Compas, our people are being forced to endure unprecedented hatred and political repression, and this reality is as inhumane as it is unsustainable. Every day, ICE is breaking up families, while hundreds are detained or deported. Our children are confined in cages. Schools deny us a quality, relevant education. Tens of thousands of our young people are corralled into prisons while thousands more are sent to fight imperialistic wars. Our labor is exploited. Our electoral power is aggressively diluted. Our fundamental human and civil rights are being stripped away. The MAGArranos have every intention of advancing this anti-Mexican/anti-Raza agenda of ethnic cleansing because they seek to crush our gente for at least several generations.

We are in a pivotal moment. We know the limits of bourgeois democracy, as it sits on a pedestal of white nationalist colonial terror against our people, built on indigenous genocide and the exploitation of stolen land, labor, and resources of working people. The bipartisan support for ICE/migra over the decades has been consolidated and now expanded, manufacturing the most grotesque institutions of terror and brutality. ICE is the paramilitary armed wing of Trump’s colonial fascism and the US billionaire Epstein-class. This domestic wave of violence and anti-Raza terror is directly linked to the blatant imperialist interventions throughout Latin America (Venezuela, Cuba, Mexico, Brazil, etc.), the war in Iran, and the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people.

The California ICE Surge

We have all heard of the  campaign of terror known as “Operation Safe California,”  unleashed on our communities at the beginning of October 2026. It is one of the most serious assaults on our working-class families and communities, targeting Southern California specifically, and the rest of the state more broadly. The day before we learned about “Operation Safe California,” Trump made verbal threats against Los Angeles and San Diego during a speech in Nebraska. We do not see this as a coincidence – his comments were not exclusively linked to the war against Iran. The mortal threats against Los Angeles and San Diego were rooted in the MAGArrano plans already in motion aimed directly against La Raza of California:

• the deployment of hundreds more federal agents to Southern California, and an increased number of violent raids against our communities across the region,
• verbal threats and acts of violence against patrollers in Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, North County San Diego, and Ventura County,
• the racist defacing of murals in Chicano Park in San Diego.

With the surge, we are seeing more federal agents from other states who are more aggressive, violent, and provocative. The primary motivation of all this is the November midterm elections, as the colonial fascist Trump administration fears losing its total political hold over the federal government.

Elections

Many liberals and well-intended people who oppose the MAGArranos are deeply invested in the midterm elections because they see this as the last chance to put the brakes on the Trump regime. There is also the historically widespread expectation that the federal government will intervene or outright cancel the elections should the MAGArranos lose their majorities in the House and the Senate. The situation is volatile, and it’s unclear how things will unfold during and after this electoral cycle. Below are some possibilities, though any combination of these is possible; some electoral/political outcomes are more probable than others:

	ELECTORAL OUTCOME	REAL POLITICAL OUTCOME	OUTCOME FOR LA RAZA
Most Likely	Dems win a majority in the House, MAGArranos keep the Senate, the White House, and the Supreme Court.	Dems take control of the House in January; MAGAs cry that the elections were rigged but accept the results. Dems and MAGArranos verbally fight it out in the House/Senate for two years with few substantive policy changes and zero accountability for anyone. Most of the MAGArrano colonial- fascist global agenda and domestic political repression continues, though at a slower pace. A significant number of Dems align with some of the MAGAs, and they call for a “new era of bipartisanship.” Bourgeois electoral politics continue as usual, and the only priority shared by all of them (Dems and Magas) is that they start campaigning for 2028.	The most egregious MAGArrano attacks, ICE repression, and mass terror campaigns continue against our barrios. Imperial genocides,  wars, and interventions continue. Our electoral power is diluted, and our fundamental human and civil rights are stripped away.
Somewhat Likely	Democrats win a majority in the House and the Senate. MAGArranos are limited to the White House and the Supreme Court.	By mid-November, the most radical MAGAs openly reject the election results. They then mobilize their political majorities, their backers in the military, and their puppets in the courts to join forces to block/annul the election results in a political “auto-golpe.” From there, there are two possible paths. One path is that these sectors of the MAGArrano ruling class take leadership over ICE, civilian MAGArrano groups, and federal/state/local law enforcement collaborators, and together violently repress their opposition. Bourgeois democratic norms are quickly replaced with raw political violence. This would affirm the political “auto-golpe” with a military “golpe.” The other path is that the most radical MAGAs fail to rally the needed support to execute the political “auto-golpe” in November & December. In January, the Dems negotiate with a sector of the MAGAs, and they are allowed to take control of the House and Senate. Some Dems go after some MAGArranos, Trump is impeached a 3rd time, and as before, is not convicted/removed because that requires a ⅔ majority in the Senate. Parts of the MAGArrano colonial- fascist global agenda and domestic political repression are slowed, and some are reversed. A significant number of Dems align with some of the MAGAs, and they call for a “new era of bipartisanship.” Bourgeois electoral politics continue (though severely undermined), and the priority shared by all of them (Dems and Magas) is that they start campaigning for 2028.	First path: MAGArrano attacks, ICE repression, and mass terror campaigns against our barrios are expanded and intensified. Imperial genocides, wars, and interventions accelerate. Our electoral power is diluted, and our fundamental human and civil rights are stripped away. Second path: the most egregious MAGArrano attacks, ICE repression, and mass terror campaigns continue against our barrios. Imperial genocides,  wars, and interventions continue. Our electoral power is diluted, and our fundamental human and civil rights are stripped away.
Least Likely	MAGArranos win key races and keep all the levers of political power.	By mid-November, the most radical MAGAs mobilize their political majorities, their backers in the military, and their puppets in the courts to join forces with ICE, civilian MAGArrano groups, and local police collaborators and violently repress their opposition. Bourgeois democratic norms are quickly replaced with raw political violence.	MAGArrano attacks and mass repression campaigns against our barrios are expanded and intensified. ICE repression continues. Imperial genocides,  wars, and interventions continue, likely accelerating. Our electoral power is diluted, and our fundamental human and civil rights are stripped away.

