 during this fund drive. We plan to put these funds towards paying off our new building.”

Members of FRSO districts are sitting down and going through the people they know who can donate and making plans to reach out. Denver FRSO has set the goal of raising $10,000 for the drive. In ambition alone, New Orleans would not be outdone – they set an even higher goal of $15,000.

The Minneapolis district has already taken off running. After hosting just one event, they've raised $2700 already, specifically for the upkeep of the FRSO building, the Lucy Parsons Center.

FRSO is embroiled in several heated battles against Trump's racist, reactionary agenda. More people are writing to us every day, motivated to change this world in which we have so little to lose.

“There is no better time to be in the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and there is no better cause to donate to. We will succeed at this drive, we will succeed at building a party, and we will do our part to usher in a new world out of the ashes of the old,” states Loving.

You can donate to the FRSO $100k Fund Drive by clicking here.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #FRSO #FundDrive2025 #Featured

New Orleans, LA – On March 21, the morning of Mahmoud Khalil’s court hearing, community organizations gathered outside of the Federal Court of Appeals in New Orleans to protest his detainment. Their demands were simple – release Mahmoud Khalil, reinstate his green card, and cease all illegal detainments.

On March 8, Mahmoud Khalil was illegally detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. For over 24 hours, his whereabouts were unknown. Only later was it revealed that he was held in Jena, Louisiana, far away from his home in New York. There is no justification for his arrest. He is being detained for pro Palestine activism.

“None of us should stay silent while free speech is under attack. While speaking up for anyone’s rights, in this case Palestinian rights and liberation, can result in you being kidnapped and deported by the state – none of us should stay silent!” said Cypress Atlas, speaking on behalf of Jewish Voices for Peace (JVP). Atlas continued, “I’m here with JVP for moral clarity about the use of antisemitism. What Jewish people should be doing in this time is standing in integrity with our history and our ancestors with fighting fascism like we always have.”

Khalil’s current detention in an ICE facility in Jena hit home for many at the protest. For the last two years, escalated policing tactics and targeted repression have been the norm. In New Orleans, dozens of students have been arrested or faced investigations by their university administrations. Others have faced arrests just for standing in solidarity with students or protesting the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

Last week, Tulane University officials called in a bomb threat to detain and interrogate a student for displaying a small sign on their backpack that read, “Tulane just got rid of DEI – if you have the means, go elsewhere.” For the broader community, the fears of deportation are even sharper as Trump has shown that he does not care about due process nor the people it supposedly protects.

Atticus Pratt, a Tulane student and member of Students for a Democratic Society, spoke in solidarity with Khalil stating, “Mahmoud’s violent arrest was conducted by plainclothes ICE officers in front of his eight-month pregnant wife. How horrific is that?” Reflecting on past and current struggles, Pratt continued, “I know this may be discouraging. But these drastic measures are proof that they are terrified of us and the strength of our solidarity. This reactionary administration only furthers our resolve to continue the fight on our campuses, on the streets, and in the courts.”

In response to the rally and the picketing that followed, the Federal Court Building locked their doors and ordered people off the steps of the building.

#NewOrleansLA #LA #AntiWarMovement #Palestine

Tacoma, WA – Over 150 people gathered outside the Federal Courthouse in Tacoma, Washington on March 22 to rally for women in honor of International Women’s Month. Under the slogan “Stand up, fight back!” community members from many of the 16 endorsing organizations gave speeches addressing topics of indigenous sovereignty, Palestinian liberation and immigrant rights as they pertain to women.

The rally began with chants like “From Palestine to Mexico, these border walls have got to go!” and “When immigrants’ rights are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!”

Eugenia Cascante from Pierce County Immigration Alliance spoke about her experience as an immigrant and mother, saying, “Attacks on immigrant and migrant women aren’t new. For generations, this system has ensured we are pushed to the back of the line, that we are ushered to the sidelines and live in the shadows.”

Amirah Haris, a union organizer with SEIU 775 and Tacoma Democratic Socialists of America said, “As our nation's leaders appear to roll back progress on gender and racial rights, it is more important than ever to study the immense contributions and leadership of Black women throughout history, especially in the struggle for workers' rights.”

