A Line in the Sand On September 28, 2024, the Twin Cities Democratic Socialists of America (TCDSA) etched its name into the annals of socialist anti-imperialist struggle. By passing the resolution “Make Twin Cities DSA an Anti-Zionist Organization in Principle and Praxis,” the chapter didn’t just condemn Zionism—it declared war on the settler-colonial project itself. […]

I started the Street Corps Working Group shortly after I joined Twin Cities DSA back in 2021 in response to the collapse of the previous Mutual Aid and Solidarity Economy (MASE) Working Group. Besides filling in the important organizing around mutual aid and dual power that I believed this chapter should be doing, I wanted […]

Don’t let private interests loot education dollars and defund important programs. Charter-school lobby-backed politicians, including IPS board members Angelia Moore, Hope Hampton, Deandra Thompson, and Ashley Thomas, want to redistribute […]

Growing up in Pasadena, the Santa Ana winds are as familiar as Craftsman bungalows. They happen annually, and every few years they pick up enough to do some damage. More than once I’ve seen gusts topple trees, power lines, and city infrastructure. Usually, they amount to nothing more than a story one shares with a friend; recalling the violently swaying branches  or the bright blue blast that rockets from a nearby transformer. This time was different.

We know that climate change has made weather more extreme. Between 2022 and 2024, Los Angeles experienced extraordinary amounts of rain, in some cases for weeks in a row without pause. For the last 8 months, however, we have received less than an inch of rainfall. When you combine excess rain and growing brush, followed by eight months of drought and a sudden 100mph weather event, you have the recipe for a climate catastrophe.

The Palisades Fire started at 10:30 AM on January 7th. By noon the next day, it had already reached over 11,000 acres. For context: that means it was expanding by about seven football fields per minute. The Eaton Fire, which started above Altadena on January 7th at 6:18 PM, had grown to 10,800 acres by 10AM  the next morning. These are also just two of ten notable fires we’ve had this month.

DSA-LA’s response

As evacuation warnings started, members of DSA-LA quickly set up an emergency response message group. We included members of our steering committee, regional branch organizers, leaders of our mutual aid committee, and any who wanted to help. Our members were balancing this as we were getting real time updates about our friends and family needing to evacuate, with some having to evacuate themselves.

Our first project was creating an evolving  list of resources and information. The situation across the county was developing very rapidly, so this list would be updated many times a day.

As this resource was being created, we started a rapid-response network with our elected democratic socialists, or our “Socialists in Office (SIOs)” and their staff members. Our chapter has already established a Socialists in Office Committee, which made this task much easier. These elected officials were providing constituents with real-time updates and coordinating evacuations, relief, and evacuation centers. They also established locations where residents could relocate to get clean air.

DSA’s staff and National Political Committee worked with our chapter to send mass communications out to members along with a volunteer sign-up form to identify those who were ready and able to help. Working with our regional branches, we divided the respondents up by location and  routed  them each day to volunteer sites  in their area. These included offices of our local electeds and sites like the Pasadena Community Job Center that were accepting and distributing food and donations, as well as facilitating community cleanups. Sites like this were popping up all over LA county.

The community

The response from Angelenos to this disaster has been nothing short of awe-inspiring. Thousands of people have shown up every day to do everything from house evacuees, sort donations, raise money, foster displaced pets, clean up debris, and care for their community in any way imaginable. Volunteers were compiling lists of Gofundmes for victims. Our shelters were taking in hundreds of animals, big and small.  It didn’t take long for these sites to become so overcrowded with people willing to help, that volunteers started to be turned away. One of our own members involved in the emergency response was volunteering nonstop, even as they learned of their family’s home being lost in Altadena. For every tear I’ve cried for a loved one who’s lost their house or apartment and belongings, I’ve cried thinking about how proud I am of this place and its people.

The state

Our system of disaster response was not designed for the scale of these events. The most effective form of firefighting at scale, air support, was impossible during high winds. Our reservoirs, with the exception of one, were full and functional, but the extreme demand caused water pressure to drastically diminish. Typically, 3-4 fire engines are used to put out one structure fire. We now know almost 18,000 structures have been destroyed. Even discounting the fires burning in our mountains, that would require at least 54,000 fire engines deployed at once. Firefighters were even pouring into California from other states and countries to assist in this effort.

That doesn’t mean, however, that our government should be completely excused from what happened before and after these tragedies started. Our current system is an unfortunate reflection of the power dynamic that exists in this country. For too long, private utilities, fossil-fuel companies, and the billionaire class have purchased legislators and laws that allow their profit-seeking to take precedence over our safety and health. Over the years, Los Angeles and California have made strides away from this type of governance, in no small part due to workers coming together to make that happen.

