The U.S. government’s terror agents in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are carrying out their most aggressively violent attack campaign to date. Over 3,000 agents have flooded into Minneapolis and elsewhere in Minnesota in the past weeks. They are carrying out a brutally racist operation against local Somali and Latino populations, as well as anyone suspected of being an immigrant. On January 7, ICE officer Jonathan Ross shot and murdered Renee Nicole Good when she stopped her car to observe the activity of immigration enforcement. In response, people across the U.S. participated in more than one thousand demonstrations.
ICE and CBP agents have abducted thousands of people from their homes, schools, workplaces, and cars, in many cases with outrageous physical force. In just a few examples from the past week, they rammed into a Latino man’s car because of his appearance and kidnapped and assaulted workers at a Target, all of whom turned out to be U.S. citizens. ICE has even reportedly offered detainees cash bribes for turning over names of undocumented people.
The government has also been attempting to incite hate throughout the city, with President Trump calling Somalis “garbage” who “we don’t want…in our country.” His administration and the Republican Party are collaborating with a right-wing Youtuber to stigmatize the entire Somali-American population as being guilty of fraud based on racial association with several defendants in a 2021 prosecution.
In response, the people of Minneapolis have fought back to defend their neighbors. Many have filmed the atrocities committed by ICE and CBP, sharing the videos on social media to reveal the depths of what is occurring. After killing Good, agents have subsequently threatened others with murder for peacefully observing their activities. Protests have grown to huge numbers, with thousands facing tear gas, tasers, and flash grenades outside the federal building in Minneapolis day after day to demand that ICE and CBP end their occupation of Minnesota. Minneapolis residents have become accustomed to using whistles to warn others of ICE’s presence, and to gather a crowd to help prevent an arrest. High school students have organized walkouts. Many Uber drivers and hotel and restaurant workers are refusing to serve the officers, and residents of suburbs have taken control of city council meetings until the representatives agree to address their anger.
Residents’ organized commitment to stand up for their city has not fully halted the terror but has contributed to some reluctance among agents to participate in the attacks. Border Patrol agents have also received orders to hide their affiliation with CBP except when necessary. Across the country, more people than ever support the idea of abolishing ICE and support the protests. While Democratic politicians like the mayor and governor complain at press conferences about ICE, it’s regular people whose ongoing and organized response can have a real impact in this fight for survival against authoritarian terror. Let’s organize, get our whistles, and fight back!
