CHICAGO, January 27—“What do we want? ICE out! When do we want it? Now!” 100 Veterans Administration employees and community members gathered outside Jesse Brown VA Medical Center on a sunny, 10-degree day in a demonstration of solidarity against the ICE/CBP murder of Alex Pretti (see box for definitions). Alex Pretti was a nurse at the Minneapolis VA and was killed by ICE/CBP agents when he stepped in to help another worker. But he is not the only one killed by ICE/CBP – these fascist thugs have murdered Renee Good, Keith Porter, Silverio Villegas Gonzalez, not to mention the 32 workers who have died in ICE custody in 2025 (Guardian, 1/4/26). Capitalism in decline leads to fascism and fascism needs a scapegoat. The ruling class is scapegoating immigrants to enact violence against all Black and brown workers.
Racism is key to capitalism and the bosses will always resort to racist state violence to keep us divided and living in fear.
The rally was organized by several unions, including the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), SEIU and NNU. Speakers included nurses, veterans, and medical residents. Some pushed for removing ICE from neighborhoods and spoke on BP’s yearslong ongoing violence (WTTW, 1/27/26). While the good-heartedness of the speakers was clear, the politics needed sharpening—nobody mentioned racism or capitalism. Luckily comrades from Progressive Labor Party were there and distributed more than 50 copies of CHALLENGE, bringing communist ideas to the masses.
The rally ended with a march around the VA medical center. Of the three rallies held this year at the Chicago VA in response to attacks on federal workers, this was the most well attended and the most militant, and it was great to identify more coworkers to build the Party.
Organizing on the job
Workers, including Progressive Labor Party (PLP) members, also organized a moment of silence for Pretti at the VA. The hospital bosses were asked to have a moment of silence over the loudspeaker, which is the standard when a veteran dies in the hospital. They refused even this small show of support and one of the hospital bosses even said that the moment of silence wasn’t allowed. But workers don’t give up just because the bosses say so. It did take more time to organize on the five units compared to getting a moment over the loudspeaker, but it was worth it. Every supervising physician and medical resident working that day in the hospital was told about it. Many brought their teams, including their medical students. Nursing managers told all the nurses in their units. Working collectively and building up our numbers increased our strength and safety.
The workers leading the moment of silence at their individual units made a collective decision to tell the attendees that the bosses had not allowed the moment of silence over the loudspeaker, but we had organized one anyway. People who attended said how glad they were that it had happened. This is just a small example of bosses being unnecessary. Workers decided a moment of silence was important and made it happen despite the bosses’ saying no. Everything that matters, like healthcare, teaching, industry, only happens because the working class makes it happen. Workers can only rely on each other and never the bosses.
These small acts of defiance build our bonds with friends and coworkers and build our organizing skills for the next fight, always with the goal of building towards a communist revolution. We need to keep organizing, struggling with workers to build a mass movement, and be ready when ICE/CBP returns to Chicago. We have already discussed how to keep our patients and coworkers safe from ICE/CBP at work. We learned from and took inspiration from Minneapolis healthcare workers who have shared their experiences with ICE in their hospitals. Another struggle for federal workers will be within the AFGE union. AFGE represents both VA employees and CBP which means that Alex Pretti was murdered by two fellow union members! Workers are already starting to organize to push AFGE to stop representing CBP.
Racist liberal politicians are not the answer to state violence
Liberal politicians will try to convince us that voting for them is the solution to ICE/CBP terror. And what are their solutions? Body cameras, banning the ICE gestapo from wearing masks, and judicial warrants (CNBC, 2/4) According to the liberals, if these demands are met, terrorizing workers, deporting them, separating families and letting workers die in ICE custody is fine!
Another “solution” the liberals will tell us is a win for the working class is better training for ICE. How could better training for fascist thugs ever help the working class? Jesus Ochoa and Raymundo Gutierrez, the ICE agents that murdered Pretti, joined ICE in 2018 and 2014, respectively (ProPublica, 2/1). Jonathan Ross, who murdered Renee Good, has been with ICE for 10 years (NBC News, 1/9). The only class that benefits from better trained ICE killers is the ruling class.
The last month has shown that workers know that the system is rotten. PLP will keep doing the work of building relationships with workers, and building a mass movement for a communist revolution – the only way that the working class will have an egalitarian society free of police terror, poverty, racism, sexism, and borders. Join us!
