Socialists pack County Council to denounce ICE

In the first major test for its new ICE Out campaign, Pittsburgh DSA members turned out in droves at the March 10 Allegheny County Council meeting to demand the county cease cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The meeting, which followed weeks of coordinated advocacy from DSA and allied organizations, ended in success: The council voted 11-3 in favor of an ordinance introduced by Councilmember Bethany Hallam that would restrict county officials from most forms of cooperation with ICE.

Socialists lead the charge

Most striking was the huge number of DSA members who turned out to speak. DSA was by far the largest presence at the meeting, with 15 members giving public comment – no other organization had multiple self-identified members speak. Graduate student-worker union members testified to the fear gripping their international student colleagues; neighbors pointed out the impact family separation and deportations have for the local public school community; and several members simply shared personal stories highlighting the humanity of their immigrant neighbors and the basic ethical obligation facing the council.

The chapter reaped the benefit of its huge turnout because it came in prepared to meet the moment. Previously, at its February general meeting, the chapter adopted the ICE Out priority, committing itself to joining and building the mass movement against Donald Trump’s terror squads. The timing could not have been more fortuitous: at a key political moment in the area, the chapter was able to mobilize its rank and file and become a hegemonic player in the action.

Strong organizing gets the goods

How did this come about? Looking underneath the proverbial hood of the organizing can give us a clue.

Pittsburgh DSA, like the organization as a whole, has experienced significant growth this year. From March 2025 to March 2026, the chapter grew from 574 to 849 members, a 48 percent increase. Motivated by the genocide in Gaza, ICE terror and DSA member Zohran Mamdani’s election as New York City mayor, new members have streamed into the chapter to get involved and make a difference politically. While this is an incredible development, chapter leaders have also been forced to grapple with how to activate these new members.

The answer lies in creating a structured space for members to organize and develop their skills. People typically join DSA because they want to do something to fight for socialism. The challenge of the activist core is to facilitate members’ meaningful participation – or to put it simply, give them space to do something. This is a lot more work than it sounds. Sometimes leaders can get frustrated and think the chapter is too low on capacity to take on work. But putting in more work at the beginning will pay off later. Leaders should always go back to two key questions: 1) What am I asking members to do? 2) Am I giving them the tools to do it?

The ICE Out organizers created that space for member action. It started with giving people tools to act. Leaders split up the work. One member drafted talking points, to give people a base of knowledge of how to speak persuasively on the issue. Others set up digital communications for email and social media to get the message out. For a rank-and-file member, the asks were clear: Talk to your council member. Show up to the meeting. Speak at the meeting. And tell as many people you can to do the same thing.

What took the action to the next level was individual member contact, or asking people individually to do things. Organizers called members personally and recruited them to speak. They specifically targeted new members with their outreach – many of the members who showed up had never given public comment or taken any action with DSA before.  After a member volunteered, leaders followed up to make sure they had the tools they needed to participate. On the day of the meeting, organizers were on site to coordinate and personally welcome members.

Looking forward

The success of the County Council speak-out can serve as a model for the chapter’s work going forward. When given the chance and tools to take meaningful action, members do it. Over time, the activist core can bring those members “under the hood” to take on planning tasks. Rinse and repeat, and a healthy organizing cycle appears. When problems come up, leaders should go back to those core questions and fine tune their asks.

The meeting also highlighted how strongly DSA could assert itself in local politics. Its large membership numbers and sharp political approach give it the ability to turn out to city and council meetings in larger numbers than possibly any other political organization. The chapter has already taken a huge positive step by coordinating more closely with its one city councilor, Deb Gross. One path members should explore is Portland DSA’s model – its red shirts and signature logo have become a fixture at City Council meetings, with members showing up en masse to back their endorsed electeds in pushing a working-class agenda. This has created a virtuous cycle of raising the profile of socialist politics in the city while also helping pass policy that empowers workers and tenants.

In this reactionary political moment, Pittsburgh DSA has continued to grow in membership numbers and organizing acumen. With neighbors furious over anti-immigrant attacks and new members streaming into the socialist movement, DSA can seize the moment and be the lodestar of the battle for democracy. Adelante!