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A Border Patrol Tactical Unit agent sprays pepper spray into the face of a protestor attempting to block an immigration officer vehicle from leaving the scene where a woman was shot and killed by a federal agent earlier, in Minneapolis, Minn. on Wednesday, January 7, 2026.
(Photo by Alex Kormann/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images)
Want to Stop ICE? Run for School Board. Run for County Supervisor. Run for State Rep.
These overlooked offices control the budgets, databases, and cooperation that make the terror possible—or impossible.
Feb 08, 2026
Trump and Noem’s strategy of deploying federal agents to punish our cities is backfiring.
Here’s why: Local elected officials have enormous power to resist federal immigration enforcement. Sheriffs can refuse ICE detainer requests. City councils can pass sanctuary policies. County commissioners control jail access. State legislators can restrict cooperation with federal agents and protect residents' civil rights.
But this is only possible if those offices are filled with people who will fight back.
If you are looking at your leaders and wondering why they aren’t taking a stand against these human rights violations, this is where you can and must step in.
In 2026, thousands of local seats are up for election across the country. Sheriff. County commissioner. City council. State representative. School board. These are the frontline defense against Trump's overreach, and unfortunately, the violence being inflicted on communities across the country.
The reality is brutal to face but can’t be ignored: Alex Pretti is at least the sixth person to die during ICE’s nationwide reign of terror since last year, with at least five shootings in January alone involving federal agents. This will keep happening in communities where there's no local resistance.
People are done staying silent, and we can’t let up the pressure. Since Alex's murder, nurses across the country have organized vigils and acts of resistance. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has demanded that all ICE and Border Patrol agents leave the state. Protests are growing, not shrinking. I'm seeing people who've “never been political before” suddenly asking what they can do to help.
My answer is always to run for office or recruit someone who will. Some of us must step up to build long-term power that defends our communities, while others hold down the immediate fight on the front lines.
We have three more years of MAGA-proofing to do. The organization I started, NDTC, is already investing in building up the resistance down ballot – at no cost to campaigns. Since Trump took office again in January 2025, over 970 campaigns chose us to lead them to victory. This weekend in Texas, NDTC-learner Menefee won his House seat and shrunk the GOP majority to one vote.
We are already filling crucial roles in school boards, councils, and legislatures – we need thousands more to mount a real challenge. No race should go unchallenged.
So one path forward is clear:
- Run yourself — Explore what offices are open (or unchallenged!) in your area and get all the tools and information you need to run (for free).
- Recruit someone - Know a teacher, nurse, social worker, or community organizer who'd be amazing on your city council? Forward them this post. Direct them to Emily’s List. Direct them to Run for Something. Direct them to us. We want to help them run.
- Support candidates who will resist — Local campaigns rely on volunteers, donations, and voters who spread their message and show up.
- Organize your community — Get involved in your local Democratic party, immigrant rights group, or other active coalition near you.
Filing deadlines for the 2026 elections are approaching fast in many states. In most places, it's not too late to get on the ballot this year. But you need to move now.
Trump and his administration want us to be afraid. They want us to believe resistance is futile. They want us to stay home. We're not going to do that.
I have supported thousands of campaigns over my career, training more than 120,000 candidates, staffers, and volunteers in the last ten years through the organization I founded. Together, we’ve won in red districts, swing districts, and everything in between. We’ve seen people less qualified than you do it. The fact that you’ve read this far proves that you have a spark. Answer the call, and let us teach you how to win.
The MAGA plan is to exhaust us by flooding the zone with muzzle velocity. They are betting on us giving up. We’ve already mobilized thousands to prove them catastrophically wrong; we need you to be next.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Trump and Noem’s strategy of deploying federal agents to punish our cities is backfiring.
Here’s why: Local elected officials have enormous power to resist federal immigration enforcement. Sheriffs can refuse ICE detainer requests. City councils can pass sanctuary policies. County commissioners control jail access. State legislators can restrict cooperation with federal agents and protect residents' civil rights.
But this is only possible if those offices are filled with people who will fight back.
If you are looking at your leaders and wondering why they aren’t taking a stand against these human rights violations, this is where you can and must step in.
In 2026, thousands of local seats are up for election across the country. Sheriff. County commissioner. City council. State representative. School board. These are the frontline defense against Trump's overreach, and unfortunately, the violence being inflicted on communities across the country.
The reality is brutal to face but can’t be ignored: Alex Pretti is at least the sixth person to die during ICE’s nationwide reign of terror since last year, with at least five shootings in January alone involving federal agents. This will keep happening in communities where there's no local resistance.
People are done staying silent, and we can’t let up the pressure. Since Alex's murder, nurses across the country have organized vigils and acts of resistance. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has demanded that all ICE and Border Patrol agents leave the state. Protests are growing, not shrinking. I'm seeing people who've “never been political before” suddenly asking what they can do to help.
My answer is always to run for office or recruit someone who will. Some of us must step up to build long-term power that defends our communities, while others hold down the immediate fight on the front lines.
