Episode Details

Lessons and Resources from Minneapolis This is a memo, written in haste, about the ongoing conditions of the ICE and military occupation of Minneapolis. For context, the author is a former Minneapolis (Mpls) resident who lived and organized in abolitionist, labor and migrant defense movements for 8 years who is in close contact with organizers on the ground in Minneapolis. The information here is compiled from firsthand accounts and has been vetted by four comrades in the Twin Cities (TC).The memo is not meant to be exhaustive and merely offers one starting point for others to record and share best practices and lessons. The memo covers four things: 1) What the conditions are like in Minneapolis right now, as a possible reference point for what may unfold elsewhere 2) How community is responding 3) Reflections on what we might learn from rapid response and ICE watch organizing in Minneapolis 4) Resources and trainings from Minneapolis 1) Conditions in Minneapolis What is unfolding in Minneapolis in “Operation Metro Surge” is nothing short of a federal occupation, an invasion by a poorly trained paramilitary force of ICE troops who are heavily armed, masked, and mobilized in nearly every neighborhood in the Twin Cities. There are 2,800 armed and masked federal agents in Minneapolis right now, with Noem promising to send 1000 more. It is at a scale that is unprecedented thus far. They have been abducting people off the streets, many of them US citizens, based on the color of their skin or perceived ethnicity. All over the city, large SUVs with tinted windows, full of masked ICE agents are cruising through neighborhoods and back alleys, looking for people to snatch. Friends of friends have witnessed ICE agents stuffing people into these cars in front of their houses. To give you a sense of how bad it is, a friend witnessed two children under the age of 13, out walking their dog, get abducted and placed into a van in the middle of the day. Their friend got pepper sprayed for trying to stop it. No part of the city is immune; not the primarily white, affluent neighborhoods, not the uptown commercial district which got tear gassed yesterday, nowhere. From accounts gathered from friends and trusted sources: ● Rapid-response community safety groups and immigrant rights orgs estimate there is violent federal escalation happening in their communities every 15 minutes, based on the verified reports they’ve received since last Monday. Targets: ● Businesses: ICE agents are cruising areas with immigrant-owned businesses, and kidnapping patrons and employees alike. This week they abducted two US citizen employees at a suburban Target, one who was begging them to allow him to go get his passport to show them. In another episode, someone with a passport in their pocket was abducted. Lawyers have advised shifting from Know Your Rights to Know Your Risk trainings; even they realize there is no rulesbased order to rely on anymore. ● Schools: ICE is targeting schools and school buses, and especially ESL schools. They pepper sprayed teenagers and abducted two school staff members at a high school up the street from a friend’s house on Weds. They have abducted whole groups of children from bus stops. The Minneapolis Public Schools are still in person, but are offering optional online learning for the next 4 weeks so that children who feel unsafe coming to school can shelter in place. While that has helped, several parents reported that during their kid’s hybrid classes, they have watched other kids’ apartment buildings raided on screen. ● Hospitals and Clinics are experiencing raids. Patients are scared and are canceling their appointments or just not showing up. Kids are missing their checkups and vaccines, folks aren’t getting their cancer care, etc. ● Immigrant neighborhoods, subsidized housing, mobile home parks, and other affordable housing. These have been the primary targets. There is, for eg, a plan