 

The only thing we know is that regardless of election outcomes, our gente will see more violence in our barrios. Should the MAGArranos win, lose, or block these elections, they are fully committed to intensifying their attacks on La Raza. The most violent campaign of colonial fascist terror of the last 70 years is already underway against our barrios across the U.S., and we should expect them to accelerate/intensify their anti-Raza agenda at least through January 2027.

The current phase of the anti-raza ethnic cleansing is directed specifically against La Raza who are US citizens and is intended to undermine their voting rights. We say this with 100% certainty because we know that non-citizens’ voting is less than 0.01% and has no bearing on electoral outcomes. MAGArranos know this as well. But this does not protect our communities from their right-wing media campaigns, which are now backed up by DOJ indictments, ICE agents knocking on doors to “confirm voting eligibility,”  and the increasing likelihood of federal agents posting up at polling locations during the November elections.

We anticipate that the sustained and increasingly provocative migra campaign of terror will continue at least through the November elections, in order to create a climate of fear to keep Raza from voting, especially in Texas, Arizona, Nevada, and Florida. Despite the lack of substantive political change coming from the ballot box, we have a responsibility to uphold our gente’s democratic right to vote without coercive measures that limit or inhibit their participation. We are already witnessing Raza being arrested for merely being registered to vote, despite not having cast a ballot.

Where do we stand on voting, candidates, and propositions? We have one easy rule to follow: don’t trust any elected officials or government representatives unless they are directly accountable to our communities. We are not an electoral organization, and we do not promote electoral politics as a substantive form of political struggle. We do not discourage people from voting, but we always say if your only form of political participation is voting, then, respectfully, you are part of the problem. Our communities need you to be active on the ground, now, more than ever.

If you do vote, inform yourself by using voting guides provided by organizations that have been consistent, committed, honest, principled, and who have proven that they love our gente and will defend our barrios. We also recommend you prioritize candidates who support abolishing ICE. Of course, stated positions by candidates are just “verbo,” and we know that the Democratic Party (nor the DSA) will not save us. Unión del Barrio knows there has been no such thing as a “sanctuary city” since 1492 when the colonizers began their first raids against our ancestors. We must defend ourselves and advocate for ourselves through Raza self-determination. We must abolish this system.

To Vulnerable Gente

The vast majority of ICE operations are still conducted between 5:00 AM and 10:00 AM. Yet, keep in mind that ICE raids are being carried out ALL day and even into the night. We see more aggressive surveillance of schools and churches, and the return of “snatch & grab” tactics we experienced in 2025. ICE activities in a community often begin with morning surveillance by agents in one or two vehicles in the days leading up to a larger operation. We have also documented increased coordination between local police units and ICE/migra agents.

