Twin Ports Rapid Response
News 2026-01-24
Greetings friends
Thank you for being here!
Thanks to those who attended the Immigrant Defense Network
training on Jan 13. There was so much energy in the room & the room was packed!
Our training on Jan 29 is now filled to capacity.
We are getting so many calls for future training opportunities.
Thank you for
reaching out to us. Due to the high level of interest,
we have decided to pull together a training team that can offer:
- informal, low-tech trainings for small groups —
please contact us at training@twinportsrapidresponse.org
with a proposal for your organization, venue, neighborhood group, or small business.
- regular zoom trainings for those that would prefer an online option
- in-person, large-scale, media-rich trainings that closely follow
the Immigrant Defense Network format that we saw on Jan 13 —
we have gone through a "train-the-trainer" mentorship with
IDN and will use these opportunities to closely follow their
slides & other presentation materials
To learn about upcoming zoom & larger in-person presentations that we host,
please
stay tuned to our events page & sign up for our newsletter.
Training opportunities from outside organizations
will also be included in these spaces.
Other Learning Resources
Each One Teach One
We have a number of resources including hotline numbers, links to legal
help, know your rights information, constitutional observer guides,
and more on our website. Please feel to share with your networks. We welcome your suggestions.
Help us share & build these resources.
Joining our team
We are growing fast
The TPRR leadership circle has spent many hours discussing ways
to meet the rapid increase in members. We are scaling up faster than we could have ever imagined &
we are a small leadership team. We are learning as we go.
Thank you for your patience as we grapple with
this.
We are building a solution that
improves our ability to target response to impacted
neighborhoods, strengthen local relationships,
facilitate small, secure
conversations amongst community members, & create redundancy in our communications
channels. After hashing things out, taking time for reflection, and building
prototypes to test various strategies for growth, we have settled on
cell division/de-centralization.
We will be sharing more in the coming days &
will use this strategy at our next training on the 29th.
We will build strong root systems between small, independent
neighborhood nodes and will focus on the following functional roles
in our distributed network:
- Hotline number intake
- Dispatch
- Information vetting/filtering
- Communications
- Neighborhood Patrol
- Relationship building/liaison work
- Education
We will also support, collaborate, & amplify other groups that are working
on political action, mutual aid, & other non-violent direct actions.
We are grateful to be in this community. Thank you for
everything you do.
Don't Wait
Build community around you, share resources,
develop ways to communicate, plan ahead. One of our TPRR
members put together suggestions for building a neighborhood
network here.
A group north of the Twin Ports is talking about this work in terms of "civil defense."
They are "filling sandbags for democracy," "standing up against bullies," "protecting our neighbors,"
— building rapid response and mutual aid support systems that harken back to the days of
victory gardens
and the actions taken in the UK as tyrannical air raids targeted
civilian areas.
Get trained, build your network, & connect with ours.
Minnesota Stands Up to ICE!
& the world is watching
January 23 was a statewide day of non-violent moral action, & reflection — no work, no school, no shopping — only community, conscience, and collective action.
Minnesota was joined by acts of solidarity all over the globe.
We gathered news stories on our bluesky (you don't need a bluesky account to
read our posts & they won't be filtered out by a big-tech,
algorithmic bias machine).
Contact your Senators
Not a penny more for ICE brutality!
The DHS appropriations bill that just passed the House would hand MORE funding to ICE and Border Patrol, and do little to rein in their abuses.
So we are calling on the Senate to reject the current bill, and withhold their votes from any legislation funding DHS.
Upcoming events
Running to Stand Still
sponsored by ICMJ & IDN
- When:
- January 25, 3:00–5:00pm
- Where:
- Zeitgeist Teatro
Duluth, MN
Running to Stand Still — Migrants Search For Hope In The Promised Land, a documentary on the humanitarian crisis on the U.S. / Mexico border. January 25, 3-5 pm: short film, discussion, and reception at Zeitgeist Teatro, 222 E. Superior St.
Learn more about migrants who have recently come to the United States to escape violence and to find a better life. The film documents their journeys and the obstacles they face. Joining our post-film discussion (by zoom) is a former Border Patrol Officer who became director of a shelter for migrants. This free event is open to the public. It is hosted by the Interfaith Committee for Migrant Justice of the Twin Ports and funded by the Immigrant Defense Network.
Training — Community Defense and ICE Watch
by States at the Core (STAC)
- When:
- January 28, 6:00pm CT
- Where:
- Zoom
"Join this 90-minute training from States at the Core and Protect RP on effectively protecting your neighborhoods from federal enforcement incursions. ICE Watch and other rapid response tactics are key strategies being used by people across the country to protect their communities against aggressive activity from federal law enforcement agencies like ICE and Border Patrol. Whether or not you are part of an established community response network, this training will share important skills for building neighborhood resilience, documenting ICE activity, and supporting neighbors. In addition to covering the basics of ICE Watch, we will discuss new analysis on ICE operations, rapid response tactics, and safety guidance."
Training — Twin Ports Rapid Response
Now full
- When:
- January 29
- Where:
- Location will be provided after registration
Training — Twin Ports Rapid Response
Registration opens soon
- When:
- February 19
- Where:
- TBD
Attend Your Precinct Caucus Feb. 3
Get ready!
Two of the most powerful ways for many of us Minnesota writers and other citizens to influence the behavior of our government are to register and vote in elections, and to participate in our precinct caucus.
- When:
- Tuesday, February 3, 7:00pm
Caucuses occur every even-numbered year on the first Tuesday in February. The 2026 elections in the fall will determine control of the Minnesota state government. You can have a hand at shaping policies that impact our communities.
But first: what are precinct caucuses?
Precinct caucuses are local meetings run by political parties. Anyone may participate if they live in the precinct, are eligible to vote in 2026 (must be at least 18 on Nov. 3), and generally support the party hosting the meeting.
By attending a caucus, you can learn about candidates for public office and influence who your party will endorse. You can bring up issues important to you that might eventually make their way into the party platform. Perhaps you will be chosen and agree to attend the district convention to represent a point-of-view. The next level of involvement would be the State convention!
Very often, anyone showing up to the caucus can become a delegate. Only a small percentage of citizens attend precinct caucuses, which means that your participation can have a large influence on the election process.
You can visit the Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State website for more information about precinct caucuses, including the location of the one you should attend, based on your political leanings and address.
Contact us
If see or experience an ice raid or have urgent information you can call our
hotline at: (218) 213-5009. We can show up, document, follow up.
For other communications with us please reach out to:
hello@twinportsrapidresponse.org.
If you haven't already, sign up for future communications &
invite your neighbors.
We post topical news stories on our bluesky account. You do not need a bluesky account to read our posts.
