Red Alert: January Edition
How ICE, debt, and the state are connected — and what we can do about it
“life is merely
to ovum and sperm
and where those two meet
and how often and how well
and what dies there.”
– Renée Nicole Good, from “On Learning to Dissect Fetal Pigs”
It’s hard not to be horrified by the murders of Renée Nicole Good and Alex Pretti by ICE agents in Minneapolis. These deaths represent an escalation of state violence, but the response to them brings more questions. Why, for example, did the killing of Keith Porter by an off-duty ICE agent in Los Angeles on New Years Eve not garner the same public outcry, nor the murders of at least six immigrants in ICE detention this year alone? Why not the killing of hundreds more Palestinians since the latest ceasefire agreement went into effect last October?
Some may be tempted to blame the evil we are now witnessing on President Trump, but the truth is that ICE has grown into its current evolution through the efforts of both parties. Created in the year after 9/11, the domestic policing carried out by ICE is inextricable from the militarized forces that protect American interests overseas, from the Israeli Defense Forces to NATO. The brutality of ICE reveals the banality of imperial violence waged by the United States upon the rest of the world — only now, this violence has returned home to target white Americans too.
The unfounded killings of Good and Pretti tell us that there is no way to be a perfect citizen in a fascist state, just as there is no way to be a perfect debtor when every aspect of our lives is financialized. People forced to stay home from work or close businesses to protect themselves from immigration raids are falling behind on their bills, leading to default and eviction. Meanwhile, the funds slashed from healthcare infrastructure are being diverted to hire ICE agents — who are being offered $60,000 in student loan forgiveness in exchange for terrorizing their neighbors and fellow citizens.
In moments like these, our strength lies in mobilizing to care for each other, as Minneapolis residents have modeled for us. There are many ways to support your communities, from attending an observation training to reading up on migrant justice and border abolition. You can also find and join a rapid response network near you. If you’re not sure where to start, try searching online by typing in your location alongside phrases like ‘rapid response’ or ‘ICE watch’. If you don’t find anything immediately, don’t be discouraged! Sometimes the best approach is to find an in-person action near you and approach an organizer to ask how you can get involved — regular people are building new infrastructures of solidarity every day, and none of us can do it alone.
Read on to learn more about what we’ve been working on to build debtor power in the coming months and how you can get involved.
Higher Education
We are excited to share some of the events we’ve scheduled through May 2026!
Our office hours for debtors in default and debtors applying for Total and Permanent Disability cancellation are open for registration. Our Jubilee School fall semester kicks off in late February and will cover the problems within our higher education system as well as potential solutions to implement College for All. Please join us as we build power to win free college and student debt cancellation this year!
Finally, we’ve launched a survey that will help us organize and support debtors across the country. Fill it out in the next week for a chance to win some Debt Collective merch!
Healthcare
As the fight over federal health drags on in Washington, DC one thing remains clear: winning a different healthcare system requires that we look to each other to grow our power. 100 million Americans are already struggling with medical debt, and we can expect this number to grow over the coming year as cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, ACA subsidies, and many other social service programs kick in.
Here’s how to get involved as we expand the fight for a different vision of healthcare:
If you work in healthcare, join our Healthcare Worker Solidarity Collective
Navigating the healthcare system and debt economy with disability or a chronic illness? Get plugged into the work of our Disabled Debtors Cohort and join our event next Monday
We’re gearing up to launch a HealthWatch Organizing Cohort focused on the consequences federal healthcare cuts will have in communities across the country in the months ahead. Fill out this interest form to learn more and our organizers will be in touch about next steps.
Housing
Our California-based Tenant Power Toolkit hit a major milestone at the end of last year: since the TPT’s inception in 2022, we’ve prepared more than 20,000 legal answers to eviction paperwork and helped over 50,000 tenants! We expect growth in 2026 to outpace previous years’ thanks to our outreach expansion in Los Angeles County and the San Francisco Bay Area.
On the organizing front, our work with tenants of Equity Residential — one of the largest landlords in the country — continues. We are currently eight months into a utility strike led by the Virgil Square Tenants Association, where we are organizing to ban the use of ratio utility billing systems (RUBS). This work is of growing importance as the City of Los Angeles moves towards a substantial regulation of the use of RUBS. Through our organizing efforts at Virgil Square and Mozaic apartment buildings, we have been increasing our outreach to other buildings across L.A. to pressure the city to end RUBS permanently.
Finally, this month saw the beginning of our dedicated outreach in the Bay Area. We are now working with the Oakland Tenants Union on two workshops for tenants facing eviction, and are about to launch a new Tenant Power Toolkit at the Alameda County Law Library. We expect big and exciting work in the East Bay this year!
Upcoming Events
50 Over 50 Monthly Call
Thursday, January 29th 7pm ET / 4pm PT
Thursday, February 19th 7pm ET / 4pm PT
Are you 50 years old or older? Do you have student loan debt? Join our 50/50 meeting for student debtors aged fifty and above to discuss action steps, organizing plans, and build solidarity. Newcomers are welcome!
Final Friday Flow
Friday, January 30th 8:30pm ET / 5:30pm PT
Friday, February 27th 8:30pm ET / 5:30pm PT
Held on the last Friday of each month, these gatherings are designed to remind us that the path to debt abolition and collective liberation begins within. Through guided somatic and movement-based practices, we’ll transform exhaustion into power, fear into vision, and pain into purpose.
Cancellation Office Hours: Total & Permanent Disability
Monday, February 2nd 5pm ET / 2pm PT
Join our discussion about Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) Discharge for federal student loans. We’ll be joined by members of our Disabled Debtors Cohort who have gone through and supported each other during the TPD discharge process, and we’ll also discuss other ways our lives are shaped by the intersection of disability and debt. Join us if you’ve applied or are considering applying for student debt cancellation via the TPD process.
Movement Monday
Monday, February 2nd 8:30pm ET / 5:30pm PT
Held on the first Monday of each month, these gatherings invite us to pause, breathe, and reconnect with our bodies as a vital part of organizing for debt abolition and collective care. We’ll check in with ourselves and each other through accessible, grounding somatic practices that support nervous system regulation, accountability, and mutual support.
Office Hours: Debtors in Default
Wednesday, February 4th 12pm ET / 9am PT
Wednesday, February 18th 7pm ET / 4pm PT
Join us as we discuss options for debtors with federal student loans in default. We will cover options that require repayment, like rehabilitation and consolidation, as well as options that do not, like loan cancellation. We will also provide information about free tax filing resources from GetYour Refund.
New Member Call
Wednesday, February 4th 7pm ET / 4pm PT
Curious about the Debt Collective and how we’re organizing to abolish debt? Our New Member Call is a space to learn who we are, what we’re fighting for, and how you can plug in.
Writing Your Debt Story: A Short-form & Op-Ed Workshop
Part I Tuesday, February 10th 7pm ET / 4pm PT
Part II Wednesday, February 25th 7pm ET / 4pm PT
Join author, educator, and Debt Collective member Kristin Collier for a two-part workshop on short-form debt storytelling. In Part I, we’ll discuss focus, structure, language, and research, and create a plan for writing a short essay or op-ed. In Part II, we’ll workshop rough drafts for group feedback and discuss publishing strategies. We welcome storytelling on debt of all kinds, not just student debt!
Town Hall Training
Wednesday, February 11th 6pm ET / 3pm PT
Want to create change but not sure how to organize? Birddogging is a powerful activist tactic that puts decision-makers on the spot with clear, inescapable questions that demand real answers. We’ll break down how to craft “bullet-proof” requests that win the room, force clarity, and are extremely difficult for candidates to dodge. Learn how to secure real commitments from candidates and elected officials for the world we’re fighting for.
Core Team Call for Final Friday Flow & Movement Monday
Monday, February 16th 8:30pm ET / 5:30pm PT
Want to help shape and facilitate care work in our community gatherings? We’re inviting folks to step into our Core Team! We’re especially looking for support with facilitation, storytelling, tech, social media, outreach, flyers and creative roles. Come help us build with care, intention, and radical joy!
Borrower Defense: The Landscape, Updates & Workshop
Tuesday, February 24th 8pm ET / 5pm PT
Our Monthly Borrower Defense Calls are designed for borrowers navigating fraud, misconduct, and student loan injustice. Each call provides timely updates on the Borrower Defense landscape, current litigation, and policy developments alongside practical guidance on asserting your rights and filing claims.
College for All Jubilee School: Kickoff
Thursday, February 26th 5pm ET / 2pm PT
Higher education in the US is moving towards collapse, and public support for colleges and universities is swiftly eroding. In our Spring Jubilee School semester, we’ll unpack higher ed issues and potential solutions through weekly sessions with education and policy experts. Join our kickoff session to learn more about why we should care about free college at this moment and what to expect from Jubilee School this semester.
Black Anti-Fascism: Lessons from the Past for the Current Moment & Beyond
Friday, February 27th 1pm ET / 10am PT
In Minneapolis and around the U.S., the state is terrifying migrant communities and assaulting residents in the name of anti-Blackness, targeting Somalis and people of color on the same ground where it killed George Floyd in 2020. Facilitated by Debt Collective Visionary Escalator Dr. Shamell Bell, this event features leading scholar-activists Charisse Burden-Stelly and Jeanelle K. Hope in conversation on why we must draw on the Black Anti-Fascist Tradition in this moment.
Fascism and financialization reinforce each other. The U.S. empire is completely fine with forgiving student loans – so long as you sign up to ethnically cleanse neighborhoods across the country.
But on a happier note, excited about all the upcoming Debt Collective events!