Americans see how Trump’s rogue, militarized police force is completely upending the lives of all Minneapolitans. And. They. Want. It. To Stop. Immediately. There. And. Everywhere.

Congressional Democrats, at least, have heard their pleas. They’re refusing to fund DHS until Trump’s militarized occupation of “blue” American cities stops, deplorable conditions at his concentration camps are improved, and ICE and CBP are meaningfully reformed.

We must continue reminding our MoCs that Americans expect them to protect all our communities  from the horrors of Trump’s occupation army and demand that any DHS funding bill contain, at a minimum: all the above reforms with economic penalties for noncompliance,  a promise to immediately remove all immigration enforcement agents from American cities, and permanent cuts to ICE and CBP funding. Simon Rosenberg also suggests Democrats force a debate about agents narrowing their targets to focus only on dangerous criminals—if they did so, they wouldn’t need all that extra money or additional detention capacity.

On Saturday, Oregon families attending a “Labor’s Against ICE” protest got a taste of ICE’s gratuitous violence daily wracking cities and towns in Minnesota. While peacefully marching past the ICE building in South Waterfront, they were hit with tear-gas and pepper balls in the late afternoon and evening. 

Senate Dems vowed to rein in ICE. While, on Friday, they all voted to rescind the $75 billion contained in the reconciliation bill, later all but 23—including Merkley and Wyden—gave up their leverage by agreeing to basically fund the government until September, with the exception of DHS, which got a 2-week CR to allow for negotiations on reining in enforcement agents. Let’s thank our Senators for their good work, while reminding all MoCs that without really meaningful reforms—well beyond Schumer’s minimal proposal—these unconstrained assaults will get even worse.

When children are being kidnapped off the streets, U.S. citizens deported, and protesters murdered with impunity, it’s legislative malpractice and moral failure for congressional defenders of democracy not to use the funding deadline’s leverage to stop the lawlessness and terror Trump’s secret police have unleashed on our communities.

 Thank you for taking this first step. Now you must hold out for meaningful reforms. No money for ICE or CBP without enforceable protections against all ICE/CBP illegal behavior, mistreatment and murder of citizens and immigrants, and the deplorable conditions of detention facilities(see list in background section) and the immediate removal of all those promoting these atrocities—Stephen Miller, Kristi Noem, Tom Homan, Todd Lyons, and Rodney Scott (CBD Commissioner.

(1) Repealing ICE’s $75 billion and CBP $65 billion slush funds; (2) Significant reductions in detention/removal funding; (3) Limiting use of guns/military equipment during civil actions and codifying clear use-of-force standard for all agents; (4) Restricting CBP activity to the border, not our cities; (5) Congressional investigations of every ICE /CBP who’s broken the law and every death in their custody; (6) Required federal cooperation with state/local investigations into ICE/CBP misconduct; Ending agents’ qualified immunity; (6) Allowing citizens to sue agents for civil rights violations; (7) Ending family detention; (8) Addressing detention facilities overcrowding, unsanitary conditions and lack of adequate food and medical care; (9) Banning masks and requiring they display clear identification; (10) Banning arrests or home searches without judicial warrants; (11) Banning enforcement at schools, day cares, hospitals, houses of worship, courthouses, and other sensitive locations; (12) Banning targeting based on race, language, accent, place of employment or location at time of apprehension; (13) Meaningful, enforceable penalties for violation of these bans and for obstructing congressional oversight of detention facilities; (14) Removal of Stephen Miller, Kristi Noem, Tom Homan, Todd Lyons and Rodney Scott (CBP Commissioner) from their jobs. 

On May 12, 2025, DHS issued a secret ICE policy memo permitting agents to ignore the Fourth Amendment’s privacy protections. Since then, it’s been training recruits to forcibly enter people’s homes, ransack them, and terrify or arrest anyone they find there.

Last Thursday, the day after the memo’s publication, seven spineless Democrats from outside Oregon helped MAGA Republicans advance the legislation funding ICE with no restrictions on its behavior. Had they voted “no”, it wouldn’t have passed. The fight now moves to the Senate, where modest band-aids, which will neither fix ICE nor stop fascism, are being discussed. Because an agency kidnapping children, killing civilians, and ignoring constitutional limits and First Amendment rights cannot be reformed, Congress can only get these untrained, uncontrolled, non-transparent thugs out of our cities for good is by dismantling Trump’s Gestapo and starting over.

Let’s thank our Democratic representatives who voted against this legislation and daily remind our Senators that restoring America’s tranquility requires dismantling Trump’s Gestapo now.

After an ICE agent murdered Renee Good, rather than deescalating, the Trump administration deployed thousands more ICE and the Border Patrol to Minnesota to further brutalize and terrorize migrants, people of color, and those lawfully protesting their atrocities. Congress MUST use the tools they have to end this lawless violence by publicly pledging to withhold their votes from any DHS appropriation bill that increases ICE’s already massive budget and does not rein in their illegal Gestapo-like actions.

Early Saturday morning, without Congress’ knowledge or authorization, the US military attacked a sovereign nation, bombing civilian and military sites around the capital, killing at least 80 Venezuelans, and kidnapped its head of state and his wife by dragging them out of their bedroom and transported them in handcuffs to New York. Congress and the American people must loudly push back against this latest possibly endless war. Passing war powers resolutions to stop this illegal invasion must be Congress’ top priority. 

The ACA tax credits enacted during Covid will lapse on December 31, creating a massive healthcare crisis for over 90% of the 24 million enrolled in ACA plans who rely on these credits. Unless extended—which the vast majority in both parties support—out-of-pocket premium costs will jump, on average, by 114%.

At a time when affordability’s on everyone’s minds, we must demand that Congress stop this crisis before it hits. Democrats must remain united in continuing to fight for a 3-year extension of the credits. Whatever the outcome, Americans must be reminded daily between now and the mid-terms that, no matter Trump’s rhetoric, only Democrats will protect their interests.