January 29, 2026

📬 LP Network Download | Standing in solidarity with Minneapolis | January 2026

Local Progress Stands in Solidarity with Minneapolis

As ICE goes door to door in Minneapolis, terrorizing neighbors after they killed Alex Pretti and Renee Good, Local Progress members are standing up and fighting back. Minneapolis City Council President Elliott Payne and Saint Paul Council Vice President HwaJeong Kim have been posting daily updates, while Minneapolis Council Member Robin Wonsley recently introduced an eviction moratorium. St. Paul Public School Board Members Uriah Ward, Halla Henderson, and Chauntyll Allen made a clear statement demanding ICE leave Minnesota. LP Nuestro Caucus leaders organized a joint statement signed by 275 local electeds across our network calling for ICE to leave Minnesota. We stand with our members, partners and all the people in the Twin Cities and Minnesota!

Our voices and collective action are making a difference. Before this weekend, the Senate was poised to give ICE an additional $10 billion to support its rampage with no accountability. Now, the Senate Minority leadership is saying no to additional funding to DHS, and they will be voting tonight on the bill. We need to continue to put on the pressure and tell them to hold strong, even if it means shutting down the government. Reach out to your Senator right now and demand they hold the line: No new funding for ICE!

Listen to the Preemption Download

Across our membership, nearly every local official has faced some form of preemption or encroachment on local control. From state capitals to D.C., state and federal representatives continue to pass new laws that strip local governments of their powers. But across our network of nearly 1,800 local officials, there are many incredible stories of resistance and new strategies for fighting back.

Local Progress is proud to launch our new audio series, “The Preemption Download”! Over the course of ten episodes, we’ll introduce you to ten local elected officials who have faced preemption and came away with a stronger understanding of how to fight it. For our first episode, we spoke with Tallahassee City Commissioner Jack Porter about the everyday preemption battles she faces as a local elected official in Florida. You can listen here on our Instagram.

2025 Year in Review

Our 2025 Year in Review showcases how much we were able to accomplish during a difficult year but to also serve as a guide that sustains our mission and hope that together, we will win the needed victories for our communities in 2026 and beyond. Check out the report to see our collective impact and to fuel and join our fight. We enter 2026 laser focused on organizing and mobilizing our network of local electeds to get to lasting racial and economic justice.

✨ Introducing our new board member, Antony Dugdale, UNITE HERE!

We are excited to introduce our new board member, Antony Dugdale (he/him), State and Local Political Director at UNITE HERE International Union. In 1993, Antony joined the union that is now UNITE HERE. Two years later, he went on strike and it changed his life. Since then, he’s done organizing, communications, corporate research, and politics. He currently serves as UNITE HERE’s State and Local Political Director, and as Treasurer for the UNITE HERE Action Fund, a 501c4. UNITE HERE represents 300,000 hospitality workers at casinos, hotels, airports, stadiums and cafeterias in the U.S. and Canada. The union and its affiliated entities run the largest labor-led independent canvassing operation in the country, knocking on 4.3 million doors in 2024. Antony has degrees from Haverford College, McGill University, and Yale University. He lives outside Philadelphia and looks forward to the day that housing costs drop and his children, Jubilee and Dexter, can afford their own places.

⚡Save the Date for the 2026 National Convening!

We are excited to share that our 2026 National Convening will be in Baltimore, MD on July 9-11! Local Progress’ annual National Convening is a space to exchange ideas, seek inspiration, and strategize together. It’s the place to feel seen in our struggles and affirmed in our resolve and resilience, and, most importantly, to find support and share joy – especially in the darkest moments. More details and registration information will be coming in the new year, but for now we are excited to share the dates so you can plan ahead.

🚫 No Secret Police

The No Secret Police campaign is a coordinated effort with partners including the ACLU and the National Immigration Law Center to fight back against the surveillance, detainment, and deportation of our neighbors. The cornerstone of this campaign is our newly released No Secret Police Policy Toolkit, a call to action for local governments to use their regulatory, procurement, and legislative powers to counter the rise of authoritarian tactics used by the Trump administration and protect community members.

🍎 Local Progress New York Legislative Toolkit

With the 2026 state legislative session just starting, our New York Chapter is proud to share our new and updated 2026 Legislative Toolkit! The LPNY organizing committee has identified four legislative priorities for the upcoming year:

Three collective budget asks to secure billions for localities
Reforming our recycling program
Establishing a Land Value tax pilot program
Winning statewide universal childcare

In addition to the hot-button legislation we’ll champion with our partners, these four priorities represent tangible policies that local officials can advocate for at the state level. From securing the fiscal future of our local governments to addressing real affordability, this toolkit is your connection to our statewide advocacy efforts.

✊ How Local Leaders are Protecting Communities Under Trump

As 2026 begins, the Trump Administration is doubling down on its campaign to terrorize our communities; but local elected officials aren’t backing down. Over the past few months, we’ve seen the Twin Cities sue the Trump Administration amid a federal invasion of their cities; Kansas City, MO pass a five-year ban on detention centers; Alameda County, CA pass an “ICE-free zone” policy; New York, NY make the most significant update of the city’s sanctuary city laws in nearly a decade; Los Angeles, CA ban ICE agents from hiding their identities; Rockland, ME limit the city’s involvement with ICE; and countless other local leaders doubling down to keep our neighbors safe. Check out LP’s roundup documenting all the ways our members are protecting their communities.