We have three more years of MAGA-proofing to do. The organization I started, NDTC, is already investing in building up the resistance down ballot – at no cost to campaigns. Since Trump took office again in January 2025, over 970 campaigns chose us to lead them to victory. This weekend in Texas, NDTC-learner Menefee won his House seat and shrunk the GOP majority to one vote.
We are already filling crucial roles in school boards, councils, and legislatures – we need thousands more to mount a real challenge. No race should go unchallenged.
So one path forward is clear:
- Run yourself — Explore what offices are open (or unchallenged!) in your area and get all the tools and information you need to run (for free).
- Recruit someone - Know a teacher, nurse, social worker, or community organizer who'd be amazing on your city council? Forward them this post. Direct them to Emily’s List. Direct them to Run for Something. Direct them to us. We want to help them run.
- Support candidates who will resist — Local campaigns rely on volunteers, donations, and voters who spread their message and show up.
- Organize your community — Get involved in your local Democratic party, immigrant rights group, or other active coalition near you.
Filing deadlines for the 2026 elections are approaching fast in many states. In most places, it's not too late to get on the ballot this year. But you need to move now.
Trump and his administration want us to be afraid. They want us to believe resistance is futile. They want us to stay home. We're not going to do that.
I have supported thousands of campaigns over my career, training more than 120,000 candidates, staffers, and volunteers in the last ten years through the organization I founded. Together, we’ve won in red districts, swing districts, and everything in between. We’ve seen people less qualified than you do it. The fact that you’ve read this far proves that you have a spark. Answer the call, and let us teach you how to win.
The MAGA plan is to exhaust us by flooding the zone with muzzle velocity. They are betting on us giving up. We’ve already mobilized thousands to prove them catastrophically wrong; we need you to be next.
From Your Site Articles
Trump and Noem’s strategy of deploying federal agents to punish our cities is backfiring.
Here’s why: Local elected officials have enormous power to resist federal immigration enforcement. Sheriffs can refuse ICE detainer requests. City councils can pass sanctuary policies. County commissioners control jail access. State legislators can restrict cooperation with federal agents and protect residents' civil rights.
But this is only possible if those offices are filled with people who will fight back.
If you are looking at your leaders and wondering why they aren’t taking a stand against these human rights violations, this is where you can and must step in.
In 2026, thousands of local seats are up for election across the country. Sheriff. County commissioner. City council. State representative. School board. These are the frontline defense against Trump's overreach, and unfortunately, the violence being inflicted on communities across the country.
The reality is brutal to face but can’t be ignored: Alex Pretti is at least the sixth person to die during ICE’s nationwide reign of terror since last year, with at least five shootings in January alone involving federal agents. This will keep happening in communities where there's no local resistance.
People are done staying silent, and we can’t let up the pressure. Since Alex's murder, nurses across the country have organized vigils and acts of resistance. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has demanded that all ICE and Border Patrol agents leave the state. Protests are growing, not shrinking. I'm seeing people who've “never been political before” suddenly asking what they can do to help.
My answer is always to run for office or recruit someone who will. Some of us must step up to build long-term power that defends our communities, while others hold down the immediate fight on the front lines.
We have three more years of MAGA-proofing to do. The organization I started, NDTC, is already investing in building up the resistance down ballot – at no cost to campaigns. Since Trump took office again in January 2025, over 970 campaigns chose us to lead them to victory. This weekend in Texas, NDTC-learner Menefee won his House seat and shrunk the GOP majority to one vote.
We are already filling crucial roles in school boards, councils, and legislatures – we need thousands more to mount a real challenge. No race should go unchallenged.
So one path forward is clear:
- Run yourself — Explore what offices are open (or unchallenged!) in your area and get all the tools and information you need to run (for free).
- Recruit someone - Know a teacher, nurse, social worker, or community organizer who'd be amazing on your city council? Forward them this post. Direct them to Emily’s List. Direct them to Run for Something. Direct them to us. We want to help them run.
- Support candidates who will resist — Local campaigns rely on volunteers, donations, and voters who spread their message and show up.
- Organize your community — Get involved in your local Democratic party, immigrant rights group, or other active coalition near you.
Filing deadlines for the 2026 elections are approaching fast in many states. In most places, it's not too late to get on the ballot this year. But you need to move now.
Trump and his administration want us to be afraid. They want us to believe resistance is futile. They want us to stay home. We're not going to do that.
I have supported thousands of campaigns over my career, training more than 120,000 candidates, staffers, and volunteers in the last ten years through the organization I founded. Together, we’ve won in red districts, swing districts, and everything in between. We’ve seen people less qualified than you do it. The fact that you’ve read this far proves that you have a spark. Answer the call, and let us teach you how to win.
The MAGA plan is to exhaust us by flooding the zone with muzzle velocity. They are betting on us giving up. We’ve already mobilized thousands to prove them catastrophically wrong; we need you to be next.
From Your Site Articles
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.