Jacobin Radio: How to Resist ICE and Win w/ Bill Gallegos

Jacobin Radio

Jacobin

Socialism, History, News, Left, Jacobin, Alternative, Socialist, Politics

4.7 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 14 October 2025

⏱️ 68 minutes

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Summary

Professor Tom Alter, a tenured historian at Texas State University, was recently fired for speaking at an online socialism conference. His remarks were secretly recorded and doctored by a self-proclaimed fascist influencer who launched a smear campaign. There was no due process, a blatant violation of his First Amendment and academic freedom rights. The president of Texas State University upheld the firing of Tom Alter after a court ordered his reinstatement. A broad coalition has formed to “Defend Tom Alter.” Tom joins Suzi to describe what happened and why his case has become a flashpoint in the new McCarthyism sweeping US campuses.

Then, longtime Chicano activist Bill Gallegos tells the story of how Los Angeles united to defeat Trump’s deployment of troops to enforce ICE raids and terrorize immigrant communities. Unions, immigrant organizations, artists, faith leaders, and even business groups built a united front demanding troops out — and they won. Trump’s troops were forced to withdraw. LA showed the country what resistance and broad solidarity can achieve: when people organize and stand firm, even a president bent on repression can be pushed back. LA was supposed to be Trump's model for his authoritarian power grab, but instead it was the template for defeating it.

Jacobin Radio with Suzi Weissman features conversations with leading thinkers and activists, with a focus on labor, the economy, and protest movements.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is Jacobin Radio. I'm Susie Wiseman. This week we look at two remarkable stories that show how collective action can stop authoritarianism in its tracks. First, Professor Tom Alter, a tenured historian at Texas State University,
0:23.0	joins us. He was fired on September 10th after speaking at an online revolutionary socialism
0:28.8	conference. His remarks about organizing and defending workers were secretly and illegally
0:34.8	recorded and then doctored by a self-described fascist influencer
0:39.6	who launched an online smear campaign. This case is an example of what Alter calls the new
0:46.1	McCarthyism sweeping higher education, but it's also a story of resistance. Students, colleagues,
0:52.3	unions, professional and political organizations have rallied
0:55.3	to his defense. We're going to discuss his case, the far-right assault on academic freedom,
0:59.9	and why the fight for free speech must be collective, not individual. And then we turn to
1:05.7	long-term Chicano activist and organizer Bill Gallegos, who joins us to talk about his article, Los Angeles
1:13.3	boots out Trump's troops that is forthcoming in the nation. In June, Trump sent more than 4,000
1:19.6	National Guard troops and 700 Marines into Los Angeles. His goal was to crush the city's
1:25.7	immigrant defense movement and terrorized sanctuary communities.
1:29.5	But L.A. didn't back down. Labor unions, immigrant organizations, faith leaders, artists, even business leaders,
1:36.3	formed a united front demanding the troops out. And they won. Bill Gallegos shows us how years
1:43.2	organizing, broad solidarity, and non-sectarian unity turned Trump's provocation into a stunning defeat for authoritarian power.
1:52.9	Together, these two stories, one from the university and the other from the streets, show that solidarity works.
1:59.5	When people organize, stand together, and refuse fear,
2:02.8	even presidents and universities can be pushed back. Well, all this when our program returns
2:08.6	in just a moment.
2:17.4	This is Jacobin Radio. I'm Susie Wiseman.
2:20.9	Professor Tom Alter, a tenured historian at Texas State University, was fired on September 10th.
	...

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