The Full Story
ICE Is Impacting
Sex Workers in Minnesota
When ICE activity increases, sex workers are forced to make serious and immediate decisions to stay safe. For many people, that means stepping away from work entirely, sometimes overnight and without a backup plan. When income stops that suddenly, the impact is fast. Rent becomes uncertain, groceries become harder to afford, medical care gets delayed, and families lose stability. Children, partners, and family feel those effects right alongside them.
This is happening in a climate of fear and silence. Some sex workers, like many Minneapolis residents who are people of color or immigrants, are afraid to leave their homes at all. Others are afraid to take on new clients because they cannot know who is safe, including concerns about ICE, people posing as clients, or individuals intentionally seeking to harass, intimidate, or harm sex workers, including white supremacists. For dancers and other in person workers, even shared workplaces like strip clubs can feel unsafe when possible ICE presence is unknown. Most sex workers cannot safely talk about these fears, and they are often missing from public conversations and response efforts. The lack of visibility doesn’t mean the need is smaller. It means it is easier to miss.
SWOP Minneapolis exists to respond to this reality. Our work focuses on meeting urgent needs as they arise, supporting sex workers with care and confidentiality, and filling gaps when other systems fall short. We show up so that sex workers are not left without support simply because their needs are overlooked.
How You Can Help Right Now
Your support helps sex workers navigate unsafe conditions, sudden loss of income, and emergency situations with dignity and care. Every option below directly supports sex worker
led responses to real and immediate needs.
DONATE TO
SWOP MINNEAPOLIS
Donations to SWOP Minneapolis support sex worker led programs rooted in safety, sustainability, and community care. Your support allows us to respond to urgent needs while also maintaining long term resources that sex workers can rely on during periods of instability and increased risk.
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Funding helps sustain our core work, including harm reduction supplies, emergency support, community events, safety education, and access to shared resources.
It also allows us to operate with flexibility and care, so support can be provided quickly, discreetly, and in ways that reflect the needs of the community.
DONATE DIRECTLY
TO SEX WORKERS
Direct support puts resources straight into the hands of sex workers who need them most. This kind of giving can help cover immediate needs like rent, groceries, childcare, medical costs, or transportation during moments of crisis.
We have linked our Instagram post where sex workers are sharing their own personal payment links for direct support. If you choose to donate using those links, we ask that you include “SWOP” in the comment so sex workers know the support is coming from a trusted community source.
Not all sex workers feel safe publicly sharing their payment information. Because of that, donating to SWOP Minneapolis remains an important way to support community members whose needs are real but not visible.
Both forms of support matter, and together they help us reach more people with care and discretion.
DONATE YOUR
HILTON POINTS
After a Minneapolis Hilton branded hotel declined to host ICE, Hilton removed that hotel from its system. Many people no longer want to support Hilton, but unused points will eventually expire and go back to the company.
Donating your Hilton Honors points is a way to boycott the system without letting those points go to waste.
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By donating points to SWOP Minneapolis, you help us secure hotel rooms for sex workers facing emergency situations when there are no other safe options.
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When you’re ready to transfer points, email us. The process takes about 60 seconds, and we’ll send you our Hilton Honors number and walk you through it if needed.
DONATE AMMUNITION
TO OUR GUN CLUB
Our sex worker only gun club was created as a space focused on safety, confidence, and community. Many participants are learning firearm safety and handling for the first time, while others are building skills to feel more prepared and supported in an increasingly unsafe climate.
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Donating ammunition helps keep these classes accessible, especially for participants who cannot afford supplies on their own.
This support allows us to offer hands on training without cost being a barrier, and helps ensure that safety education remains community led and inclusive.
Standing With Our Community
Supporting sex workers during this time means showing up in ways that are practical, respectful, and led by the community itself. Every donation, share, and act of solidarity makes a difference.