Infiltration and surveillance: Massive repression against anti-ICE protests in the USA

The court case against the “Minnesota 15” reveals the extent of state repression by the US agency ICE. Over 100 officials infiltrated neighborhood organizations. The Trump administration wants to expand the model to Europe. – A comment from Mikhailo Böhnisch.

“The largest operation since the fight against the anti-war movement of the 1960s and 70s.” This is how experts describe the scale and extent of the surveillance measures uncovered against ICE protesters in the USA.

The fact that this operation was uncovered at all is mainly due to the indictment against 15 residents of the state of Minnesota. You will be in theIndictmentaccused, among other things, of conspiracy at the federal level.

These allegations are related to the ICE raids that took place in December of last yearMinnesotaconcentrated. During the so-called “Operation Metro Surge,” the major cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul – also known as the Twin Cities – were initially targeted. The measure was later expanded to include all of Minnesota.

The declared goal of this operation was to locate and deport undocumented immigrants. These raids, which were legally questioned even before they were implemented, increasingly degenerated into physical injuries by ICE agents. However, civil protest quickly arose against this state-organized violence. This is how the residents of the Twin Cities organized themselvesNeighborhood networks, among other things, to warn each other of impending raids.

TheEskalation of state powerreached its peak in January of this year when two people were shot by ICE agents. The ICE operation was finally declared over by federal authorities on February 12th. Subsequent investigations into the killings by local authorities were blocked by the US federal government until mid-February.

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The “Minnesota 15”

In connection with the protests, charges were brought against the “Minnesota 15”. A majority of them are members of the organizationDirect Action Minnesota(DAMN). Like tens of thousands of other Minnesotans, they participated in resistance to ICE in a variety of ways. However, the US government is primarily focusing its legal prosecution on DAMN. Presumably because the collective includes many experienced, long-standing activists. Eleven of the fifteen are veterans of the labor movement, while eight are also members of unions.

The trial against her began on July 1st. What is particularly significant is the extent of the evidence from theuncoveredSurveillance measures. The agents of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI for short) primarily used the evaluation of internal measures.

Infiltration of the group

For example, long-standing financial records from unions. They gained access to 15 terabytes of intercepted Signal chats and information from a commercial data broker. The sheer volume of surveillance footage prompted defense attorney Kevin Riach to file a motion on August 13 for greater access to HSI's investigative records.

The documents presented during the taking of evidence also provided evidencePlansof the Department for Homeland Security (DHS). It became clear that the US government had proactively sought and implemented the infiltration of the left-wing and union organized movement in Minnesota.

These infiltrations began at least a day before the official announcement of “Operation Metro Surge,” according to the documents. It also became clear that these infiltrations by the authorities were only subcategories of a surveillance program. The larger, covert program called“Operation Keyhole”was started in December 2008.

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Surveillance thanks to state decree

However, the federal government's efforts to crack down on organized resistance are not limited to Operation Keyhole. As part of this operation, financial resources and materials that were actually intended for the detection of serious crimes were misused. But with the decree of“Presidential Memorandum on National Security No. 7 (NSPM-7)”, President Trump had already given the federal law enforcement authorities a free pass for surveillance measures in September 2025.

According to the memorandum, all necessary means should be used to “investigate and dismantle networks, institutions and organizations” that promote anti-fascism. The fact that the NSPM-7 defines anti-fascism as “anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism and anti-Christianity” and/or “extremism in relation to migration, race and gender” is purely calculated. This incorrect definition legitimizes the destruction of resistance movements through state-authorized terrorism.

Because around the same time, Trump issued oneImplementing regulation, in which he declared that Antifa – the anti-fascist movement – ​​had been classified as a “domestic terrorist organization”. The fact that there is no centrally organized Antifa group is irrelevant to Trump and his government. Even the fact that the President does not have the authority on paper to make such a classification does not prevent the rest of the US government from implementing the regulation.

Recruited HSI and ICE agents used the militarized deportation measuresinvasive surveillance techniques. From Reaper drones to Patriot Act measures, which are typically limited to money laundering and terrorism investigations.

These fundstargeted against internal resistanceto use it makes the US government's intentions abundantly clear. As with all previous resistance movements, the US state is once again investing in the exercise of visible brutality and state power.

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past and present

In a conversation withWIRED(US computer magazine) Mike German, retired FBI agent, compares the case of the “Minnesota 15” with historical repression. The US government has a long history of suppressing left-wing and revolutionary movements.

German draws parallels to the CIA operation “MH/Chaos”. The anti-war movement of the 1960s was monitored during the Vietnam War. The clearest difference between then and now is the sheer scale. The '60s operation involved a total of 42 officers - the "Minnesota 15" case involved 119 HSI agents alone.

The mass of data collected in the course of the ongoingDeportationmeasuresfurther emphasizes this. But just as there is resistance to the ICE raids themselves, there is also resistance to them. Last week, a leak of records from the US Department of Homeland Security became known.

Information was obtained frommore than 41,000Employees or contractors who work for the ministry and the authorities subordinate to it are published. There was also one among the published datanoteattached. In it, the hackers wrote: “They have our data, so it’s only fair that we have theirs.”

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“Antifa East” as a terrorist organization

However, the ever-growing internal resistance is only causing the US government to expand its attacks. This has included one since last ThursdayAgreement in principlebetween the USA and Hungary. The recent change of government in Hungary has not brought an end to this cooperation. At the signing ceremony, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Hungarian Foreign Minister Anita Orbán shook hands in more than just ideological terms.

One of the two signed agreements specifically describes the intention to take joint action against left-wing organized movements. Above all, it should be about increasing the exchange of information between the two states. Rubio and Orbán both emphasized that “extreme left-wing terrorism” by groups such as “Antifa Ost” should be pursued.

The struggle between imperialist-capitalist powers for control already extends across national borders. The effort to suppress resistance movements through international cooperation is not just a clear declaration of war. Above all, it is a sign that organized resistance represents a serious countervailing force to the capitalist system. A countervailing force that cannot be stopped by surveillance and raids.

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