Haris was not the only union proud person in attendance. IAM, Teamsters, UFCW, and AFSCME rank-and-file were represented as well.

Talison Crosby from Teamster Local 174 and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization stated, “The fight for women’s rights doesn’t end at the U.S. borders. As of this week, Israel has resumed its genocidal war against the people of Palestine. The women of Palestine, immigrant women, Black, trans and native women all face increased oppression under Trump and the system he represents.”

Crosby added, “Join us in uniting Black people, Chicanos and indigenous people with the working class movement in the only strategic alliance capable of overthrowing the system that facilitates the oppression of women.”

Dozens of homemade signs were waved the air as speeches ended and attendees began a picket line outside the courthouse, chanting “One struggle, one fight, Palestine and women’s rights!” Music, chanting and marching filled the plaza.

“This is the fight of the average person. Congress isn’t coming to save us, there is no superhero. It’s the action of the average person with a moral compass that will change this country for the better,” Cascante concluded. “Our ancestors have shown us how to do this, but it’s up to us to make it happen. We are the leaders we have been looking for.”

#TacomaWA #WA #WomensMovement

Santa Ana, CA – On March 18, over 45 people gathered at El Centro Cultural de Mexico and marched half a mile to the Santa Ana Police Department with the family of Noe Rodriguez to protest his unjust killing.

On December 1, 2024, Rodriguez, who was unarmed, was shot over 30 times. The protesters held signs reading “Justice for Noe Rodriguez” and “24/48. Release the names, release the tapes” as they chanted “SAPD you can’t hide! We charge you with homicide!” while they made their way to the front of the police station.

The protest was kicked off by Abraham Quintana from Community Service Organization Orange County (CSO OC), who stated, “ We are here today to raise the demands of families impacted by police violence, as well as raise demands for our 24/48 campaign, to make a change in police policy regarding officer-involved shootings.”

Quintana went on to explain how Santa Ana PD has not released any sort of police report or officer names to the family of Noe Rodriguez; instead, the information they have released are attempts to slander Rodriguez by discussing his old criminal cases out of context.

CSO OC member Rain Mendoza read and translated Erika Armenta’s speech on the impact this killing has had on their daughters, “Since Noe’s life was taken by Santa Ana PD, our daughters are deprived of the joy of growing up next to their father, of living moments with him. They are deprived of the possibility of their father seeing them as accomplished women and seeing their triumphs. My daughters cry for the loss of their father because he will never return, nothing can bring him back, but we can take comfort in the fact that justice can be served in his memory.”

Armenta ended with some of her demands, saying, “We need to demand that these police killings stop and that they really try to de-escalate. Families like mine are left to pick up the pieces and we have to balance the fight for justice with the fight to stay alive. The police need to take responsibility for their actions, and we need to demand transparency.”

CSO OC speaker Manaal Subhani shed light on other crimes committed by the Santa Ana PD, stating, “In 2017 SAPD falsely claimed that 18-year-old Steve Salgado was armed when Detective David Prewett shot and killed him. They tried to justify that killing by saying Salgado was a gang member at a complex where families and children were present, even though it was the police who did the shooting!”

Subhani also spoke on sexual assault crimes and cover-up committed by Santa Ana PD, recounting the Culichi Town incident.

“In August of 2020, a family including two 15-year-old girls went out to dinner at the Culichi Town restaurant. Off duty police officers including Oscar Lizardi, Jonathan Perez, Dorin Buchanan, Jonathan McKee and Mark Campi sat a few tables away. We know from 911 calls that the family made that each time the girls got up to use the bathroom, one of these officers would sexually harass the girls. When the family called police to respond to the incident, investigators covered for their friends on the force. They muted their body cameras when speaking to each other, and when the family tried to show police cell phone footage of the off-duty officers, the investigators stood in ways that did not allow their cameras to pick up the footage,” said Subhani. The crowd present shouted “Shame!” in response to the crimes committed by SAPD.

Gabriel Quiroz Jr. of Centro CSO's Boyle Heights chapter said, “We aren’t asking for radical things. We want transparency when a police officer kills one of our community members. These are basic things!”

The protesters marched back to El Centro Cultural de Mexico chanting along the way, “When SAPD shoots to kill, families pick up the bill!” and “What do we want? Community control of the police! When do we want it? Now!”

