In Minnesota, It's Worse Than You Think

ICE isn't following the law.

Let’s Talk About Minnesota

I know I am not your primary news source (nor should I be), and maybe you already have a clear picture of what’s happening in Minneapolis-St. Paul (also called the Twin Cities), and around the state of Minnesota. But based on a several conversations I’ve had, there are a significant number of people who are only vaguely aware of what’s happening. So let’s try to paint a picture.

First, understand there is no justification for ICE being there at all. There are lots of cities in the U.S. with far more undocumented immigrants. In fact, Minneapolis/St. Paul doesn't even rank in the top 25 of American cities with undocumented immigrants. If the goal of ICE is to locate and deport undocumented immigrants, it doesn’t make sense to focus energy in the Twin Cities.

The intention of Trump in sending ICE to Minnesota is to punish the state. Why does he want to punish Minnesota? It’s unclear. Probably because he doesn’t like that Governor Walz called him weird during the election.

This is by illustrator Emily K in South Philly, a free poster-sized download on her website: https://www.emilyk.art/protest-printouts/

Second, there are an excessively large amount of ICE troops that have been sent to Minnesota. To help understand how excessive, remember the size of the Twin Cities — Los Angeles is 8 times bigger, and Chicago is 4 times bigger. Minneapolis only needs 600 police officers to perform all general law enforcement activities in the city. And there are approximately 2000 ICE troops (with reports saying another 1000 are on the way) that have been sent to cover the same area that 600 police officers cover. That’s obviously far too many ICE troops for the size of the population.

Third, ICE is not following the law. People who are observing from other states like to reassure themselves that ICE is only targeting criminals, or ICE is only detaining non-citizens, or ICE is not detaining children, or ICE can’t legally remove you from your car, or ICE can’t legally enter your home without a warrant, or ICE can’t stop you from filming what’s happening. But the law and what’s legal is not stopping ICE.

-Despite the law, ICE is breaking down doors of homes with no cause or warrant.
-Despite the law, ICE is detaining citizens and willfully ignoring proof of citizenship.
-Despite the law, ICE is breaking car windows and dragging people from their vehicles.
-Despite the law, ICE is violently detaining children.
-Despite the law, ICE is abandoning vehicles, pets, and even young children, after abducting the driver/pet owner/parent.
-Despite the law, ICE is attacking people who are recording what’s happening with their phones.
-Despite the law, ICE is shooting people in the face and killing them.
-Despite the law, ICE is shooting “non-lethal” ammunition at people in close range and permanently blinding them.
-Despite the law, ICE is using tear gas on babies.
-Despite the law, ICE is using hexachloroethane, which was phased out by the US military and is considered too toxic for widespread use due to severe health risks.
-Despite the law, ICE is refusing to show ID or their faces, so there’s no way to know if they are actually ICE, or just rapists who are pretending to be ICE, in order to abduct women and children.

Some of you are reading this list and thinking it’s an overreaction, that what ICE is doing is not that bad. Unfortunately, you are wrong. Over and over again, people who live in Minneapolis-St. Paul are taking to social media to say IT’S WORSE THAN YOU THINK.

The people of Minnesota have been incredible in response to the ICE assaults. They are blowing whistles and turning on car alarms to warn neighbors about ICE in the area. They are confronting ICE and pushing them back. They are protesting. They are making food boxes for people who are trapped at home. They are doing all the right things. But they are exhausted. The ICE attacks are relentless and the people who live there are in survival mode.

Some people are hoping the National Guard will be brought in to protect people from ICE. The idea is appealing. From what I can see, Governor Walz is in a tricky spot. He is trying to predict and manage the-madman-that-is-Trump. Trump is looking for any excuse to implement the Insurrection Act and/or declare martial law. If Governor Walz calls out the Minnesota National Guard to protect the people of Minnesota, there’s a high likelihood that Trump will do something irrational in response, like bomb the state.

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A First Person Account

For a first-person account from someone in the city, don’t miss this report shared by Andrea Bierman on Threads. I’m sharing it in full here because I don’t think enough people have seen it:

Friends, I have had several of you from out of state ask about us, and I will tell you things are FAR WORSE than anything the mainstream media is presenting. There are too many videos to share, and far too many ICE raids, beatings, abductions, and other crimes to even begin to count let alone have any hope of knowing about, let alone sharing. And, of course, we all know about Renee Good’s brutal murder last week. Everyone I know here is shaken to the core.

Over these weeks I’ve been sharing videos and photos and other people’s stories because they NEED to be shared. People need to know what is happening--in real terms, not the “balanced” 30-second segments on mainstream media.

I’m writing tonight because, frankly, I don’t know what else to do. A video shared by a close coworker in front of her church yesterday and more abductions at bus stops today became the last straw to be honest. I’m tired and angry, and so is everyone here.

I’m saying these things because we need people outside of the Twin Cities to understand these are NOT a handful of incidents. We are literally under the largest federal occupation of an American city in generations. With over 2000 (some say 2400) ICE agents here and another 1000 on their way, it is a deliberate political targeting of my state. The rest of the country should be watching. This is the testing ground. You don’t want to live this way, I promise you. Fight like hell because they intend to bring this everywhere.

The people and neighborhoods in my city are not abstractions. They are more than scenes that flash across your nightly news or social feed. We LIVE here. We KNOW these people who are being harassed and taken. We KNOW and/or ARE those who are witnessing this violence. One of my coworkers witnessed Renee Good’s murder. I know many people who live in that neighborhood, where ICE is absolutely relentless, including violently abducting multiple people just on that street alone yesterday (and every day).

