U.S. President Donald Trump walks from Marine One to the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 20, 2026. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
Today’s Office Hours discussion is more personal than most because what’s occurring in Minneapolis and other American cities is raising the stakes — and forcing many of us to become involved who never expected to be.
What’s happening in Minneapolis may soon be happening in your city. Yesterday, ICE swarmed into southern Maine — Lewiston, Portland, and other seaport towns — in what the Department of Homeland Security chillingly and disparagingly calls “Operation Catch-of-the-Day.”
ICE is out of control. It’s acting illegally — stopping motorists and searching homes without warrants; detaining people on the basis of their skin color; smashing car windows; using pepper spray; pulling people out of their beds in the middle of the night who are legally in the United States; arresting and jailing people; shooting people. It has murdered an American who was doing nothing but trying to get her car out of their way.
I’ve been in touch with friends and former students in Minneapolis as well as Chicago, Los Angeles, and now, Maine. Some have been extraordinarily brave. A few tell me they’ve tailed ICE agents and whistled loudly to warn others of ICE’s whereabouts. Some have sought to block agents from entering schools, courthouses, and clinics. Others have been taking videos to give to the media or use in court.
In all these cases, my friends and former students have been taking risks — of being arrested, losing their jobs, or being physically hurt, even shot at and killed.
The number of ICE agents continues to expand, along with Border Patrol agents. Active military are soon likely to be (or by the time you read this already are) on the streets. The number of cities being subject to ICE is growing.
So the question I want to ask today is one that I wish I didn’t have to ask and never expected to ask of people who inhabit the United States. But it’s important, and I’d appreciate it if you’d answer it as honestly as you can.
What are you prepared to risk to constrain this illegal force? Let me list the risks in rough order of magnitude:
1. Frankly, I’m not willing to risk much of anything. I may write angry letters to my members of Congress and perhaps protest from the sidelines, but if I’m honest with myself, I’m not going to go beyond this.
2. I’d risk being arrested. If I see agents acting in ways I feel are illegal or immoral — bullying or brutalizing innocent people — I may try to stop them at the risk of being arrested for interfering with law enforcement, even if that could mean some time in jail and an arrest record.
3. In addition, I’d risk being suspended from, or losing, my job. I’d take this risk, too. I understand some employers want to avoid controversy and may have no compunctions about firing me if I’ve caused “trouble,” but my principles are more important than my job.
4. In addition, I’d risk being physically harmed, even shot at and maybe killed. I will not use violence, but I feel so strongly that what ICE and Border Patrol agents are doing is wrong that I’m willing to put myself at physical risk — perhaps being pulled out of my car, or doused with tear gas and pepper spray, even subject to lethal force.
Robert Reich is a professor of public policy at Berkeley and former secretary of labor. His writings can be found at https://robertreich.substack.com/.
