Decorah, IA – Immigrant rights organizer Mira Altobell-Resendez told participants in a packed January 22 event in Decorah that federal immigration enforcement has escalated into a campaign of terror against immigrant communities, urging residents to organize locally and resist what they called an ongoing federal occupation of U.S. cities.

Speaking at an event hosted by Decorah Community for Immigrant Rights (DCIR), Altobell-Resendez outlined years of community organizing in the Twin Cities and described recent immigration enforcement actions as violent, racially targeted and increasingly lethal. They framed the moment as a turning point, saying communities can no longer rely on elected officials for protection and must instead build collective power through protest, mutual aid, and direct action.

Altobell-Resendez, a member of Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) and Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), said immigration agents have used force against students, families, and the elderly, including detaining children outside schools and deploying tear gas in residential neighborhoods.

They recounted multiple incidents in Minneapolis in recent weeks, including the killing of Renee Good, who had been alerting neighbors to immigration enforcement activity, and the hospitalization of a child after a tear gas canister landed beneath a family’s vehicle during a demonstration. Altobell-Resendez said at least one person detained in Minnesota had died in federal custody after being transferred out of state before receiving an initial court hearing.

“These are not isolated incidents,” Altobell-Resendez explained, “this is what it looks like when the federal government unleashes violence on Black, brown, and Indigenous communities with impunity”.

They said immigration agents have detained U.S. citizens, indigenous people and documented immigrants alike, arguing that enforcement practices amount to racial profiling rather than lawful investigation. Altobell-Resendez also described federal pressure on tribal governments, saying authorities have sought to coerce tribes into violating treaty rights in exchange for the release of detained tribal members.

While detailing violence and repression, Altobell-Resendez emphasized what they called an equally powerful story of resistance. They pointed to mass mobilizations in Minneapolis, including a vigil attended by roughly 10,000 people after the death of Good and a march that drew an estimated 100,000 participants days later.

They credited decades of immigrant-led organizing for those turnouts, describing how Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee, founded in 2006, has won concrete policy changes through sustained pressure rather than electoral appeals. Those victories include a separation ordinance limiting cooperation between local police and federal immigration agents, the creation of a city Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs, and the expansion of driver’s licenses regardless of immigration status.

Altobell-Resendez rejected the idea that restraint or silence could protect communities, criticizing local and national leaders who condemned immigration enforcement only after U.S. citizens were affected. Altobell-Resendez argued that such responses reveal political self-interest, “They didn’t care when it was immigrants being targeted.”

Altobell-Resendez also described increased political repression against organizers, including FBI inquiries and arrests of activists in other states. They said such actions are meant to intimidate movements but have instead strengthened solidarity across cities through national networks such as Legalization for All .

Throughout the event, attendees asked how smaller communities like Decorah could prepare for similar enforcement actions. Altobell-Resendez urged local groups to study their own histories of resistance, build rapid-response networks, demand institutional plans from schools and workplaces, and prioritize trust over charity when supporting immigrant families.

The event concluded with organizers encouraging attendees to support a local campaign calling for a separation ordinance in Decorah and to participate in upcoming trainings and actions aimed at monitoring immigration enforcement and protecting neighbors.

Altobell-Resendez said the goal is not only to stop enforcement actions but to challenge the narrative that paints immigrants as criminals rather than as workers and community members. “This country runs on immigrant labor,” they said. “The truth is already here. We just have to be loud enough to make it impossible to ignore.”

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