PSL Twin Cities
In less than a decade, the people’s struggle against state violence in Minnesota has triggered a nationwide movement for justice. In 2020, following the murder of George Floyd, the protest that started in Minneapolis brought 35 million people into the streets across the country, demanding an end to racism-backed police brutality. In 2026, when the Trump Administration unleashed Operation Metro Surge—the largest Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation in history—on the Twin Cities, Minnesota showed the nation how to fight back against ICE terror and implemented the tactic of a general strike with shutdown actions across Jan. 23 and Jan. 30.
Student power is people power—it was our friends, neighbors and relatives in student organizations who proved the strength of this power in January. They called for no work, no school, and no shopping in response to the ICE terror on our communities. Cities nationwide responded by shutting down business as usual in solidarity with Minnesota on January 30th. We are the ones who make society run. As food service workers, lab and teaching assistants, grounds keepers, retail workers—we are the next generation in this society. We need to build a political alternative that guarantees our right to a dignified life and a liveable planet. The capitalist class and its government are spending public dollars on terror, death, and destruction. $70 billion for ICE, $32 billion for the war on Iran, and billions for Israel to fund the ongoing genocide in Gaza, all while our education system continues to stay underfunded and under-resourced. Working people are feeling this strain every day. Americans have trouble affording basic necessities (healthcare, transportation, rent/mortgage, and food) and the future of most college students today is uncertain.
Here, at Augsburg University, we have faced direct attacks from this administration. In Cedar Riverside, masked federal agents have grabbed people off the streets and ripped them from their homes. Federal funding for the McNair Scholars Program was slashed with a week’s notice last year. Now, the Trump administration is trying to make it harder to access federal student loans based on post-college graduation income rates starting as early as the 2028-2029 school year. The attacks on students and in our communities won’t stop until we unite and put an end to them. Students and young people have been at the forefront of major struggles in US history that have changed the course of national politics. Our participation in the struggle for workers rights and in defense of our communities is crucial. We have the most to gain from these fights and have invested the most. It is our duty and our right to be part of building a better future for our society.
“The attacks on students and in our communities won’t stop until we unite and put an end to them.”
PSL Twin Cities
Join the Club of Augsburg Sociology and Urban Studies (CASUS) on Oct. 24 for the Minnesota Socialism Summit: Only People Power Transforms Society. This summit will be an all-day series of workshops, panels, and cultural performances and will feature food, vendors, artists, and keynote speakers such as 2024 socialist presidential candidate and VP Claudia De La Cruz and Karina Garcia. Together we will study the lessons of recent mass movements and discuss how to build a new system. A system where the working class has political power, and the needs of the people and the planet are planned for and guaranteed.