What our government has done in response to these fires has also been fraught. Fire chiefs didn’t prepare like they had in previous years. A significant portion of the labor used to fight fires is also, shamefully, forced from those who are incarcerated. The city of LA’s mayor was out of the country as this all began (though she flew back quickly). County evacuation notifications came far too late for residents, if at all. The county even mistakenly notified millions of people multiple times that they needed to evacuate or boil their water when they didn’t. There was also little information about best practices to protect our health outside after the smoke dissipated (if a fire just ripped through a bunch of houses and businesses near you, wear your mask outside for at least a couple weeks afterward).

We’re allowed to be, and should be, upset at everything our government has done and will do wrong. We should be careful, however, about using distrustful language against our state that flirts with the libertarian and destructive sentiments of the reactionary right. We must always see these lies for what they are. They are attempts to turn sectors of the working class on each other, while distracting us from the real causes of this disaster.

Republicans, right-wing personalities, and oligarchs, particularly Donald Trump and Elon Musk, wasted no time in blaming this disaster on Los Angeles and California. They used their usual, hateful rhetoric to denounce diversity and equity initiatives, Democrats, and an electorate that is too “woke.” Billionaire developer and closet-Republican Rick Caruso, who’s mayoral run in 2022 also went up in flames, used the opportunity to attack mayor Karen Bass in a thinly-veiled attempt to relaunch his political career. He also hired private firefighters, using our water to protect his shopping center in the Palisades. If you want a sense of how important capital is to these people, Caruso decided that saving his open air mall was more important than saving his own daughter’s home, which was destroyed in the Palisades fire.

The policies that DSA-LA’s electeds have begun to propose in response to the fires (an eviction moratorium and rent freeze in response to landlord price gouging) has been evidence for why the state, and gaining democratic control of it, is so important. The recovery effort in the aftermath of these fires is going to take years. What would we want as socialists in the recovery?

This question will be taken up in Part 2 of this article in the February California Red.

Hello,

The struggle of working people for an equitable society free from injustice and oppression has sharpened in recent months, taking center stage through headlines on everything from the devastating climate catastrophe to anti-immigration raids. As that fight shows its face in Milwaukee, we must say no to the elements of hatred and division, even when our institutions appear to embrace them.

Milwaukee Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and our allies are calling on CBS 58 and their parent company, Weigel Broadcasting, to restore former meteorologist Sam Kuffel to her position.

We’ve launched a petition Monday rallying their supporters behind Kuffel and against the notion that a stand against fascism should cost someone their employment. Can you sign?

The people of Milwaukee deserve local reporting that is unafraid to challenge the rising tide of far-right hatred instead of running cover for its leading figures. As we reflect this year on Holocaust Remembrance Day, it is important that we recognize and fight the forces behind historical atrocities as we see them in the present.

Sign the petition online. View the chapter calendar.

In solidarity,
Milwaukee DSA

Seattle DSA Statement on the Jan. 15th announcement of a ceasefire in Gaza

Seattle DSA greets January 19th’s commencement of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas with measured relief – after more than 450 days of unremitting Israeli bombing of Gaza, this ceasefire represents a glimmer of hope for the besieged yet steadfast Palestinians of Gaza. Over the past year, the Israeli campaign of genocide has cost the lives of hundreds of thousands in Gaza and displaced nearly all of Gaza’s 2.3 million inhabitants. 

This campaign of genocide was made possible by the unrestricted diplomatic cover provided to Israel by the disgraced Biden Administration and more than $17 billion in military aid appropriated by both Democrats and Republicans in Congress. These funds represent a theft of tax dollars by the ruling class that should have been put to use feeding, housing, educating, and caring for the working class in this country. This genocide was also made possible by Israel’s apartheid regime, which denies millions of Palestinians basic civil and political rights. Israel has a history of violating ceasefires; it can and will resume its genocide unless Palestine is free from Israeli apartheid and occupation. 

As socialists, we believe that we are not free until Palestine is free. We stand resolute in our commitment to the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement in solidarity with the Palestinian people. By divesting our communities from Israel, we will work to prevent the Israeli government from repeating these atrocities and support Palestinian liberation. Through our Boycott War Profiteers campaign, we have worked over the last 6 months to collect pledges from over 1500 community members to boycott Israeli goods and fight back against companies that have fired workers for standing up for Palestine. We have built public pressure against companies that profit from the sale of Israeli goods and bolstered support for those that stand in solidarity with Palestine. This campaign is just getting started; the global Palestinian solidarity movement isn’t going anywhere and neither are we. 

You can support community divestment in the greater Seattle area by joining our Boycott War Profiteers campaign and participating in the following Boycott War Profiteers campaigns:

1. Sending an email to Artist and Craftsman Supply management to protest their firing of a worker for wearing a watermelon pin. 

