On the Front Line of Minnesota’s Fight With ICE

From the New York Times, I'm Rachel. Abrams and this is The Daily. For weeks, protests around Minneapolis have caught. nationwide attention as the city shows. open defiance to a federal immigration. crackdown. But behind the scenes, a quieter.

organized resistance has taken shape. Today, our producers Anna Sale and. Michael Simon Johnson go on the ground. in Minneapolis to capture that effort. And our colleague Charles Homans. explains why the city has become ground. zero in the fight over the government's. deportation strategy. It's Wednesday, January 21st. [Music].

This is Michael Simon Johnson. I'm here. with New York Times reporter Charlie. Homans and we are. What neighborhood are we in actually? So. this is the Lyn-Lake area of. Minneapolis. We're in South Minneapolis. and it's named after this intersection. that we're standing at actually which is. Lyndale Avenue. and Lake Street. It's kind of the place. where sort of the recent waves of. immigrants and settled refugees and the.

Minneapolis of the kind of white liberal. urban culture intersect. And those. groups have been kind of have been. brought together in an interesting way. by this ICE crackdown in the city. I mean the thing that's different about. Minneapolis. compared to Chicago. or Los Angeles or other cities that have. been targets of this crackdown so far is. that it's a very small city. It doesn't. have that many people in it. And the. number of federal agents that have been. sent here is really quite huge. What.

I've been hearing just talking to people. here is that. you know, in the last few weeks, you. know, people who are potential targets. of these raids have really felt like. they can't leave their homes at all. And so. that has kind of become a focus of the. organizing of of a lot of these local. organizations and businesses which are. kind of gathering donations. So we're. about to go to one of these places. Tell. me about what this place is and then. what it's role is in the.

in this kind of network that you're. talking about. Sure. So we're going to. go to Smitten Kitten which is a sex shop. on Lyndale here and it's been playing a. very interesting role kind of what's. been happening here lately. Okay. Well, let's go inside. So I'm Ann. I work here at the Smitten. Kitten for the past 2 years. During the regular day, we are an adult. store. We really focus on trying to give. people like accurate information about.

sex education. We also have stuff for. like every gender ever. Well, it it is. very striking that this is like a sex. shop, a really nice one, beautifully. laid out, but also at the front there's. this uh mutual aid mutual aid. >> Yeah, we're always doing mutual aid, but. we just expanded it and like imploded. ourselves with mutual aid basically. Well, um let's let's go downstairs. Yeah, sweet. I'm now walking past the. sci-fi fantasy dildo section.

This is a lot. Yeah. It's It was 11. boxes which was kind of crazy. Lots of. boxes of diapers, lots of boxes of. formula, wipes. That's a huge problem. Just so I have a sense, how many people. have come by today for example to like. pick up some. hundreds.

Probably a thousand people over the past. couple of days. >> But the the goods are moving. Like. you're not like. >> We're not sitting on it. It's got to go. Yeah. It is insane the volume and the. urgency that we have been meeting people. with. They will be bringing their papers. into the store. They are afraid. They. are leaving their house to come here to. get resources even though they are at. risk for being picked up by ICE. And. they're all wanting to prove to me the. validity of that and I'm like I really. don't care like you don't have to tell.

me because I know that the next person. behind you has the exact same story. It's like there's no time to notice that. there's a dildo on the wall because like. your family is being torn apart. that. that's what's in this store. I'm curious. like what you think it says about sort. of Minneapolis right now that a shop. like this is kind of on the front lines. of the community response situation. Sex workers and marginalized groups of. people, like that will radicalize you. I. really learned in the strip club that.

everyone agrees with the revolution. We. just don't all have the same language to. talk about it. And I feel like we. inspired a bunch of other businesses to. be in taking in donations and like. distributing them to their neighbors. And I've been telling people all day. long like the more spots that we can pop. up with resources, the harder time that. ICE is going to have keeping track of. where everyone is at because we've also. had ICE agents follow people from our. spot. >> Wow, so they know. Yeah. What you're. describing is a at least city-wide.

