Interview with Abayomi Azikiwe, from Fighting Words (USA)

04/04/2026

Supernova: The brutality of the Trump administration is a response to the crisis that imperialism is going through today. In your opinion, what is the link between its security policies, its anti-immigration campaign and the war policies it is pursuing?

Abayomi Azikiwe: There is a close connection between these three aspects of the crisis of US imperialism. The demographic shift to a majority minority population within two decades is a frightening prospect for many white Americans. The Trump administration has built its political reputation on the perceived need to maintain the United States as a "white man's country." The combined population of African Americans, Latin Americans, Asians, and Indigenous peoples could pose a serious threat to maintaining the status quo. Moreover, working- and middle-class whites, alienated by the capitalist system, could combine their political clout with that of oppressed minorities at the national level to create a progressive majority and thus pave the way for a transformation to a socialist society. In order to implement this racist process, mass deportations of people from the Global South who are not yet naturalized or have permanent resident status reduce the number of people of color in the United States. The abusive criminalization of immigrants and migrants provides a justification for large-scale repression through the occupation of municipalities, suburban and rural areas. This has already been done against African Americans and Latin Americans. These two population groups constitute the majority of those currently detained in U.S. prisons, detention centers, and other penal institutions. Therefore, the domestic policies of the United States are a reflection of its foreign policy. The perceived threat posed by the rise of the People's Republic of China, the Russian Federation, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the leftward trend in some Latin American countries, and the increasingly virulent rhetoric of some African Union (AU) member states pose a direct threat to US hegemony on the international stage.

Supernova: In Europe, there is always talk of a huge difference between the Republican Party and the Democrats; However, if we analyze the domestic and foreign policies of previous governments, we see that the domination of the monopolistic classes remains the same. What are the main differences between the current government and the previous administration led by the Democratic Party?

Abayomi Azikiwe: These parties have different electorates in the sense that the Democrats have the support of the majority of African American voters. This is also true for many people of Latin American descent, with a few exceptions, such as anti-communist elements from Cuba and Venezuela who have emigrated to the United States. Interestingly, these people from Cuba and Venezuela have also been victims of racial profiling and deportations under Trump. Republicans have in the past retained the support of the majority of whites from the middle class, the upper class, and even some elements of the working class motivated by racism, sexism, and other prejudices. Domestically, the Democrats remain controlled by elements of the ruling class, such as the banks and big business. What is needed is a mass party of the working class and the national oppressed, capable of speaking in its own name. This has been a major failure in the United States over the past half-century, where workers and the oppressed have either been captured by Democrats and Republicans or have remained on the margins of political debates and struggles that could lead to a new order.

Supernova: What do you think are the real effects of immigration law enforcement brutality, and what role do they play in the United States? In Europe, the use of these services serves a "political" rather than a "practical" objective; it aims to intimidate and sow fear.

Abayomi Azikiwe: This same fear is also a major component of the repressive apparatus in the United States. The deployment of thousands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents, as well as federalized National Guard units, is intended to create an atmosphere of total control over certain municipalities, many of which have a large population of Latin American and other groups from the Global South.

In Los Angeles, the population fought fierce battles against ICE, CBP, National Guard soldiers, and even the Marines. Marines and National Guard units were withdrawn after numerous mass mobilizations and legal challenges. Nevertheless, ICE and CBP agents continue to harass, detain, and deport those they deem undocumented. Many of these detentions and deportations are in fact illegal. Some groups enjoy protected status under various U.S. laws. Deportations to third countries violate U.S. law, but they continue, particularly to several African countries whose governments collaborate with the U.S. in exchange for minor concessions on visa fees, trade agreements, and tariffs. Minneapolis has set the standard for resistance against ICE and CBP. High-level state political figures, such as Governor Walz and the mayors of Minneapolis-St. Paul, have vigorously opposed the large-scale deployment of ICE and CBP. The deployment of the National Guard to Minneapolis was carried out under the aegis of the governor after the shooting deaths of Rene Good and then Alex Pretti, both white Americans who opposed the excesses of federal agents deployed in the city by the Trump administration. Across the United States, citizen initiatives have sprung up to monitor and block ICE and CBP raids using mass pressure and civil disobedience.

Supernova: The labor and social protest movements in the United States in recent years are significant, even if they remain largely controlled by the reformist left and liberal factions. In your opinion, what are the most important radical labor and social movements that have emerged in the United States?

Abayomi Azikiwe: There is the Palestine solidarity movement on campuses, which emerged with force in late 2023 and into 2024, in the aftermath of the "Al-Aqsa Flood" and the escalation of genocidal repression carried out by the State of Israel, funded by American taxpayers. Students, teachers and staff demanded full transparency and divestment from companies doing business with the apartheid Zionist state. Those efforts were crushed by the administration of former President Joe Biden. The labour movement has carried out high-profile strikes in 2023 in the automotive and entertainment sectors. The municipal strike in Philadelphia in 2025 showed that workers still have the capacity to carry out militant actions. Yet, these efforts failed to avert the burgeoning economic crisis, which resulted in the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs due to downsizing in the federal government as well as the restructuring of the manufacturing sector, which is returning to polluting industries through the reduction of electric vehicle production and the expansion of internal combustion engines for automobiles. The fight against racism continues, as evidenced by corporate boycotts that reduce the implementation of civil rights legislation.

Supernova: Imperialism is in crisis, and in this context, the development of new anti-imperialist and socialist movements is necessary. What is the state of the communist and anti-imperialist movement in the United States today?

Abayomi Azikiwe: Although the attacks on Venezuela, Cuba, the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), the Russian Federation, South Africa and China, etc. continue, the so-called left has not been able to form a united front against fascism and imperialism. This is a major subjective weakness in the United States. We must continue to organize ourselves around these issues. There can be no progress for workers and oppressed peoples in the United States without a weakening of the ruling class in its efforts to reconfigure the imperialist world system. The Trump administration is even attacking its closest imperialist allies in Canada, the United Kingdom and the European Union. After unleashing an unprovoked war against the Islamic Republic of Iran, the administration is frustrated that other imperialist centers have not joined the bombing of Iran, Lebanon and Yemen.

The United Kingdom, France and other countries have so far refused to deploy ground troops in an inevitably disastrous attempt to take control of the Strait of Hormuz. These developments provide an opportunity to advance the anti-imperialist struggle in the United States. By exposing the divisions within the imperialist camp and the irrational approach of the Republican MAGA administration and Congress, the ruling class can be further exposed for its policies that will only further impoverish and exploit workers and the national oppressed.

Fighting Words, journal of the Communist Workers League (USA)