Podcast Summary: It Could Happen Here — "Everyone vs ICE: On the Ground In Minnesota"

Hosts: Margaret Killjoy & James Stout
Date: January 27, 2026
Podcast: It Could Happen Here (Cool Zone Media/iHeartPodcasts)
Episode Focus: A ground-level, human-focused look at how communities across Minneapolis—and wider Minnesota—are organizing to both protect neighbors from a surge in ICE raids and build resilient, mutual-aid-based networks under federal pressure.

Overview of the Episode

This special crossover episode takes listeners on the ground in Minneapolis during an intense escalation of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and Border Patrol operations targeting non-citizen communities. Instead of focusing only on trauma, hosts Margaret Killjoy and James Stout center the episode on the beauty and collective power of mutual aid, rapid response, and broad-based resistance being built by everyday Minnesotans. The episode combines firsthand observations, interviews, and reflections to illustrate a city-wide mobilization against federal abductions, highlighting what other communities might learn from these efforts.

A somber postscript is added: only nine hours after these recordings, federal agents killed a community member, a reminder of the stakes and dangers inherent in such organizing.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Context: Federal Occupation and Community Response

• Minneapolis is in the grip of an intensified ICE operation, with both ICE and Border Patrol engaging in aggressive, often violent, detentions of non-citizens throughout the city and state.
• Specific tactics: Agents in rental SUVs, detaining individuals at random, targeting bus stops, schools, businesses (sometimes directly after patronizing them), and even using children to bait parents ([08:27]-[09:21]).
• The local and county law enforcement’s role as collaborators, not passive bystanders: "It was not ICE who kettled protesters today. It was Hennepin County Sheriff's Office." ([11:06]-[11:32])
• A city under occupation: The presence of federal agents is felt everywhere; "There are people everywhere standing guard, watching, blowing whistles." ([17:57]-[19:53])

2. Mutual Aid & Rapid Response: How Minneapolis Is Fighting Back

• Decentralized, block-by-block Signal chat networks allow neighbors to monitor, alert, and mobilize in minutes. Many had never heard of Signal before, showing the rapid upskilling and adoption by everyday residents ([17:57]-[19:53]).
• Mutual aid efforts meet material needs—food, diapers, safe rides, rent—because so many are forced to hide in fear of abduction ([25:10]-[27:00], [28:05]-[29:40]).
  • "The difference is this time they know their neighbors have their back." – James ([26:06])
• School adaptations: Many switch to remote learning due to ICE targeting bus stops ([26:17]).
• Business adaptation: Even larger organizations, like local food co-ops, close in solidarity ([13:41]-[14:13]).
• Organizing is hyperlocal and organic, not the result of top-down NGO strategy. Different blocks and neighborhoods have birthed parallel systems ([28:05]-[28:33]).

3. Unified, Broad-based Resistance

• The opposition transcends political ideology: Conservative and traditionally apolitical neighbors join progressives, radicals, and various cultural communities ([44:29]-[46:20]).
  • "A Republican business is closed for the general strike… my neighbor who is very conservative is pissed as hell." – Margaret ([44:45])
  • "What would Ronald Reagan do?" sign seen at protest ([45:02])
• Participation is so universal that even observers with mobility issues find ways to join: "My neighbor who... can't leave their house, they're just hanging out on the front porch… They're on the front line." ([53:24])

4. Tools, Tactics, and Spirit

• Whistles and honking: Carrying a whistle has become a community badge—alerting others in seconds changes the power dynamic and saps ICE’s ability to act in secrecy ([38:26]-[39:55]).
  • "You're handing someone a whistle and you're handing them responsibility. It's like handing someone their goddamn sword." – Margaret ([39:55])
• Speed of response: When everyone is ready to mobilize within minutes, even quick-hit ICE raids can be disrupted ([33:25]-[34:13]).
• PEOPLE vs. Power: "A city is made of people... not buildings." ([34:57])
• Resilience and hope: Despite the trauma, the hosts perceive a remarkable hope and even joy in the communal resistance ([35:02]-[36:27]).
  • "The spirit that is animating this city is the thing that will get us through it... I think we're gonna win." – Margaret ([40:57])
• Even 'ordinary' gestures—offering food, opening homes to cold observers—demonstrate solidarity ([15:39]-[17:08], [37:58]-[38:08]).