I don't know exactly what the right word. is. I don't know if it's like a. movement, I don't know if it's a. network, I don't know if it's like a. change in. >> a bunch of people realizing like oh, they're really not coming. Something that happened in 2020 was the. first time I realized like. my neighbor's house is on fire and the. fire department is not coming. So you. better find a garden hose. Like why am I. Ann Laymon at the Smitten Kitten doing.

more than Jacob Frey? You you feel like. you're doing something that is far more. actionable, is having like immediate. direct I think that's why our [ __ ] blew. up because they're like oh, look at. these people at the sex shop. Why are. they like I can't believe. I'm just some. kid. I love Elvira. Like I just watch. horror movies at home and listen to. Beyoncé. [Music]. So that same day I went to the site. where two weeks earlier an ICE officer.

had shot and killed a Minneapolis. resident Rene Good in the city's south. side. I'm on the corner of Portland and 35th. on one end of the block and there is uh. there's a sign on this street that. someone posted. It says visitor guide. The block you are entering has become a. space of mourning. Remember, you are a. guest in this neighborhood. Take a deep. breath, drive slow, approach the space. with reverence, notify neighborhood.

leaders of suspicious activity. There's a lot of flowers, a lot of. flags, a lot of teddy bears. There's a bunch of people that have made. a fire. Car just pulled up. like driving down the block, stopped, asked if these people need more firewood. for this fire. and dropped it off. There were about a dozen people there. Some people were staying for just a few. minutes, others were lingering. Why did. you choose to come here. today? Uh to bear witness to what. happened.

This is a city where people. there's a very strong sense of. community. There's a lot of political. involvement. People look after. their neighbors and things like that. It's It's. It's not a faceless city. I asked a woman who'd brought flowers. what she was feeling. You have a mixed. emotions because. you have just this heartbroken feeling. for the family cuz this did not have to. happen. But then you have this.

hyper-vigilance. and you're watching every vehicle that. has tinted windows and seeing, you know, it's like trying to pay your respects. but also trying to watch out like is. somebody going to come up here. and break us up? Like today, our. building um we have a cleaning lady and. I gave her a ride home today because I. was like do not stand at the bus stop. today. It's not safe anymore. So that's. so sad. It's one of those things that it's if.

you want to help out in any way or if. you need help, you know, all you have to. do is ask. But that's I mean that's what. the Twin Cities is like, you know. As I. was talking to people there, I got the. sense that residents were actively. looking for ways to show up for each. other. I saw strangers bringing each. other coffee, giving each other nods, exchanging information. There was one guy there named Nero who. seemed like he was sort of the. unofficial shepherd of the group. He was. tending to the fire and he was curating. the space as he said.

I've been hearing different anecdotes of. people. I mean, I know, you know, people. have the whistles but also people. dropping off mutual aid. related packages at like local stores. Yeah, or specific places. People, you. know, it seems like people are. protecting our neighbors. Yeah. Yeah, like kind of stepping up in a way. So. like I almost made me want to cry. Uh. is I feel proud and happy to talk about. how people are pitching in and I'm sad.

and hurt because of why we have to. We. shouldn't have to. You know? [Music]. We we shouldn't have to do this. And it's. I don't know what it's going to take, man, but I'm I'm here. I'm in it. I'm. here. And I'm going to be here. [Music]. And Feely here. I'm a producer on The.

Daily who also spent the weekend in. Minneapolis. Along with the networks of activists, mutual aid, and neighbors taking care of. neighbors, there are people avoiding ICE because. they're afraid of getting detained or. deported. Immigrants afraid of being targeted. I talked to one of them. We're calling her M. Can you tell me about the moment that.

you found out that ICE was coming to the. Twin Cities, to Minneapolis? Yeah, so. it wasn't something that like changed. from like one day to another. I think it. was like a slow trickle of, "Hey, ICE. was spotted over in Richfield. Everybody. be careful.". And then it was. slowly and slowly more. agents are spotted here and someone was. taken. Avoid Lake Street. And then it. snowballed. And then you're really.

noticing everybody's like, "There's ICE. agents here.". And you need to be In December, when ICE. really ramped up enforcement, M realized. she needed to make some changes and take. precautions. I start to strategize like. different routes to get to university, different routes to get to work. And I. ended up. not going to the grocery anymore. at all. It's been a long time since I've. been at the grocery and I love a. grocery. M actually can't be sure she's a target.

