Roots of the Surge, What is Working, and Hopeful Politics
With the surge of federal agents into the Twin Cities metro continuing, we take a step back and assess several dynamics. Alex Pretti's killers were established officers at the southern border, pointing to one of the roots of this crisis. We discuss what strategies and tactics seem to be working - either better or worse - and some of the genesis of those from advocacy non-profits to grassroots leaders. Horizontal initiative and relationship building between regular folks is a significant feature of this moment. Finally, we speculate on hopeful politics that seem to be emerging and what work may be required to sustain that.
This podcast draws several times from an episode of the Dig podcast, which is a fascinating and highly-recommended interview with three MN leaders: Emilia González Avalos (UNIDOS), Greg Nammacher (SEIU 26) and JaNaé Bates Imari (Faith in MN). Give it a listen!
Recorded 2/4/26.
Alert
MN is under threat from federal agents right now. Mill City Hall asks you to plug in and take action:
- Defend 612 is a new entry-point to local neighborhood organizing
- Monarca continues to provide trainings for regular folks who want to help, and offers a hotline to report ICE activity: 612-441-2881
- Donate to rent support and mutual aid funds
Don't forget to check out:
- Our Instagram account for clips that are easy to browse and share
- Cam's writings in the 2nd Ward Blog
Audio sources
We included clips from:
- February 4 Tom Homan press conference: Homan is the White House "Border Czar". He was "appointed by President Barack Obama as Immigration and Customs Enforcement's executive associate director of enforcement and removal operations in 2013" (Wikipedia). He was and is an advocate of family separation.
- The Dig Podcast: as mentioned above. This is a project by Dan Denvir, under the umbrella of Jacobin magazine.
Border history
- Two of Alex Pretti's killers were longtime border officers: "The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez."
- No More Deaths: based on southern Arizona, this coalition has worked since 2004 to prevent migrant deaths while crossing the desert. You can read the principles they set out 20 years ago against militarized borders, family separation, worker abuse, and the refusal to understand root causes for migration.
- Pretti shooting thrusts Border Patrol's history of aggressive tactics into view - overview in New York Times.
- 2023: Border Patrol holding migrants in open-air cages under deadly conditions