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Two weeks ago, three of my employees were ridesharing to work at our Minneapolis nonprofit when they realized they were being followed by federal agents. As soon as they parked, agents surrounded them with guns drawn and pointed at my staff. They grabbed one employee who, they said, “fit the description” of somebody they were looking for — essentially meaning he just happens to have brown skin. “Just checking his paperwork,” they said. Side note: he is here legally. By morning, he was in Texas.
This is our reality here in Minneapolis: constantly monitoring daily atrocities committed by ICE agents as they swarm our neighborhoods and terrorize our neighbors. The results of two months of ICE occupation in Minnesota? Two Americans dead, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both shot by federal agents on video. Ninety-six court orders violated in one month. Massive warrantless searches ruled unconstitutional. Businesses destroyed to the tune of millions of dollars a week, according to The Minneapolis Star Tribune. Before Operation Metro Surge, there were only 150 immigration officers in Minneapolis. We saw nearly 3,000 in our city at the operation’s peak, which Border Czar Tom Homan announced Thursday is finally coming to an end. But it remains to be seen how quickly the officers will actually depart, and another American city could easily be next.
Congress votes on Department of Homeland Security funding this Friday. Before another blank check happens, they need to understand what they’re funding. This isn’t just immigration enforcement. This is economic sabotage wrapped in racism.