Her parents brought her to the US when. she was two. She's a DACA recipient. But. that feels very tenuous to her right. now. Given how intense everything has been, she worries. It was kind of looking at what is the. busiest cross sections. Like, am I going. to be going by a high school or am I. going to be going by like a church? I. tend to avoid that area because you. never know. Are they going to set up by.

a daycare? We have to consider that. For a while, the plan was avoid risk, lay low. But over time that changed. She was. watching the raids, the arrests, and. then Renee Good was killed. It kind of. set something on fire for me. The fear. became like resentment and became anger. I was at school and you know, I was. talking to my colleagues, I was talking. to, you know, fellow students, and I.

realized that like. these people have families, they're. teachers, they're taking risks. People are putting their lives on the. line who have children, you know, who are, you know, loved ones, you know, wives, you know, husbands. And. as soon as I realized that like. everybody's taking a risk, you might as. well also take a risk for your. community. Taking a risk meant that instead of.

going out of her way trying to avoid. run-ins with ICE, she took routes where. she knew she might see them. So she. could alert activists on a Signal chat. I would see suspicious vehicles and I'd. be like, "Hey, there's a weird vehicle. at the gas station at this cross. section. Just letting you guys know.". And you know, sometimes people ask of. you if you can like circle back. And I was not able to. I was very. explicit. I was like, "I cannot turn. around, but here's the information.". And that felt okay. I'm like, "Here Here.

you go. Hope for the best. Hope this. helps.". The network M is alerting on Signal when. she sees ICE. I got in touch with some of the people. who are on the other end. These civilian. patrols that have proliferated in cities. like Minneapolis. People showing up where ICE is. I asked them if I could ride along to. get a sense of what they're doing and. what that's like right now. Okay. I met up with two of these activists, Patty and Mitch, on Friday afternoon.

I came to their house on a block with. lots of cute bungalows. They met me at. the front door. Hi. But they stopped me before I came. inside. Just out of an abundance of. caution, would you mind verbally telling. me that you're not with ICE, CBP, or any. government agency and then show me your. press credentials? Yeah, I'm not with. ICE. Um here's my press credential. Do you want to take a look? Yeah, I. appreciate it. >> Yeah, of course. My name is Anna. It's. nice to meet you. >> I'm Mitch. >> Nice to meet you. After a few minutes, we hopped into Mitch and Patty's car.

Mitch drove, Patty was in the front, me. in back. Patty had brought along a small. notebook. And before we left, they. stopped to make sure they both had. everything, especially their whistles. I have an. extra whistle. Oh my gosh, thank you. Yeah. How often do you guys use your whistles? Um every time we see ICE. So that's been. probably almost every every time that. we've been out patrolling. >> Mhm. And you just you once you see it, is.

that's when you start blowing? Yeah, pretty much. >> It's kind of been. uh. a somewhat informal but accepted like do. a little peep peep peep if like ICE is. around. And then if they're actually in. the process of. taking someone, if they're in the. process of a raid or something, blowing. the whistles a little bit harder to. really get their attention. >> Do you feel like even when you're not. patrolling, do you hear whistles kind of. piping through the city? Yes, especially. in the last week and a half. I mean,

you'll just be. yeah, just in your house or running. errands or you'll hear whistles here and. there. You'll hear cars honking and. that's how you know ICE is out and. about. >> Mhm. They told me their goal today, and. really any patrol they go on, is to. document where ICE is, what they're. doing, who they're taking. All as an act of resistance to show ICE. they want them out and they're watching.

I am connecting with our group chat to. get a sense of if there is any. particular part of the of South. Minneapolis where we should be looking. around for ICE. And actually Mitch, if. you could take a left here and go down. to Lake Street. Yep. Patty told me people patrolling like. this coordinate through group Signal. chats. Usually they'll hop on a group. call to share information about where. ICE has been spotted, where they think. people should focus. Hundreds of people can join these calls.

and they don't necessarily know who else. is there. On this day, Patty made it really clear. to everyone that I was in the car with. them, though I couldn't hear. Everyone is very nervous about who might. get into these Signal chats and be. monitoring. It's a bit of a paranoia in. a hyper-vigilance that everybody in the. city has. Just looking at basically any vehicle. with suspicion. Uh it's put us all on edge and so. um it's not just driving around. It.

didn't take long for them to spot a car. that to their eyes seemed suspicious. We. just pulled onto a side street. You just. slowed down the car you were looking. Can you tell me what you're looking for? Yeah, there's a black truck um that had. their lights on. They've got a grill. guard. Uh we definitely have seen ICE agents in. a lot of like bigger vehicles. And Patty, what are you doing? I am. writing down the license plate of this. car and I am going to.

um ask for a plate check. on it. So you're asking for a plate check. Somebody who's in front of their. computer is going to run the plates and. um what are they looking for? We're not exactly sure. What what we. know is that we can send the license. plate in the group chat and then someone. will check to see if it has been like a. license plate that is confirmed to have. been ICE. And it's deeply decentralized.