2. Writing to the PCC Community Markets’ Board of Directors to urge them to drop Israeli products. 

3. Join the campaign to help identify supportive and antagonistic businesses, growing our organizational capacity.

Boycott and Divestment campaigns across the globe have already played an important role in bringing Israel back to the negotiating table for this ceasefire. From eroding Israel’s credit rating to shuttering thousands of Israeli businesses, Israel’s apartheid regime is more vulnerable than ever. Together, we can keep up the pressure to end Israeli apartheid over Palestine. 

Onward to a free Palestine, from the river to the sea. 

Donald Trump’s fascist regime has returned to power, unleashing a cascade of anti-immigrant policies. Trump campaigned on a platform of violently racist rhetoric, and he has promised to inflict extreme harm on both newcomers and long-time U.S. residents alike through bans, deportations, and incarceration. 

While we prepare ourselves for the coming onslaught of attacks on all marginalized groups, we should not forget Trump’s most vulnerable targets, many of whom live among us in Chicago: migrant children. 

Here in Chicago, the nonprofit Heartland Human Care Services or HHCS (formerly part of Heartland Alliance), holds hundreds of children captive in buildings across the city. These facilities, which the nonprofit calls “shelters,” are better described as detention centers for kids apprehended at the border. In the past, the organization even detained some children who were separated from their families under Trump’s first administration. HHCS took roughly $45 million from the Department of Health and Human Services for its immigration “services” in 2024, a whopping 74% of its overall federal funding.

According to former employees and residents, these facilities act as holding centers where immigrant children are kept separated from their loved ones while their guardians are investigated by HHCS employees. Children are not allowed to leave the centers without permission, and their parents cannot access them without going through a “vetting” process that is designed to gather information on the parents’ legal status, which is often shared with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to former employees. 

In the words of prison abolitionist Rose Braz,
“Kinder, gentler cages are still cages.” 

Former Heartland employees have said children in the detention centers are treated like prisoners with strict schedules and limited freedom, are prevented from seeing loved ones for months or even years, and may be turned over to ICE authorities when they turn 18 and age out of the nonprofit’s custody.  Employees also reported that parents had to pay to see their children when reunification was possible. A ProPublica investigation in 2019 found that children in the system had sexual contact with one another due to lax supervision and inadequate staffing, and a Department of Family and Support Services investigation found that a staff member had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old child in one of Heartland’s detention centers in Des Plaines, which has since closed. ProPublica also found that some children in the centers experienced suicidal ideation and others ran away out of desperation.

HHCS leadership claims that its so-called “shelters” are a better alternative to other detention systems for children, and that it protects kids who would otherwise be vulnerable to human trafficking. This rhetoric simply normalizes the U.S. government’s brutal system of immigrant policing, which tears apart families and communities and criminalizes people for fleeing conditions that the U.S. helped to create through its imperialist policies. 

In the words of prison abolitionist Rose Braz, “Kinder, gentler cages are still cages.” 

Children should not be kept in cages. Parents should not have to submit to surveillance and investigation to be given access to their own children. The entire U.S. immigration system is violent and should be abolished.

Former HHCS employees who have worked in the centers have spoken out against the nonprofit’s treatment of immigrant children, parents, and its own workers. Immigrant rights groups, including Únete La Villita and the Free Heartland Kids group started by CDSA members, have spoken out and protested against these horrors. These efforts paid off — in 2019, in response to a ProPublica’s reporting on the centers and organizers’ appeals to public opinion, Heartland Alliance closed four of its detention centers. Still, more work must be done to free the children in HHCS’s remaining facilities.

The CDSA’s new, improved immigrants’ rights committee faces huge challenges in the years to come. 

Throughout his campaign, Trump and his allies have promised to ramp up violent systems that criminalize, imprison, and expel immigrants — especially Black and brown working-class people. Trump has said he will use the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport “suspected gang members” without due process, and use federal troops and local police to arrest and deport immigrants. He has declared he will end protections such as Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and reinstate his ban on migrants from Muslim-majority nations. On his first day in office, he signed an executive order attempting to end birthright citizenship, which would prevent the U.S.-born children of undocumented migrants from becoming citizens from birth. His plans promise to dramatically increase immigration policing and incarceration across the country. 

We cannot allow the onslaught of attacks on immigrants to overwhelm us and make us feel helpless. We can all make a difference right here at home. 

While the border may feel far away to some of us here in Chicago, the effects of immigration policy will be felt by many of our neighbors. Trump’s chosen immigration advisor even claimed Trump’s quest to deport and incarcerate immigrants will “start right here in Chicago,” and recent news reports confirm that the incoming administration plans to conduct massive ICE raids in Chicago shortly after inauguration day. We must keep our focus sharp, work together with other migrants’ rights groups, and remember that the most vulnerable among us need our attention and deserve our unwavering support. 