5. The Cost and the Need for Outside Support

• Traumatic loss is ongoing: ICE still kidnaps multiple people daily. Locals sometimes have to identify and contact loved ones of those disappeared, echoing historical traumas ([48:43]-[51:11]).
• The community’s efforts are sustainable so far, powered by volunteer labor and local donations, but financial help from outside is welcome and necessary ([29:43]-[30:06]).

6. What Other Communities Can Learn

• This level of hyperlocal, anti-fascist solidarity isn't unique to Minneapolis. "You can do all these things, too," they argue ([06:00]-[06:28]).
• Key lessons: Start small, build trust, communicate, decentralize, and focus on broad participation over ideology or hierarchy ([28:05]-[29:40], [48:08]).

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On ICE’s Behavior:

  • "They're grabbing people out of cars. They're snatching children and using them to bait out their parents." – James ([08:28])
  • "What is happening here is that people's lives are at stake." – James ([21:42])

• On Solidarity:

  • "We've asked people... 'What do you want people to take away?'... One of the main things is like, 'Hey, you can do it too.'" – Margaret ([05:16])
  • "The only time I've seen a city this much in lockstep is when I was in Kamishlo in 2023... where there is someone invading your town and taking your friends." – James ([20:16])
  • "You hand someone a whistle and you're handing them responsibility... It's like handing someone their goddamn sword." – Margaret ([39:55])

• On Participation and Transformation:

  • "Glad you're here gets so much further than what took you so long." – Margaret ([45:40])
  • "Leadership isn't what we need. Participation is what we need." – James ([48:08])

• On Trauma and Perseverance:

  • "Even when someone was killed by ICE, this did not stop people from doing this work. It brought more people out." – Margaret ([21:14])
  • "For so long I've believed that if people could see the cruelty, they would care... and this confirms that for me." – James ([52:34])

• On Winning:

  • "I think we're gonna win, and I haven't felt that way in years." – Margaret ([40:57])

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [00:00-01:51] – Episode context & postscript on the killing of Alex Preddy.
• [03:03-05:03] – Mission as journalists: focusing on beauty and solidarity, not just trauma.
• [07:35-09:39] – The mechanics of ICE/Border Patrol activity in the city.
• [10:16-11:39] – Firsthand encounter with ICE and community response (whistles, alerts).
• [12:48-14:13] – Businesses, including co-ops, joining the strike.
• [17:57-19:53] – Decentralized communication, Signal loops, citywide vigilance.
• [25:10-27:00] – Why mutual aid is essential right now—including for kids and schools.
• [28:05-29:40] – Emergence and structure of mutual aid networks.
• [33:25-34:13] – How rapid response adapts to ICE’s changing tactics.
• [35:02] – "A city is made of people…" segment.
• [38:26-39:55] – The symbolism/effectiveness of whistles; shifting the power dynamic.
• [44:29-46:20] – Broad, cross-political community mobilization.
• [48:43-51:11] – The trauma of forced disappearances; echoes of Holocaust survivor stories.
• [52:34-53:09] – James’ reflection that witnessing cruelty brings action and pride in solidarity.
• [55:31-end] – Resources for support and donation.

Resource Links (as mentioned at [55:31])

At episode’s end, the hosts detail vetted links for those wishing to donate to support Minneapolis’ rent funds, mutual aid for supplies, legal protections, medics, and bail funds. Full list in show notes.

Final Thoughts

This episode offers a powerful document of a city under duress, refusing to break, building new social structures in the ashes of state violence—"paradise built in hell." Instead of paralyzing fear or isolated trauma, Minneapolis offers a blueprint for hopeful, urgent, messy, decentralized, loving resistance.

"Leadership isn't what we need. Participation is what we need." – James ([48:08])

For anyone looking to understand the current struggle against federal immigration violence in the U.S., or how solidarity and rapid community action actually look and feel on the ground, this episode is essential listening—and even more essential reading.