Socialism 2026: Full Schedule

4:30pm CDT

What We Saw in Chicago: From Midway Blitz to New Forms of Community Defense

Friday September 4, 2026 4:30pm - 6:00pm CDT

When hundreds of Border Patrol agents came to Chicago to carry out warrantless arrests and racialized sweeps, Illinoisans mobilized to protect their neighbors and document abuses. But the response from Chicago and its suburban neighbors did not begin with the raids. It was built through decades of organizing, relationship building, and community infrastructure. As immigration enforcement continues to evolve, this panel explores what Chicago’s experience offers organizers confronting expanding state repression and building collective power in their own communities.

Speakers

Juliet DeJesus Alejandre

Antonio Gutierrez

TBD

Rey Wences

Sponsors

ICIRR

OCAD

Friday September 4, 2026 4:30pm - 6:00pm CDT
TBA

Migrant Justice

10:00am CDT

Chicago's Educators and Families Defending Communities Against ICE

Saturday September 5, 2026 10:00am - 11:30am CDT

TBA

Chicago public educators and community members reflect on lessons learned on the front lines defending our schools and neighborhoods during Operation Midway Blitz. We united to protect our communities in brilliant acts of multi-racial solidarity, providing a blueprint for the kind of critical resistance demanded in an era of unfettered state violence.

Speakers

Lisset G

Lizette G became involved with the southwest rapid response team during operation midway blitz and is now a key organizer at a day laborer hiring site in her neighborhood of Brighton Park. She is a mother to two CPS students.

Kobi Guillory

Kobi Guillory was born in Atlanta and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa. He is a middle school science teacher on the South side and a CTU delegate. He is also a member of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression and Freedom Road Socialist Organization

Raul Islas

Kathryn Zamarron

Kat Zamarrón teaches elementary school music and is a member of the Chicago Teachers Union and Caucus-of-Rank-and-File-Educators (CORE). She is a member of the union's Latine Caucus, PAC, and Executive Board. Outside of union activities, she is involved with community defense work... Read More →

Saturday September 5, 2026 10:00am - 11:30am CDT
TBA

Migrant Justice

12:00pm CDT

Migra Watch Training for Illinois Residents

Saturday September 5, 2026 12:00pm - 1:30pm CDT

TBA

For more than a year, PUÑO has been building collective power to protect Chicago’s immigrant communities through a variety of trainings and connecting Chicagoans to their local rapid response group. At this training organizers will lead attendees on how to document and record ICE activity, as well as how to combat ICE terror in our communities.

Speakers

Diego Morales

Sponsors

PUÑO

Saturday September 5, 2026 12:00pm - 1:30pm CDT
TBA

Migrant Justice

3:00pm CDT

How to Close a Camp: Dispatches from the Fight Against Immigrant Detention

Saturday September 5, 2026 3:00pm - 4:30pm CDT

TBA

Masked federal agents are kidnapping and killing our neighbors, on the streets and behind the bars of hundreds of detention centers across the country. In spite of the decades-long growth of immigrant detention, communities have been fighting back against camps—and winning. Join award-winning journalist and translator John Washington and community advocate Johannes Favi as they discuss the community-led fights to shut down these camps.

Speakers

John Washington

John Washington is a journalist covering the border, climate change, democracy, and more. He has written for The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The Nation, The Intercept, and other outlets. He is the author of The Case for Open Borders and The Dispossessed: A Story of Asylum... Read More →

Johannes Favi

Johannes Favi is a nationally recognized community leader, human rights advocate, and founder of Caged Dreams, a nonprofit organization advancing healing, leadership, and educational opportunity for immigrant communities. His work bridges lived experience, public policy, and community engagement... Read More →

Saturday September 5, 2026 3:00pm - 4:30pm CDT
TBA

Migrant Justice

8:00pm CDT

Neighbors Get Ready: Forging New Solidarities and Defeating ICE

Saturday September 5, 2026 8:00pm - 9:30pm CDT

TBA

When ICE goose-stepped into our cities to raid and terrorize, regular people from all walks of life forged new solidarities to throw them out. Join activists from the front lines of the struggle to defend our neighbors for a plenary on getting organized and ready for what’s coming.

Speakers

Silky Shah

Silky Shah has been working as an organizer on issues related to racial and migrant justice for over two decades. Originally from Texas, she began fighting the expansion of immigrant jails on the US-Mexico border in the aftermath of 9/11. In 2009, she joined the staff of Detention Watch Network... Read More →

TBD

Saturday September 5, 2026 8:00pm - 9:30pm CDT
TBA

Migrant Justice

5:00pm CDT

Mass Labor Action in Defense of Immigrant Workers: Why We Need It and How We Can Get there

Sunday September 6, 2026 5:00pm - 6:30pm CDT

TBA

This panel brings together immigrant activists from San Jose and Los Angeles, a labor militant from Minneapolis, and a historian of the complex working class history in which radicals fought to create a powerful synergy between the unions and workers who have crossed borders.

Speakers

Justin Akers Chacón

Justin Akers Chacón is an educator, activist, and writer in the San Diego-Tijuana border region, and is a member of Socialist Horizon. His works include No One is Illegal: Fighting Racism and State Violence on the US-Mexico Border (with Mike Davis), Radicals in the Barrio: Magonistas... Read More →

Lucia Flores

Lucia Flores is an organizer at Cal State University. She is a Mexican American daughter of immigrants who has been involved in community and student organizing for over a decade.

Victor Rodríguez

Victor Rodríguez has been active in the socialist movement for four decades. Since moving to the U.S. from his native South America more than 20 years ago, he has worked in factories in California and has been involved in union organizing and the fight for immigrants’ rights. Victor... Read More →

Dan Troccoli

Dan Troccoli is a trade unionist, middle school teacher, and community activist in Minneapolis, MN.

Sponsors

Workers Voice

Sunday September 6, 2026 5:00pm - 6:30pm CDT
TBA

Migrant Justice

10:00am CDT

How Communities Become Targets: Somalis in Minnesota and the Policing of Black Muslim Life

Monday September 7, 2026 10:00am - 11:30am CDT

TBA

How do communities become targets? This session traces Somali migration to Minnesota through the lens of Operation Metro Surge. It examines how race, religion, and immigration status shape who is marked as “risk,” and how these structures expand, revealing how Black refugees are policed as threats while inviting reflection on resistance and belonging.

Speakers

Somali Organizers from MN

Monday September 7, 2026 10:00am - 11:30am CDT
TBA

Migrant Justice

4:30pm CDT

10:00am CDT

12:00pm CDT

3:00pm CDT

8:00pm CDT

5:00pm CDT

10:00am CDT

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