The United States has entered a new political moment, forged by the heroic resistance of the people of Minneapolis, which sparked nationwide solidarity. The struggle—covered by media outlets around the world—remains unresolved. On the one hand, Trump has been forced into partial retreats, fearing a collapse in funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). He removed the former head of ICE operations in Minneapolis, Gregory Bovino, and withdrew roughly one-third of the agents deployed in the city. On the other hand, the intervention continues. Thousands of people have been unjustly arrested, dozens of activists have been injured, and there has been no sign of justice for the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. As a result, mobilizations have not subsided. They continue to express a powerful willingness to fight the criminalization of immigrants, racism, and neo-fascism.

Timeline of the New Political Moment

This new political moment—national in scope—can be understood through three key moments: the demonstrations on January 23, January 30, and the initiatives that took place over the following weekend (January 31 and February 1).

            On January 23, in response to the killing of Renee Good, approximately 75,000 people took to the streets of Minneapolis. Schools and museums were closed, as were roughly 1,000 small businesses. Called the “Day of Truth and Freedom,” that Friday took on the character of a municipal general strike. Even though most productive sectors did not formally shut down, the city came to a halt. It thus became the first experience of its kind in the United States since 1946, the year of the country’s last general strike, in Oakland, California. The call, initially organized by community groups resisting ICE, gained the support of city unions, pushed from below by their rank and file. The resistance in Minneapolis, in turn, inspired demonstrations across the country.

On January 30, following the killing of Alex Pretti, a new round of protests and work stoppages took place. On the one hand, the idea of a nationwide “general strike” did not move beyond agitation. On the other hand, public outrage grew across the country, flooding social media and once again filling the streets with protests. Individually, thousands of workers did not report to work or took a sick day. In a symbolic example, production of the television series Grey’s Anatomy was halted due to staff participation in the stoppage.

Over the following weekend, January 31 and February 1, a wide range of small and medium-sized actions took place nationwide, led by diverse social sectors. At the same time, in-person and online meetings for community self-organization multiplied, aimed at responding to ICE operations. Even cities not currently under overt intervention began, as a preventive measure, to prepare at a high level for worst-case scenarios.

In New York City, 1,000 activists took part in a training organized by the group Hands Off New York City. Assemblies were held in states such as California, Wisconsin, and Maine. In New Jersey, 1,000 activists attended a meeting called by City Councilmember Jake Ephros (a DSA member) after ICE carried out three arrests in Jersey City.

In these spaces, large social contingents—numbering in the tens or even hundreds of thousands—are being trained for action: what to do when ICE appears in one’s neighborhood, how to use whistles, how to support neighbors, how to record videos and photos, how to protest, and what one’s rights are. Whether driven by political conviction or sheer necessity, community ties are strengthening, along with networks of associations, groups, unions, and churches engaged in the fight against immigration repression.

The new political moment therefore presents three qualitative differences from previous waves of mobilization: 1) It contains a powerful drive toward community self-organization that goes beyond street protests; 2) This self-organization prepares for direct action and physical confrontation, while prioritizing peaceful resistance as the correct tactic to expose where authoritarianism truly lies; 3) It gives rise to broader strategies—or at least to the determination to develop them—such as the general strike.

This represents a major boost—a reason for an “optimism of the will”—for those who defend political and social struggle as the path to defeating Trump.

What Is the Role of Socialists?

Socialists have a duty to be fully embedded in this struggle. This is already happening, as the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) are involved in multiple campaigns and initiatives against ICE.

Socialists must express optimism and confidence in the next steps to be taken by the mass movement. At the same time, they must seek to point out paths that prevent the dissipation of energy after moments of upsurge—a common tendency in the United States and elsewhere. It falls to the most conscious organized sectors to connect “on-the-ground” actions with broader political initiatives, oriented toward the larger goals of pressuring the Trumpist project and expanding the fight to abolish ICE. Fundamentally, it is necessary to continue affirming that only mass mobilization can bring about real change and defeat Trump. Expanding popular self-organization is strategic in order to navigate periods of advance and retreat in both movement activity and government action.

Three central tasks for socialists at this moment can be summarized as follows:

1. Recognize the centrality of broad unity in action against ICE. This means integrating into and respecting the networks of popular self-organizations that are being created or already exist; respecting and building relationships with other organizations involved; directly helping to create such networks where needed; and learning from this rich process by sharing experiences alongside mobilized social sectors.

2. Be on the front lines of action. Beyond street demonstrations, which remain crucial, the current struggle has been marked by exemplary actions. These include street confrontations and targeted protest actions, such as those aimed at companies and services connected to ICE in cities. “Mass mobilizations” and “exemplary actions” are dialectically linked, and socialists must seek to act in both arenas, always respecting the role of other sectors involved.

3. Strengthen organization and broad political action. The perspective that a general strike is necessary to defeat Trump and ICE is correct, but it is unlikely to be achieved through agitation alone. At the same time, this does not mean defending a rigid, linear conception of political strategy. It is necessary, simultaneously, to root mobilization within working-class sectors and to remain attentive to political developments that may trigger a higher level of action. To regulate the pace of this struggle, political consciousness must be raised, and here the leadership of socialist organizations is indispensable.

Over the past ten years, the DSA has undergone numerous tests and accumulated significant experience. Through successes and mistakes alike, the organization has grown in both size and influence. While it is not the only force on the socialist and revolutionary left, it is certainly the broadest and the most capable of triggering mass processes. It is also an organization able to act both inside and outside the electoral arena with an independent political line—an essential capacity given the potential centrality of the midterm elections. The same applies to the labor movement arena, currently energized by nursing strikes in New York and educator strikes in California.

Often, when faced with massive struggles, DSA activists look around and still feel insufficient. Yet, in perspective, this same activism is now in a far better position to intervene than in the past. These opportunities must be seized decisively.

Finally, it is necessary to reaffirm the importance of internationalism, even for the most local struggles. It is increasingly clear that the Trumpist project intertwines imperialism with internal repression. ICE has international ties and is funded by transnational corporations. The racism it unleashes is an insult to the peoples of the world.

From this perspective, the presence of U.S. activists—both from within and beyond the DSA—at the First International Antifascist Conference (Porto Alegre, Brazil, March 2026) will be strategic, offering an opportunity for coordination and shared learning among thousands of antifascist activists worldwide.

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