Statement by the Virginia Defenders Concerning the Party for Socialism & Liberation

Jan. 20, 2026 – Richmond, Virginia

In the 24-year history of the Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality, we have never once felt the need to publicly criticize another progressive organization. We have had our differences, but always believed it was best to avoid infighting in the movement and instead demonstrate our own politics and practice by our actions and writings.

However, an escalating series of events has led us to the conclusion that we can no longer be silent about the actions of an organization that has deliberately put vulnerable people in real danger.

Para la declaración en español, consulta este enlace.

Jan. 7 Rally

On Jan 7, 2026, the Richmond chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) held a rally at Richmond’s Monroe Park to protest the fatal shooting of an unarmed legal observer in Minneapolis by an ICE agent. PSL put out an unsigned leaflet calling for people to gather at 7 p.m. at Richmond’s Monroe Park.

Any activist in Richmond knows that the city parks close at sundown, which on Jan. 7 was at 5:08 p.m., so this was a call for an illegal protest. But that’s not the issue here. The issue is that many other people might not be aware that the rally would be illegal.

And since the issue dealt with immigration, that presented the possibility that vulnerable people might show up, unaware that they were facing possible arrest. And if they were undocumented, this could result in their deportation.

The Defenders and other activists were in touch with PSL and cautioned them about this danger. And we asked if PSL had been in touch with members of the immigrant community before calling for this protest. PSL’s response was that the protest was not about immigration or ICE, but rather about the fatal shooting of a U.S. citizen. But at the rally, PSL’s slogans and chants were about immigration and ICE.

When asked about their plan regarding potential police presence, PSL responded by saying that they weren’t worried about police presence given that both VCUPD and RPD would be occupied at the VCU basketball game happening that night.

We had observers at the rally, who reported that there were about 15 cops and 30-40 participants at the rally’s peak. When the police inevitably showed up and told the rally organizers the park had been closed since sundown, PSL insisted to the police and to the rally participants that they had the right to be there until 8 p.m., further jeopardizing the participants.

City Hall Protest

This is not the first time that PSL has put a vulnerable immigrant community in danger.

Some months ago, they called a protest on immigration at City Hall. This came after PSL had been invited by local organizers to work in coalition with those organizations and people already connected to the local Latino immigrant community in Richmond. PSL called the rally without consulting with those community organizers.

When immigrant organizers asked if they had been in touch with the targeted community, they said no. The immigrant organizers pointed out that calling a demonstration on an issue that affects a vulnerable community without consulting that community was incorrect. PSL went ahead with the protest anyway.

Rapid Response & Misrepresentation

PSL has gone on to organize what they call a rapid response network, called Defensa, made up of individuals willing to show up in the event of ICE activity in the city.

Immigrant organizers have discussed this with PSL, pointing out that there already was a rapid response network, one led by immigrant activists, and questioned why PSL was duplicating this effort, without consulting the targeted community. PSL continues to organize its separate effort in direct competition with those already doing the work on the ground and therefore creating confusion amongst people rather than power.

The most egregious example of PSL’s insensitivity was when members of their rapid response network showed up at a local shopping mall after a rumor went out that ICE was present there. Without verifying if the plainclothes agents were ICE, PSL went ahead and announced that ICE was in fact present at the mall, that their response network was there and that if other people came out they should follow the leadership of PSL.

When local immigrant organizers arrived at the scene, they witnessed people standing around agents, uncertain of what to do. After investigating, these local organizers (not a part of PSL) discovered that these were state agents conducting a training they often do at a store at the mall. They followed them until they made sure they left the mall.

Against the advice of the local organizers, PSL announced that they had driven ICE out of the shopping mall.

When confronted with this blatant lie, PSL organizers didn’t deny lying, but said they did it so the immigrant community would “feel emboldened” by PSL’s victory. Meanwhile, immigrant workers and customers at the mall likely felt threatened and in danger.

This dishonest manipulation is crass opportunism at its best, and, at its worst, blatant racism. And ignoring the leadership of the immigrant community is a violation of the fundamental right of oppressed peoples to self-determination, a principle that has been the bedrock of the Defenders’ politics and practice.

Attempts to Dialogue

Local immigrant organizers have attempted multiple times to ask that PSL put the needs of the local migrant communities as a priority over its own independent goals. These calls have either been ignored or have yielded no change in approach.

At this point, we have come to the conclusion that we cannot collaborate with PSL on immigration issues until we see concrete change in the way they are operating. We are advising the immigrant community not to engage with PSL or its rapid response team. We are advising all other organizations to take a similar position.

We’re not trying to drive PSL out of the movement and will continue to consider collaborating with them on a case-by-case basis on other issues. As an activist organization that is recent to Richmond and the region, we welcome the support for the work that has been ongoing for many years by local organizers.

One reason we have not spoken out before this is that we know that PSL is on the radar of the federal government. They have been the subject of Congressional investigations and at some point are likely to come under attack.

When one of their members was arrested in Los Angeles and hit with the ridiculous charge of supporting terrorism because they had brought some medical supplies to an anti-ICE protest, we approached the Richmond branch and offered our support. If PSL or any other progressive organization comes under political attack, we stand ready to offer our support. No one gets abandoned, no one gets thrown under the bus. This has been our practice since our founding in 2002.

But we cannot remain silent while this or any organization puts a vulnerable community in danger by lying to them about ICE activities; by ignoring the calls for collaboration with the communities they say they want to support; and by putting their own sectarian needs above the needs of the people.

If anyone would like to discuss this matter further, please reach out to us at

DefendersFJE@hotmail.com or call or text 804-644-5834.

In Solidarity,

The Steering Committee of the Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality