On June 16, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced federal charges against 15 people, claiming they were part of a “conspiracy to interfere with lawful immigration enforcement operations.” This charge could apply to tens of thousands nationwide who have righteously organized against ICE’s inhumane and unjust practices. Those targeted include Minneapolis teachers and union members active in workers’ assemblies. The charges are part of an attack on the movement aimed at repressing and criminalizing activists based on bogus charges. Since May, the DOJ has brought federal charges against immigrant rights activists in Illinois, pro-Palestine activists in Michigan, and now pro-immigrant rights activists in Minneapolis.
The Trump administration’s attack is a response to a series of important setbacks it has faced. Fierce resistance to its anti-immigrant agenda in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Minneapolis forced Trump to scale back his authoritarian plan to occupy several cities with federal troops. These challenges are compounded by the widely unpopular war on Iran, which has caused a rupture even within the Republican Party and its base, and has revealed the growing weakness and fragility of U.S. imperialism’s hegemonic role.
The Trump administration’s weakness and unpopularity create an opportunity for the movement to organize against these bogus federal charges. Last year, pro-Palestine activists and their supporters successfully organized to force Michigan attorney general Dana Nessel to drop her case against them. The case of the Broadview Six, who were arrested for protesting an ICE processing facility in Broadview, Illinois, has also unraveled under the scrutiny of a federal grand jury. Instead of allowing the Trump administration to set a precedent that could be used against the movement, the movement needs to use its collective power to set a precedent for how we defend ourselves and beat back Trump’s attempt to stifle our democratic right to protest.
We need to make the fight against repression a central part of our organizing and show active solidarity with those facing charges. In Minneapolis, the movement is already organizing a protest to speak out against the charges, and supporters of the pro-Palestine activists in Michigan have been showing up to court to show solidarity with them. We need to continue and expand these expressions of solidarity across the country. We also need to call on unions nationwide to oppose these charges. Unions, along with any assemblies formed across the country, should coordinate a solidarity campaign to defeat these bogus charges and fight against any future efforts to repress and criminalize the movement.
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