The protest was organized by CSO OC and the wife of Noe Rodriguez. Community members, activists, and Noe’s family were in attendance.

CSO OC, along with working with families impacted by police violence, are working towards fighting for justice, raising the demands of impacted family members, and fighting for community control of the police.

#SantaAnaCA #CA #InJusticeSystem #KillerCops

Denver, CO – On March 21, more than 150 people gathered at the Berkeley Community Church on Denver’s north side to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Romero Theater Troupe, a radical community theater group that elevates people’s history through plays, poetry and song.

Jim Walsh, a political science professor at CU Denver and founder of the Romero Theater Troupe described the ensemble, saying, “We’re an all-volunteer, organic, radical theater, and we do everything we do without a budget, without a director, and we use a consensus-based collaborative model that no one else has pulled off except for us – and tonight we’re celebrating 20 years of success in that.”

True to their principle of solidarity, the Romero Troupe used this opportunity to raise money for their fellow player Jeanette Vizguerra. Vizguerra, a community organizer and 13-year member of the Romero Troupe was recently kidnapped by ICE after finishing a shift at work at Target.

Vizguerra’s comrades in the Romero Troupe spoke about their memories of her, her tenacity in the struggle, and the community fight to see her freed from her unlawful detention at the GEO Detention Facility in Aurora.

Regarding Vizguerra’s detention, Walsh said, “She was targeted because she holds ICE accountable, and I think ICE has no idea the mistake they made, because they’ve just provided this country with someone to rally and galvanize around. A federal judge ruled today that ICE cannot deport Jeannette without a hearing. This is a huge victory for Jeannette.”

Walsh continued, “She’s likely to win that hearing and be able to remain here, and the entire immigrant rights movement looks to Jeannette for strength, so we’re going to raise money for her and her family tonight.”

Among the performers is Alexander Landau, a member of 13 years with the Troupe and a leader in police accountability activism in Denver ever since he was brutally beaten by Denver police in 2009.

Speaking on the recent developments in Vizguerra’s fight, Landau said , “I believe that it is a demonstration of what community looks like, and has the influence and power to do, especially in these instances where systemic racism has captured one of our sisters.” He continued, “Had this case fallen on deaf ears – had the community not spoken up – I believe she would be in a very different place right now.”

The evening featured several performances that retold episodes of the history of people’s struggle. Members of the Troupe re-enacted Landau’s brutalization and fight-back for justice. They honored the Auraria Encampment for Palestine with a performance of the Battle for Auraria of April 26th, 2024 -showing how the protesters united to drive off an army of police. Other performances featured individual accounts of immigration rights struggles by those who had survived them, and the story of the Flint sit down strike of 1936.

“This is the essence of what the Romero Troupe is. We are storytellers,” remarked Merrill “Arnie” Carter.

The evening ended in a folk sing-along featuring lively renditions of Saint Patrick’s Battalion, Union Maid, De Colores, and We Shall Not Be Moved, many of the songs sung in a mix of English and Spanish.

#DenverCO #CO #Culture #Theatre

New Orleans, LA – On Saturday, March 22, over 100 New Orleanians gathered at Congo Square downtown for a march to fight against Trump’s attacks on federal workers. The demonstration brought together at least ten different unions across the city in coalition with community organizations, building a broad united front against Trump’s attacks on labor.

“I’ve been a labor activist in this city for a few years and this is the fastest I’ve seen unions endorse anything. People are riled up and ready to fight,” said Abbey Lodwig, one of the march organizers and member of the Association of Flight Attendants union.

Tens of thousands of workers have already been fired because of billionaire Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” taking aim at unionized federal employees. Trump’s attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion and cuts on federal grants have dramatically affected the public sector workers in New Orleans.

“Privatization is an attack on everything we’ve fought for and won. It’s an attack on the people,” said Emma Maxwell, a contract employee with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. The NOAA helps forecast weather and manage fisheries, among other functions important to the Gulf South. Maxwell reported massive layoffs in the NOAA due to cuts in federal funding, forcing operations with far less people and resources.

The crowd took the streets chanting “Get up, get down, New Orleans is a union town!” and “Let’s go workers, don’t give up. Let’s go workers, elbows up!” as they stopped the flow of downtown traffic. Union members marched with signs held high, demanding Trump “Stop the war on America’s workforce.”

