CD7 Outreach & Inclusion officers report for January 16, 2026

I had written a report for December and January which Trump’s invasion of Minnesota with 3000 armed and useless federal troops rendered irrelevant. That report included the O&I Plan which mostly advocated for our improving our welcoming environment, which we now need more than ever. On to discussing Trump’s federal invasion-

Background- ICE is a hastily created agency in response to the 911 attacks. ICE has a sad history of incompetence and abuses, yet Trump and the the GOP rewarded ICE with a massive increase in funding and authority in the Big Bad Bill. With that largesse Trump and his fascists have been able to “Hoover up” thousands of misfits, supply them with guns and ammo, put them on the federal payroll, and turn ‘em loose. 

The current situation- As Trump’s promised retribution, ICE has largely invaded democratic areas convenient to improvised federal and contracted county jails. They have attacked smaller and especially immigrant owned businesses as well as schools and child care facilities. ignoring the huge corporate packing plants and mega dairies. As ICE’s murder of Renee Good in Minneapolis shows, they have extended their targets far beyond immigrants to include gays, people of color, and retaliation against anyone with the moral integrity to oppose them. For example, ICE was seen stalking in a tribal housing project on the White Earth Reservation where housing is available only to tribal members who are all citizens by birth. As counter demonstrations against ICEs kidnappings in public spaces has grown they are increasingly forced to much less efficiently go “door to door” and those doors should be locked.

Strategy- Our numbers are few out here so we are unlikely to assemble crowds of protestors and witnesses to deter ICE, as they have successfully done in the cities. We also have many backward mayors and police who will even assist ICE. Our strengths are our scattered locations that make forays here by ICE unproductive and provide plentiful opportunities to “hunker down” and disappear as we did during COVID. 

These realities tell us that direct confrontations with ICE would be futile- They outnumber us, have guns, and don’t know how to use them. To win, first we must survive- By being evasive, inaudible, and downright invisible to ICE. Especially if you’re an ICE target, stay home and go online behind VPNs and don’t be afraid to turn off your online devices. And while ICE can’t find us, monitor and document their atrocities from a safe distance- on http://www.sassy.democrat I just posted an article showing how to read license plates from a hundred yards with consumer grade cameras and software. Keep your vulnerable neighbors informed and supplied so they can stay safe at home. 

ICE is struggling to capture 1000 immigrants a day, every day 10,000 new Americans are born and about half are people of color or hispanic- They have lost this battle before it even started. Our forbears defeated fascism, we won during a pandemic, and we damn well will win in 2026 and take our country back again!

For decades the progressive playbook called for huge demonstrations to advocate for our cause, and if we’re trying to persuade sensible open minded people, sometimes that works. Even with terminally fascist idiots like ICE thugs, when you outnumber them by 10 to 1 or better they’ll probably back down. But carelessly getting up close and personal with ICE will give them way more than your “name, rank, and serial number”, as MPR News reports: https://www.mprnews.org/story/2026/01/13/ice-using-private-data-to-intimidate-observers-and-activists-advocates-say

That’s why an ICE thug in Minneapolis kept his cell phone going while he murdered a Minneapolis mother in cold blood- In real time ICE is scanning faces and license plates, searching databases, and building even bigger databases of anyone opposing their reign of terror. The scanning includes the radio spectrum too- ICE is logging phones around them and maybe conversations and data too. Meanwhile, federal contractors like tech firm Palantir are building giant databases about us to enable future repression. So if you’re documenting or protesting ICE within camera or microwave frequency range, don’t make their disgusting “work” an easier- park the car a ways away, dark hoodies are the uniform, face masks ready because ICE is a breeding ground for disease, and cell phones off and maybe in a Faraday cage too!

Was great seeing the crowd that organically gathered and chased ICE out of Lake & Lyndale in Minneapolis yesterday. but out here on the prairies we’re unlikely to have such numbers to overwhelm ICE and we can’t spare the few progressive activists we have should ICE capture them- so stealth is our best strategy. Even in progressive rich Minneapolis activists have been delivering food to ICE’s targets and offering school online so these vulnerable folks can stay home and safe from ICE. Stealth should be our first barrier against ICE, and protest a backup in case ICE breaches our stealth. Turn off the cell phone, get online through a VPN, stay home, or travel at night ’cause lazy ICE thugs like to sleep, etc…. If they don’t see us, they can’t even find us!