Fight Back! News

News and Views from the People's Struggle

Immigrant Rights

By Ash P and Gio Araujo

Chicago, IL – On October 14, over 50 Chicagoans gathered at Casa Michoacan in the Pilsen neighborhood for a town hall meeting on the ongoing campaign to end collaborations between the Chicago Police Department and federal agents. This town hall, organized by the Immigrant Rights Working Committee of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (IRWC of CAARPR), served as both a celebration of the progress that has been made on the campaign and as an open discussion of how to move forward.

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By Omar Gil

Portland, OR – On the evening of October 19, 150 people attended an immigrant rights-centered town hall meeting with Portland City Council candidates. Candidates running for city council in Districts 3 and 4 were invited to participate and present their position on questions of immigration, the police, sanctuary policy, and the Macadam ICE facility in South Portland.

The candidates in attendance included incumbents Mitch Green, Tiffany Koyama Lane, Angelita Morillo, and new candidates such as Dr. Esther Leon, Tom Sollitt, Jamey Evanstar, Eli Arnold and Jeremy Beausoleil Smith.

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By Leilani Gonzalez

A group of people holding a banner.

Los Angeles, CA – On October 2 – 4, Over 100 progressives, activists and community members attended the Left Coast Forum at California State University, Los Angeles.

The Left Coast forum was a weekend of panels and workshops led by grassroot organizations, authors, and members of teacher unions. The Legalization 4 All Network (L4A) had a panel on the final day of the forum.

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By Mia Ayer

Washington DC protest against repression directed at Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar and local activists.

Washington, D.C. – On Saturday, October 17, a broad coalition of groups from D.C. and Maryland rallied in front of the U.S. Department of Justice headquarters demanding an end to the racist and political repression by the Trump administration. The action came in the wake of a violent pre-dawn raid on Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s home earlier that week by the Department of Homeland Security, and the targeted surveillance and intimidation of local activists by FBI and Border Patrol agents.

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By Edgar Alvarez and Matthew Caras

Tacoma, WA – For over seven months, Felix Vladimir Ponce Alvarez has been detained at the Northwest Detention Center (NWDC). Felix has lived in Seattle since 2002, where he started his business and raised his family. Pierce County Immigration Alliance (PCIA) is demanding his immediate release from the Northwest Detention Center and calling for an end to the horrific conditions that he is facing during his detention.

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By Edmund Han

Albert Lea, MN – Fourteen months. That is how long Eliud Jahdiel de la Luz Baéz, a 23-year-old Minnesotan, has been unjustly detained by ICE. On October 18, dozens of protesters organized a noise demonstration outside of the Freeborn County Detention Center to lift the spirits of the detained immigrants and demand the release of Eliud and the tens of thousands of other immigrant detainees from across the United States.

Organizers from the Minnesota Immigrants Movement (MIM) and the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) condemned the targeted violence from ICE and the Trump administration against immigrants and community members. During the demonstration, Eliud’s mother shared her nightmarish experiences over the last 14 months, stating, “All I want is Eliud’s freedom.”

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By Haze Leviathan and Talison Crosby

Tacoma, WA – On Wednesday, October 14, around 40 people gathered outside the Northwest Detention Center (NWDC) in support of immigrants in detention. Community members rallied for Kuya Desmon, whose final hearing was scheduled for later in the day. “Kuya” is a title of affectionate esteem used in the Philippines. Members of SEIU 6 also came out strong in support of two janitors who were detained on October 3.

“Immigrants rights are workers rights,” said Ceci Hooks, executive board member and security officer of SEIU 6. “When immigrants, workers and janitors and security officers and airport workers are under attack, we all suffer.”

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By Joseph Nohava

People speaking at a press conference holding signs.

Tampa, FL – On the evening of Monday, October 12, activists from Tampa Immigrants Rights Committee (TampaIRC) held a press conference with the family of Adelaido Chavez Mariano, a Tampa Bay husband, father and Mexican immigrant, to demand transparency and justice following his brutalization and abduction.

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By Sage Joyce

Portland, OR – On Tuesday, October 13, organizers with Portland Contra Las Deportaciones (PDXCD) rallied to oppose the recent surge of ICE detentions in the Portland area and demand justice for Oscar Bergal, shot by ICE in New York just days prior.

Bergal is one of 39 or more people shot by immigration agents during the second Trump administration, including Portlanders Luis David Nino-Moncado and Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras, who Customs and Border Patrol targeted and shot in January of 2026.

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By Ramon Tyson

Washington State Representative Gluesenkamp Perez event disrupted by pro Palestine activists.

Portland, OR – On October 5, pro-Palestine activists disrupted a debate involving Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, the incumbent for Washington’s 3rd Congressional District. They confronted her over her lack of action on behalf of her constituent, Tareq Zakarneh. Zakarneh is a Palestinian man from the West Bank, currently held in ICE detention – he faces deportation to Israel’s ongoing genocide.