Serena Sojic-Borne, a member of Freedom Road Socialist Organization, helped to close out the demonstration with a fiery speech, stating, “The system we live under has no right to exist and it is long past its expiration date!” as the crowd cheered.

#NewOrleansLA #LA #Labor #FederalEmployees

Milwaukee, WI – On Sunday, March 23, over 300 people took it to the streets to demand an end to Trump and the billionaire class’s constant threats of dismantling the United States Postal Service (USPS). The National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) Pioneer Branch 2 hosted the rally with support from the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) Local 3 and the Wisconsin Rural Letter Carriers Association. The event was part of a larger national day of action which saw hundreds of other cities across the country participate.

The attack comes while the NALC and APWU are in contract negotiations with the USPS. For the first time since 1978, the membership of the NALC recently voted down a proposed contract, with 71% voting no.

The Postal Service continues to poorly manage the company and claim it is broke, yet it continues to spend record amounts on wages for abusive managers and in the installation of surveillance technology that further micromanages and represses its employees.

The Postal Reform Act of 2022 repealed the requirement to pre-fund retiree benefits and will go into effect this year, taking a $5.6 billion burden off the books.

At Milwaukee’s rally, Travis Albert, vice president of NALC Branch 2, said, “Hell no to the attacks on the Postal Service! Politicians are attempting to take away our right to paid grievance time. This would impact our only avenue for peaceful negotiations with management. You take that away and what will we be left with? And we here in Milwaukee we are building a mean, mean union!”

NALC Branch 2 Sergeant at Arms William Schroeder called employees to action, stating, “We need to take this energy back to the shop floor every single day – if all of us used this energy at union meetings, in the grievance procedure, and when management harasses us it would stop right now.”

The Postal Service is a trillion dollar company that provides an affordable service to every house in the country, and any attempt to dismantle or privatize it is an attack on all Americans. If there was no public Postal Service, the private sector would run rampant with high costs and less coverage to rural areas. Today however, the various Postal unions made it loud and clear that the U.S. mail is not for sale.

The turnover rate in the postal service is higher than ever before due to the poor working conditions and low wages, but that has not deterred postal workers from all over the country. Instead, these conditions have ignited a new wave of militant action against Postal Service management and anyone else who tries to dismantle the company.

A national reform movement is rapidly growing within the NALC as members across the country have become angry with working conditions and the incompetency of union national President Brian Renfroe. This has resulted in the rise of the Concerned Letter Carriers (CLC) and Build a Fighting NALC (BFN), which both demand an end to concessionary leadership. Thousands of members have participated in national organizing calls to replace the weak NALC leadership and in demanding a strong contract.

#MilwaukeeWI #WI #Labor #NALC #APWU #CLC #FBN

St. Paul, MN – More than 500 postal workers and community members rallied at the State Capitol Building, March 23, to push back against Trump’s possible privatization of the postal service. The protest was organized by the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) Branch 9. Demonstrations have been taking place across the U.S. in response to the Trump administrations attacks on federal workers.

#StPaulMN #MN #Labor #NALC

St Paul, MN – Dozens of residents rallied March 22 alongside the Climate Justice Committee (CJC) in front of Northern Iron, a metal foundry located in the heart of the highly diverse, working-class East Side neighborhood in Saint Paul. The foundry has earned the ire of residents for its failure to contain toxic pollutants from its operations, as well as its refusal to comply with state government efforts to hold them accountable.

Smokestacks located just across the street from residences emit toxic pollutants such as lead and other heavy metals, as well as hazardous fine particulate matter. The foundry, owned and operated by Lawton Standard, continues to subject the residents to toxic pollutants in defiance of standards set by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). Particulates from the foundry can be seen collecting on cars and houses, and on windows and windowsills. It collects in the lungs of residents and their pets, which can cause long term health effects. It also collects on the surface of the ground, seeping in with the rainfall, rendering soil toxic.

