The Minneapolis “ICE Out” general strike of February 13, 2026, stands as a vivid illustration of the dialectical unity between the class struggle and the fight against imperialist oppression. In the freezing temperatures of sub‑10 °F, tens of thousands of workers, students, faith leaders, and community activists demonstrated that the struggle against capital is inseparable from the struggle against the repressive state apparatus that enforces its interests.
What makes this event particularly significant is how it reveals the true nature of the modern state. The Minneapolis teachers’ victory in barring ICE from schools, followed by a general strike that forced the federal government to withdraw 700 agents from the state, demonstrates that the state is not a neutral arbiter but an instrument of class rule. When the working class organizes in its own name, the state apparatus—police, immigration enforcement, and all its coercive mechanisms—must retreat. This is precisely what Trotsky predicted: the state is a tool of the ruling class, and when the working class seizes the initiative, the state’s power crumbles.
The strike’s extension beyond traditional labor concerns—into schools, faith communities, and neighborhoods—exemplifies the revolutionary potential of the proletariat when it recognizes its collective interests. The workers understood that immigration enforcement is not merely a bureaucratic function but a mechanism of capitalist exploitation, designed to divide the working class and suppress resistance. By refusing to work, attend school, or shop, they struck at the very heart of capitalist reproduction.
Historically, such general strikes have been the midwives of revolution. The 1905 Russian Revolution began with a general strike in St. Petersburg. The 1917 February Revolution in Russia was sparked by workers’ strikes. The 1936 Spanish Revolution saw workers’ committees take over production and administration. The Minneapolis general strike of 1934, which inspired this 2026 action, demonstrated that workers can and must take direct control of society.
The international implications are equally profound. As the working class in the United States challenges the imperialist state, it sends a message to workers worldwide that resistance to both capital and imperialism is possible. The struggle against ICE is not merely a local issue but part of the global fight against the capitalist system that thrives on division and exploitation.
Trotsky’s theory of permanent revolution finds new life in this struggle. The Minneapolis workers did not wait for a “bourgeois democratic” revolution to dismantle the repressive state; they took direct action, bypassing the capitalist class and its political representatives. They demonstrated that the working class can and must lead the struggle for both democratic rights and socialist transformation.
The Minneapolis “ICE Out” strike reminds us that the class struggle is not a relic of the past but a living, breathing force. It shows that when workers unite, they can challenge not only their immediate employers but the entire capitalist state system. The victory in Minneapolis is a victory for all workers, a beacon of hope in an era of increasing repression and inequality.
As the working class continues to organize, to strike, and to build alternative structures of power, it moves closer to the revolutionary transformation that Trotsky envisioned—a world where the means of production are socially owned, and the state becomes a tool for the liberation of humanity rather than its oppression. The Minneapolis strike is but one step on that long and difficult road, but it is a step that demonstrates the power and potential of the working class when it acts in unity and with revolutionary consciousness.