St. Paul, MN – On Saturday, April 19, chants from the Minnesota State Capitol grounds were heard throughout downtown Saint Paul as 10,000-plus protesters marched through the streets to meet a crowd of 5000 on the capitol lawn for a People’s Earth Day.

Chicago, IL – The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) announced on Monday, April 14, that its members have approved of a new contract by an overwhelming 97% majority. This four-year contract with Chicago Public Schools is the first in 15 years that the CTU has achieved without a strike or a strike vote.

Tallahassee, FL – On Thursday, April 16, about 75 community members rallied at the Leon County Jail to demand the immediate release of Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez, a U.S. citizen illegally detained by ICE. The emergency mobilization was called by the Tallahassee Immigrant Rights Alliance (TIRA).

Lopez-Gomez, who lives in Georgia and works in Tallahassee, was detained by Florida Highway Patrol during a traffic stop after crossing state lines Wednesday morning. Despite presenting his U.S. birth certificate to the court, ICE formally requested that Lopez-Gomez be held in jail for pickup and processing, superseding Leon County Judge LaShawn Riggans’s assessment that the birth certificate was in fact legitimate.

Jacksonville, FL – 250-plus people gathered on the steps of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) Memorial Building on Sunday, April 13, demanding justice for Charles Faggart and all other victims of police brutality.

Charles Faggart was a 31-year-old Jacksonville resident. He owned and operated the Chop it Up Charlie’s food truck. Faggart died from “catastrophic injuries” while in the Duval County Jail.

Los Angeles, CA — More than 150 activists, both veterans and even more new organizers from all over the U.S. gathered the weekend of April 12-13, in a successful summit to fight deportations. The Emergency Southwest Summit Against Deportations was called to try to bring together a broad range of forces to fight the anti-immigrant policies of the Trump administration. Most of those who came were from the southwest United States, historically the home of most Chicanos and Mexicanos and a growing number of Central Americans.

In the first two weeks of his Presidency, Trump has unleashed a highly publicized campaign to deport Chicanos, Mexicanos, Central Americans and others. While he claims to be targeting criminals, the most recent raid in Denver, CO, had officials stopping everyone in the neighborhood and asking for documents. In addition, Trump has also cancelled Temporary Protected Status or TPS for more than 300,000 Venezuelans and tried to restrict birthright citizenship granted in the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Trump has even started shipping detainees to the Guantanamo military base in Cuba, isolating them from family, friends, or any legal support.