The notifications for raids and abductions are nonstop--all hours of the day and night. At times they’re going door to door--lately kicking in the door armed to the teeth, entering illegally without a warrant and without batting an eye. They are pulling fire alarms in apartment buildings to grab people on their way out of the buildings. They pull over when they see a person of color at a gas station (like yesterday afternoon a few blocks from here) or a bus stop (like this morning) or walking down the street (every single day) to harass and very often violentlv abduct them.

These agents aren’t out for any particular person. Don’t buy the LIES about picking up criminals. They just grab whoever they deem non-white. Native Americans have been taken, and many are still missing. They are also abducting white legal observers, including those who offer no confrontation whatsoever. Yesterday they violently abducted an autistic woman who was just trying to get to a doctor appointment on a street they were occupying. They gas legal observers (or any observer) and protestors with tear gas (banned by the Geneva Convention for civilians) and mace and pepper balls. They shoot “non-lethal” ammunition at close range that sends people to the hospital and in some cases permanently blinds people. (Yes, they deliberately aim for faces.)

I get so tired of hearing people lecture about what ICE can and cannot do legally. Yes, we all know. The problem is ICE agents don’t care and do what they want. DHS have told them they have unconditional immunity.

Their raids are everywhere--including places we go regularly: restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, parks, hospitals, any kind of business or public space you can think of. In many parts of the city, you literally cannot go out without hearing the sirens and whistles. And then the constant helicopters.. (Everyone who lives here knows what I mean.)

Like every parent here, I worry for my daughter’s school because they are, yes, targeting schools. Last week they attacked students and staff at a Minneapolis high school. Yesterday it was a middle school and elementary school. Today it was circling nearly all South Minneapolis elementary and middle schools. ICE is at day care centers and preschools. Parents are volunteering to monitor school pickups and dropoffs, and yesterday there was police presence at my daughter’s school.

Many kids can’t even go to school now because there’s so much fear they or their parents will be taken. Schools are rushing to create online lessons and hybrid setups to accommodate those who don’t feel safe enough to come to school. Children have literally been abducted on their way home from school by ICE. I know of at least one parent who was abducted at a bus stop today while she stood with her elementary school child. They illegally entered the college campus I worked at and abducted a student there. Again, this is just what I know of through my own personal networks.

Oh, and ICE is also blocking the food distribution center for the Minneapolis Public Schools, so trucks can’t get out to deliver lunches. It’s been reported to the MN Atty General, but that doesn’t change the fact that students will go hungry.

Thousands upon thousands of people are afraid to leave their homes to go grocery shopping, visit food shelves, get medicine, or go to work. Businesses are empty or closed because workers are terrified to travel to or be visible in their jobs. Women in our neighborhood are asking through back channels about at-home midwives because they’re afraid to go to the hospital to have their babies. And their fear is warranted! ICE has been entering hospitals without warrants. They’ve attacked people outside hospitals, and they’ve also been waiting outside multiple hospitals, including a children’s hospital, to pick up people of color who come out the doors.

Neighborhoods and churches, including my own, are scrambling to organize mutual aid efforts to get groceries to people or help pay bills while family members can’t go to work or drive those who are afraid to be seen behind the wheel or at a bus stop.

We’re not just talking about undocumented people. We’re talking about any person of color. These are our neighbors. Our children’s classmates. Our friends and family members. Our city, but increasingly our entire metro area, is seeing and dealing with these cosplay thugs every single day. And they are moving into rural areas as well, picking up people indiscriminately. Again, this has NOTHING to do with criminal backgrounds and EVERYTHING to do with race.

Now on top of it all we have a bunch of white supremacist goons coming here in a few days to “march” in the most terrorized neighborhoods. My only comfort is that it’s supposed to be single digits next week.

Welcome to Minnesota, losers. We saved our best weather just for you.

I’m beyond disgusted with these thugs and those who support this assault on our Constitutional rights, let alone basic human decency. My community is exhausted and fried from stress, and I’m a white person who doesn’t even live in the epicenter. I can’t imagine what many are going through right now who can’t work and have no income, those whose loved ones have been taken or beaten (or murdered), the children who are forever traumatized at the loss of their parents.

But make no mistake--we aren’t backing down. I’ve lived a lot of places in my life, and I have to say they chose the wrong freaking state. People are organizing beyond anything I’ve ever seen in my life, and it makes me so damned proud to live in this city. I’ve never loved it more, and I’ll keep fighting for it.

So, please--share the stories, share the videos. Amplify everything you see coming out of this state. The mainstream media is all but dead. Follow Georgia Fort, Mercado Media, Sahan Journal, and independent outlets like Meidas and Courier (just to name a few). Listen and know that it’s got to be all of us fighting this. Wake up to what is really happening..before it comes for you and your communities.

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For More Reading on ICE

-In Slate—You’ve Heard About Who ICE Is Recruiting. The Truth Is Far Worse. I’m the Proof.
-From Raw Story—A Department of Homeland Security whistleblower has released the identities of about 4,500 ICE and Border Patrol employees.
-From the NYTimes—Newly Released Records Detail Chaos During Fatal ICE Shooting in Minneapolis. Renee Good was still alive when EMS arrived.

Lastly, I love this woman so much. Her disruptive response is amazing:

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That’s all for now. The world is really hard right now. I’m thinking of you. And I’m sending all my love and support to the people of Minnesota.

kisses,
Gabrielle