If you want to get involved with the fight to end child migrant detention in Chicago and defend migrants across the U.S., connect with the CDSA’s new Immigrant Rights Working Group. The next meeting will be held February 6 at CDSA headquarters at 3411 W Diversey Ave #7 Chicago, IL 60647. You do not need to be a dues-paying DSA member to join — all are welcome! 

You can also join in the PO Box Collective’s ongoing letter-writing campaign from now until February 13 by writing Valentine’s Day cards to show support to kids in the HHCS detention center in Rogers Park. Click here for more details on this action. 

If you are a current or former HHCS employee who would like to share your story or join the campaign to close the child detention centers, please email freeheartlandkids@gmail.com to connect with our group. There are several current and former HHCS employees in the group, and leadership will work with you to protect your identity if you are afraid of retaliation. 

The post Free Heartland Kids appeared first on Midwest Socialist.

The post From Our Co-Chair: A Vision for Memphis Midsouth DSA 2025 first appeared on Memphis-Midsouth DSA.

Thorn West: Issue No. 223

Last week, several explosive and destructive wildfires erupted across LA County. Over 25 casualties have been reported, and many thousands of homes have been destroyed in and around the communities of Altadena and Palisades Park. DSA-LA has put together this evolving emergency resource guide, containing news and organizing opportunities.

State Politics

• In response to the devastation of the ongoing wildfires in LA County, Governor Newsom has proposed a 2.5 billion aid package. Newsom also called for the suspension of some environmental laws that he argued would impede rebuilding.
• Newsom also published an open letter inviting incoming president Trump to tour the areas devastated by wildfires. Trump has incoherently blamed environmental conservation policy for causing the fires, and threatened to withhold disaster relief.
• On Friday, the Governor released an early draft of the proposed budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year. Though drafted before the wildfires, the budget forecasts a small and unexpected surplus after two years of heavy shortfalls.

City Politics

• LA Public Press breaks down the controversy surrounding recent budget cuts to the Los Angeles Fire Department. Many departments experienced cuts after hundreds of millions of dollars were committed to raises for LAPD officers. More granular breakdown here.
• Former mayoral candidate and real estate billionaire Rick Caruso, who has been outspoken in his criticism of Mayor Karen Bass’ handling of the fires, hired private firefighters to protect his Palisades mall while local public hydrants ran out of water.
• In response to the wildfires, Los Angeles has extended the filing period to register as a candidate for Neighborhood Council elections, and also made it for Neighborhood Councils to issue monetary grants to local nonprofits.

Housing Rights

• The wildfires have been followed by rampant price gouging on rent, as landlords attempt to profit from the devastation. While citizens have responded by collaborating on a rent-gouging spreadsheet (here), the State Attorney General has vowed to investigate and prosecute landlords in violation of the price gouging laws; violations can also be reported here.
• A motion from Councilmembers Hugo Soto-Martinez and Eunisses Hernandez would reintroduce COVID policies mandating a blanket temporary rent freeze, as well a moratorium on evicting tenants affected by the fires, but the city council postponed voting on it.
• LA Public Press documents the work of unhoused communities and advocates in developing networks of mutual aid during the wildfires.
• Grist puts the recent fires in the context of the rapidly rising cost of homeowner insurance in California, and the recent state attempts to regulate and reform the market. Meanwhile, The New Republic debunks the myth that insurance companies are being “forced” to raise rates, rather than using disasters as an opportunity to maintain and increase profits.

Immigration

• In neighboring Kern County, Border Patrol agents conducted a massive raid, targeting agricultural workers for detainment and deportation – a return to the practice of frequent workplace raids carried out during the first Trump administration.
• Capital & Main explores how immigrant communities mobilized local relief efforts to help navigate the wildfires.

Local Media

• As false information about the wildfires is proliferating, The Institute for Nonprofit News is offering grants for local independent news sources covering the wildfires.

Environmental Justice

• Climate protesters with Sunrise Movement LA rallied outside a facility operated by oil company Phillips 66, and 16 demonstrators stormed the facility’s office building. The protestors demanded that the oil industry accept financial responsibility for the damages caused by current wildfires.
• Why does climate change lead to more dangerous wildfire seasons? Not only because of the longer dry seasons, but also because of the wild swings between drought and heavy rain.
• KCRW conducted a panel discussion (available in English and Spanish) on the impact of the wildfires on air quality in Los Angeles.

The post Wildfires Devastate Los Angeles County Communities appeared first on The Thorn West.

Nosferatu demands we critically examine our social order and how it has deluded social relationships. What demons have we summoned and what would their pact demand of us?