We have no idea who is running these. plate checks. After sending the plate. number to the group in Signal, Patty and. Mitch hear back very quickly. Absolutely. no clue. Got confirmed ICE for that. All. right, so we should loop back around and. uh. What should we do? Should I park on the. other side of the road from him so that. he doesn't feel that we're obstructing? Yep, I think that's Mitch and Patty. drove around the block while wondering. what to do next. In the time that took, people had. actually already started to gather in.

the spot where they'd identified the. suspected ICE car. Look, there's already. a bunch of people here. There were more. than a dozen people. A neighbor peeking. out to see what was happening and a. gathering group of activists. Some in. cars, some on foot, some filming. Mitch. rolled down his window. You saw him go. in the house? Got you. Got you. Got you. Word was the. agent had gone into this one house, but. people weren't sure. So now everyone was just waiting to see. Was ICE in there? What were they doing?

Do you want us to go check the alleyway? Mitch and Patty pulled up near the alley. to watch the back of the house. And just to say, this kind of waiting. can apparently take a very long time. I. talked to one woman who told me she'd. staked out an apartment building in this. way for about 4 hours. Mitch and Patty told me this waiting can. make them feel very anxious. Today, Patty said she was particularly. on edge. This was her first time out. doing this after getting detained about. a week earlier. So last Sunday, I was.

with my friend Brandon and we were. responding to an ICE sighting um in my. neighborhood. We followed them for about 40 seconds. and then they stopped their car, got out of the car, and came and. surrounded us screaming at us to stop. following them. Patty says one of the. agents set off pepper spray so that it. would get pulled into her car's. ventilation system. She tried to shut off her heat quickly, but some got in. Her eyes and throat.

started burning. Then, according to. Patty, agents then surrounded her. And. then proceeded to tell us that we were. under arrest, Mhm. took. um their in these instruments out of. their vests and smashed in um my front. two windows and dragged us out of the. car, um put us in handcuffs, and put us. each in separate vehicles. What was going through your head when. that was all happening?

How are we getting arrested right now? We didn't do anything wrong. But we weren't committing any traffic. violations. Uh so, it was like, how how can this be. happening right now? How am I in. handcuffs? How am I in the back of this. unmarked car? Something that stood out from this story. and other things this past weekend is. just how unclear it is to the activists. what could get them in trouble, detained, or arrested.

People seemed like they were trying to. figure out the rules in real time. Is it blocking traffic? What's a safe. distance to follow a car if you think it. might be ICE? As for Patty, whatever she'd done to get. detained, she didn't get charged with. anything. She was released later that. evening, and she still doesn't know why. they took her in. Now, a few days later, here she was, back out patrolling. About 20 minutes. after we started staking out this one. truck, this suspected ICE agent emerged. This is him. He got in his car and.

started driving. Do you want to start. following him? >> Yeah. Stay at a pretty safe safe distance. >> Mhm. How are you guys feeling right now? Um I am feeling a little nervous, but. also. um. also feeling like it's important that we. we stay out here, right? I think part of. it is just knowing that the point of the. arrests and the detentions.

is to instill fear and is to deter. people from doing this important work. From ICE's perspective, you're saying. point is to instill fear. I think so. I. think that ICE's point in making these. arrests and detaining people who are. then often times let out without. charges, like I was, is to, you know, intimidate people and deter them from. doing this work. And to me, if they are.

willing to go through the whole process. of trying to intimidate people like that. and use their resources that way, then I. think that that means that it's having. some sort of impact. So, I want to keep. showing up and doing everything that I. possibly can to, you know, gum up the. works. For Patty and Mitch and the other. activists I talked to, two things are.

true in Minnesota right now. The last couple weeks have been scary as. things have escalated. And at the same time, the intensity of the response from ICE, it feels like a confirmation. that they are making it harder for ICE. to do their job. Otherwise, ICE wouldn't care so much. So, their plan is to keep at it. I think we should go up and check that. car, but. >> They're turning around. Do you want to. get their plate as well? Yeah. Or you can read it to me and I'll write. it down.

>> Yeah, I'll I'll read it off to you. [Music]. After the break, we talked to Charles. Homans about the situation on the ground. in Minneapolis and how Minneapolis. became ground zero for pushback against. ICE. We'll be right back. [Music]. Charlie, you are currently in. Minneapolis. That's also your hometown,

we should note. And you have spent a lot. of time recently with our producer. Michael, who we just heard from when you. were both covering the protests over the. weekend. And we just heard voices from. residents, some of whom you spoke with, who are responding in real time, sometimes in very personal and. precarious ways to federal officers. So, I want to start by asking, why has this. federal force descended on the Twin. Cities specifically? