Tech helps Minneapolis more than ICE. Here’s why.

Minneapolis ICE Resistance: How Everyday Tech Became a Shield Against Surveillance

In the bitter Minnesota winter of 2025-2026, a remarkable story unfolded: 2,700 federal immigration agents arrived in Minneapolis, armed with what they believed was technological superiority. Facial recognition systems, 24/7 social media surveillance tools, Israeli spyware capable of hacking phones, and a $30 million AI system called “ImmigrationOS” designed to track individuals for deportation—ICE seemed poised to overwhelm local resistance.

But the people of Minneapolis had a different plan. Armed with nothing more than the smartphones in their pockets, they created a decentralized, technologically savvy resistance movement that has not only frustrated federal operations but appears to be turning the tide. Last week, Homeland Security announced a reduction of 700 ICE agents in the area, leaving 2,000 officers facing a determined, highly-connected populace that shows no signs of backing down.

The High-Tech Arsenal of Everyday Citizens

Signal Chats: The Digital Nervous System

“Over four percent of every single neighborhood is in a Signal chat,” Minneapolis organizer Aru Shiney-Ajay revealed to labor writer Kim Kelly. This figure, from early January, has likely grown substantially as the resistance movement expanded.

Sunrise Movement alone creates daily “rapid response” Signal groups for each neighborhood. These encrypted chats have become so popular that St. Paul’s Frogtown neighborhood regularly hits the 1,000-person limit by 11 a.m. each day.

The chats function as digital dispatch centers, coordinating volunteer “commuters” who drive to where they’re most needed. Using Signal’s group call feature, dispatchers maintain constant voice contact with observers in the field, directing them to suspected ICE vehicles and coordinating license plate checks.

“The calls have the feel of an amateur police radio,” Mother Jones reported. “Volunteers use quirky aliases and the military alphabet but sometimes don’t remember—a caller might say something along the lines of, ‘This is Cheese Curd, and I’d like a plate check on Texas plate One Three Four Six Charlie, uh, Robert.'”

Despite FBI Director Kash Patel’s announcement that he was personally investigating Minneapolis Signal chats, digital privacy experts remain confident in the app’s security. “Signal is the best in class encrypted chat app, and yes, it is still secure,” Cooper Quintin, Senior Staff Technologist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told Mashable. “The people who work at Signal can’t read them and the FBI can’t compel them to decrypt them, even with a warrant.”

However, Quintin offered a crucial warning: “ICE [or other] law enforcement can and will make their way into large group chats. If you are on a large group chat where you don’t personally know everyone, the safest thing to do is to not say anything that you wouldn’t want read back to you in court.”

Smartphone Video: The Ultimate Deterrent

Perhaps no technology has proven more effective than the humble smartphone camera. ICE agents caught in the glare of multiple recording devices from various angles show visible discomfort, their body language shifting from aggressive to defensive.

“The biggest question here is physical safety,” Quintin notes. His advice: keep your distance from ICE agents while keeping fellow observers close. Mark Engler, longtime activist and co-author of “This is an Uprising,” theorizes that “a solid wall of observers” could record from closer range, especially with burner phones and cameras that could be snatched if necessary.

For digital safety, Quintin recommends disabling face unlock and fingerprint unlock features, using strong passwords, and if possible, recording while the phone remains locked using the camera button on the lock screen. “If you can leave your phone powered off and record with a different device that is the most safe option.”

The Alex Pretti case illustrates both the power and the danger of this approach. Pretti was filming ICE agents when he was shot, his video becoming crucial evidence in understanding what happened. The woman who captured the most widely-shared footage of the incident heard whistles warning of ICE presence and went to investigate.

3D-Printed Whistles: Low-Tech, High-Impact

The whistle network represents one of the most creative technological adaptations in the resistance. What began in Chicago in 2025 has become a Minneapolis institution. Free 3D-printed whistles are distributed by multiple groups, with one “whistle crew” claiming to have shipped 200,000 units in the first week of February alone.

A Whistle Crew Wiki provides instructions for anyone with a 3D printer to start fulfilling local requests. The whistles serve as immediate, audible alerts that can travel blocks, giving residents precious minutes to prepare or gather.

Billboards and Traditional Media: Old Tech, New Purpose

Not all the technology employed is cutting-edge. One donation-funded group purchased advertising time on electronic billboards throughout Minneapolis, including one strategically placed at the airport where ICE agents arrive. The message is direct: “ICE agents aren’t about Minnesota law. Illegal conduct can be prosecuted.”

The signs advise viewers to call 911 if they witness crimes, effectively turning the public into additional observers and creating legal accountability for federal agents who might overstep their authority.

The Cultural Foundation: Minnesota’s Secret Weapon

While technology provides tools, Minnesota’s real advantage lies in its deeply ingrained culture of civic engagement. The state consistently leads the nation in voter participation, with around 80 percent of registered voters participating in both the 2020 and 2024 elections.

The Twin Cities boast strong labor unions, active faith-based communities, and a history of civil rights activism dating back decades. The George Floyd protests of 2020 created networks of activists that have seamlessly transitioned into the current resistance movement.

“Networks developed in those previous waves of protest have fueled the current round of resistance,” Engler explains. “Ultimately, this creates the conditions where you can win elections, and where all of the institutions of society help to impede the authoritarian program that the Trump administration is trying to impose.”

The Human Element: Bathrobes in the Snow

Perhaps the most powerful images from Minneapolis show residents grabbing their phones and heading out into the snow in their bathrobes to observe ICE activities. One iconic image features a local public radio journalist filming armed federal agents at a crash scene while wearing pajamas.

These images have gone viral precisely because they humanize the resistance. They show ordinary people—not professional activists or anarchists—standing up for their neighbors in the most mundane circumstances possible.

The choir singing outside ICE agents’ hotel represents another powerful moment: peaceful, joyful resistance that frames the federal presence as unwelcome rather than threatening.

The Future of Resistance

As ICE continues to expand operations across the United States, activists nationwide are studying Minneapolis’ approach. The combination of encrypted communication, widespread video documentation, community coordination, and cultural solidarity offers a template for resisting federal overreach.

The reduction in ICE force in Minneapolis suggests this approach is working. But more importantly, it demonstrates that technology, when wielded by an organized and determined populace, can level the playing field against even the most sophisticated surveillance state.

The Minneapolis model shows that resistance doesn’t require the latest gadgets or the biggest budgets. It requires only what the people of Minnesota have demonstrated in abundance: community solidarity, technological creativity, and the courage to stand up for one’s neighbors.

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