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By Freedom Road Socialist Organization

Fight Back! News Service is circulating the following statement by the Twin Cities district of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization

Today, Homeland Security Investigations raided the Washington, DC home of Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. The Trump administration claims this raid was to investigate “immigration fraud,” but it’s clear as day that this is nothing more than a racist, political attack by Trump against one of his most vocal critics in Congress. Rep. Omar has taken a stand against Trump’s mass deportation machine and his racist anti-immigrant agenda, and the White House wants to punish her for that. Last week, Trump also posted a racist tirade on his social media accounts, calling on Minnesotans to “fight back” against the state being “taken over by Somali immigrants,” and threatening to send in federal forces.

Let’s be clear: the people of Minnesota, who rose up by the hundreds of thousands this winter against ICE terror and the murders of innocent people, know who our real enemies are and how to fight back. The lines have been drawn, and we’re not going to let Trump spin lies to target the Somali community. It’s time to mobilize, hit the streets, and unite all who can be united to resist the Trump administration’s campaigns of anti-immigrant terror and political repression.

Hands off Ilhan Omar! Stand with Somali immigrants!

#MinneapolisMN #MN #IlhanOmar #UnitedStates #PoliticalRepression #ImmigrantRights #OppressedNationalities #Somali

By Bailey Heaton

Denver, CO – In the afternoon on October 6, more than 30 people, led by Denver Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and the protest band Notes of Dissent, rallied and picketed outside the Tivoli Student Union building on Auraria Campus.

After over a year of campaigning for a sanctuary campus and a ban on ICE on campus, the Auraria Board of Directors still refuses to listen to the student body’s concerns about immigrant student safety if ICE were to come onto Auraria campus. While the Student Advisory Committee to the Auraria Board initially collaborated with Denver SDS on drafting a popular policy, Policy 7.7, to ban ICE from Auraria, they backpedaled and decided to no longer support the modified Policy 7.7, which would have banned ICE from being anywhere on campus.

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By staff

Tallahassee, FL – On Thursday, September 17, FAMU Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a rally and vigil honoring the life of Pierre Damas Bel, a 20-year-old Haitian immigrant in Ohio who took his own life after being forced by ICE to wear an ankle monitor. Nearly 50 students gathered in front of Lee Hall to demand an end to the terror from ICE that Haitian immigrants are facing and to demand that Florida A&M University’s administration revoke the 287(g) agreement that puts students' lives at risk.

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By Sophie Breen

Minneapolis, MN – On October 5, over 100 immigrant rights activists lined Lake Street in Minneapolis with signs demanding “ICE out!” and “Sanctuary state now!” Protesters chanted in support of immigrant rights as they lined a predominantly immigrant-owned business corridor of the city.

The Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) and Asamblea de los Derechos Civiles called the rally in response to the Department of Homeland Security’s message on X stating that “ICE has initiated a nationwide public safety surge in sanctuary cities where our brave officers will be targeting criminal illegal aliens.”

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By staff

Protesters marching in the street.

Minneapolis, MN – On the afternoon of Saturday, October 3, hundreds of community members rallied in downtown Minneapolis to demand justice for all victims of ICE violence and to drop the charges against anti-ICE protesters.

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By Rie Guerrero

Tacoma, WA – More than 250 community members attended a seven-hour protest on Sunday, October 4, on the east side of Tacoma, where heightened ICE presence has terrorized the immigrant community. Organizations including the Puyallup Tribe, the Brown Berets, and Pierce County Immigration Alliance came to support members of the community who had called for a vocal presence rejecting immigration terror and defending the neighborhood from surging ICE patrols.

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By staff

Centennial protesters win battle to get state charges dropped.

Aurora, CO – On Thursday, September 24, Terry Burnsed, Arnie Carter, Yoselin Corrales, and El Moss were notified that the Arapahoe County District Attorney’s Office would be filing a motion to dismiss all charges against them stemming from a protest at the Denver Field Office in Centennial, Colorado on July 20.

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By staff

Flagstaff, AZ – After their September 4 “ICE out!” protest, members of the Flagstaff chapter of Students for a Democratic Society received identical Code of Conduct charges from Northern Arizona University. The charges meant the students were facing potential suspension or expulsion.

After holding a march, a sit-in, multiple call-ins, posting statements on social media, and sending a cease and desist notice from a lawyer, suspension or expulsion was avoided for all three students, and SDS Flagstaff declared victory over the university on September 28.

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By Cass Cano

Portland, OR – On the evening of Friday, September 25, immigrant rights activists gathered outside Gateway Discovery Park to demand killer ICE off our streets and justice for victims of ICE. This rally was in response to Legalization for All's national call to action for the recent ICE shooting of Wilber Garces Perez in Austin, Texas.

Portland Contra las Deportaciones (PDXCD) organized the rally, and members of the immigrant rights organization held signs honoring lives lost by ICE. Local community members joined the mobilization and shared their anger with ICE terror. The demands “Killer ICE off our streets” and “Justice for Wilber” were echoed by those present.

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By staff

Bozeman, MT – On October 30, members of Students for a Democratic Society at Montana State University surrounded the booth of Barnard Construction at MSU’s fall career fair. Students held signs decrying Barnard, a Bozeman-based construction company, for receiving a multi-billion-dollar contract to build the Trump administration's border wall in the Big Bend national park.

One sign read, “Barnard’s border wall construction has high costs to the environment and immigrants, and diminishing returns,” while another read, “Border wall construction has already had destructive impacts on the Big Bend national park.”

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