One neighbor reported, “My children are experiencing health problems, including very low hemoglobin, anemia, behavior problems, trouble concentrating, [and] sleep disturbances.” Another neighbor, a young child, expressed frustration that he could not eat the fruit that grows in his yard: “I live four blocks from Northern Iron, and I have an apple and a raspberry tree and I can’t eat them because of Northern Iron. And I have a few questions: why is Northern Iron polluting our neighborhood with toxic metals like lead?”

There was consensus among the people assembled there that families had a right to a safe environment in which to raise their children, and that Northern Iron was violating that right.

In an apparent effort to feign compliance, Northern Iron hastily wrapped its smokestacks in common tarp. Neighbor of the foundry Brittney Bruce remarked: “For them to say that their emission capture is working is literally a joke – we can all see these stacks are not wrapped properly.”

The MPCA recently issued a warning to the foundry, threatening to possibly revoke Northern Iron’s operating permits if they do not provide overdue paperwork by March 27. It is widely expected, however, that the foundry will do nothing to abate its toxic emissions, continuing a pattern of negligence. Furthermore, residents worry that the MPCA will fail to live up to its ultimatum, as the regulators did not fully commit to action.

Considering the foundry’s history of ignoring deadlines set by the MPCA, and the agency’s history of ignoring pollution from the foundry, East Side residents and the Climate Justice Committee are preparing to continue the fight beyond next week’s deadline.

Local resident Mel Lorentz was clear, “I've talked to so many people who live within a few blocks behind this foundry and everybody says they've gotta clean it up or get out and we're not going away until they do that.”

Organizers with the CJC vowed to continue to spread awareness of the mounting campaign and pursue it to a victorious conclusion as was done against the Smith Foundry in the neighboring city of Minneapolis.

#StPaulMN #MN #Environment #CJC

Jacksonville, FL – On Saturday, March 22, over 200 community members gathered to protest the genocide carried out by Israel after it violated the ceasefire on March 18. Community members protested in the town center, on one of Jacksonville’s busiest streets, to demand an end to U.S. aid to Israel and call for the Jacksonville Port Authority to end its contracts with two shipping companies, Maersk and ZIM.

The shipping giant Maersk is among the wealthiest in the world. While they recently denied shipping arms to Israel, records show they have shipped millions of dollars’ worth of military cargo since the attack on Gaza began in 2023. ZIM is Israel’s largest and oldest shipping company, a direct supporter and facilitator of the occupation and genocide in Palestine.

The Jacksonville Port Authority has refused to answer organizers’ calls to end their complicity in the genocide since the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network (JPSN) took up their Genocide Out of Jaxport campaign last October. A leading Palestinian JPSN organizer said, “After the people of Gaza were finally able to poke their head above water for a fragile gasp of air, they are again drowning in the blood that is Zionism. At the same time, we are witnessing a new level of destruction and settler violence in the West Bank. We must not slow down our fight, we must continue to reach people from different areas of Jacksonville and bridge the connection of our suffering!”

On April 5, JPSN plans to take their action directly to Jacksonville’s Dames Point Terminal, where Maersk and ZIM operate, as part of the national week of action for Palestinian Land Day called by the Anti War Action Network (AWAN). Speaking to the crowd, Ryan Delaney of AWAN’s steering committee said, “If you take one thing home with your today, let it be this: if that port in your own backyard stops shipping with Maersk and ZIM, that disrupts the killing of Palestinians from being killed. If we can stop them, we can save lives, and we can stop them, because when we fight, we win!”

The action was called by Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network, and answered by a broad coalition of organizations, including American Muslims for Palestine, Jacksonville Community Action Committee, Students for a Democratic Society, Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance, and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #JaxPSN

St. Petersburg, FL – On March 23, 300 postal workers and community members came out with the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) union to stand against the privatization of the post office. With recent talk of President Trump transferring USPS to the department of commerce and privatizing it, union members are ready to stand up for the future of the public service.

Attendees held signs and stood at all corners of a busy intersection to bring awareness to the current uncertainty. The privatization of the post office could mean an estimated cut of 10,000 jobs, an increase in shipping costs, and an end to rural service.

All eyes are on Trump as he has continued to gut public services, including the Department of Education, national parks and library services. This action was one of hundreds around the country and the American Postal Workers Union and NALC will both continue to be holding actions to defend the postal service.

#StPetersburgFL #FL #Labor #Postal #NALC #APWU