After the elections – November, December, January – all barrios must remain on “high alert.” Again, regardless of electoral outcomes, as we end 2026, there will still be tens of thousands of hateful ICE paramilitary forces on the ground deployed against our barrios to act as an occupying force to keep people from organizing themselves to resist their campaign of terror. They are operating with impunity, with direct instructions to repress our gente without regard to any constitutional or legal limits.

White Solidarity

White-led organizations need to support our raza-led struggles for barrio self-defense. These organizations can provide much-needed support  and solidarity under the leadership of our communities, but they should not attempt to redirect our resistance to build their organizations, nor prop up their own leaders of the current anti-ICE movement.

Organize in your own communities to inform your neighbors and build solidarity there so it extends to our communities. Participate in local patrol groups, but respect and follow the leadership of raza-led organizations and Community Patrollers. We ask White solidarity to support organizations who have led our struggles for self-determination and community self-defense with donations to build up our capacity and expand the work we are already doing and leading. We always need to print materials and more 2-way radios, bullhorns, gas money, etc. If you can donate these things, please do.

We acknowledge the ultimate sacrifice of comrades like Renee Good and Alex Pretti, but our resistance did not start in Minneapolis. These are our barrios, our families, and it is our struggle – please show up in a humble way and be respectful of those who have been on the ground for decades. Avoid the infamous missionary mentality that has led some of you to assume you are our leaders/saviors. We are our own liberators.

To UdB Compas, All Patrollers, & Barrio Gente Who Can Participate In Organized Struggle

Unión del Barrio calls on all our compas and supporters to DEFEND THE PEOPLE!  We know that so many of us are already participating at full capacity, but unfortunately, we need to step up our efforts even more. We ask those who are consistently patrolling to exercise even greater discipline and security awareness, maintain constant communication during an operation, and request support as quickly as possible. Our safety is critical, as these MAGArrano thugs will do everything in their power to assert their dominance.

For every person who has participated in Community Patrol work, our message is one of community self-defense! We call on the community to organize itself ANYWHERE and EVERYWHERE. Places where you can organize your community include apartment buildings, schools, churches, and workplaces. Organize your block. Walk around and knock on your neighbors’ doors. If you see anything, immediately call Unión del Barrio or your local patrol group. If there isn’t one, then organize one. As we have expressed on multiple occasions, the only way we survive this moment is to organize in EVERY barrio, in EVERY school and in EVERY workplace.

• Take what you have learned and share with your base members and be prepared: Know who you need to communicate with in the event you witness or are near a migra enforcement action; know what to do to take collective action to defend our people.
• Identify the most effective methods to verify ICE/migra activity in your organic sphere of influence on your block, at your worksite, and among your social circles, and establish concrete lines of communication with your family, friends, neighbors, and schoolmates to alert and receive reports of migra terror in your immediate proximity.
• Outreach and build organized capacity by using phone/group text with every sector you have access to on your block, in your apartment building, at your family church, and with the vendedores on your block. If you don’t have outreach materials on you now (eg, Patrol fliers, Pueblo Unido, printed materials), get some ASAP. Find and keep a legal 1-sheet with you at all times.
• Move with clarity, conviction, and courage, and do what is necessary to identify, expose, and defend our communities from any hostile entity.
• To those compas who have not yet participated in Community Patrols – please do so, but also be patient; your presence is needed in our neighborhoods to resist this wave of repression, but we need to practice discipline and build organizational capacity.

We call on all organizations, allies, and supporters to keep a watchful eye over ballot collection/voting sites and document/report any instance of ICE/migra or white nationalist presence. This is not a call to sign up to be poll observers nor to intervene in any way in the election proceedings. What we do ask is that you actively observe to the extent you can, and maintain a sustained presence in our barrios, our schools, and worksites, and remain on “high alert” for the foreseeable future.

Things in Southern California have been BAD, but they would be substantially worse without community self-defense efforts. Union del Barrio continues to patrol in various cities across California, and we continue to train organizations and community members to patrol as well. We are convinced that the only way to resist this surge and secure a better future is for us to win self-determination as a people. If you don’t already belong to an organization, join organizations already doing the work. Engage politically in all spaces to resist the MAGArranos, but only trust organizations that have been consistent, committed, honest, and principled, and that have already proven they will defend our barrios not just with words but through their actions.

We must be more organized now than ever to survive this historically painful moment. We must organize hundreds of barrio-based Community Patrols, block by block, vivienda por vivienda, house by house.

There is no shortcut, and no one else is coming to save us.

SOLO EL PUEBLO DEFIENDE AL PUEBLO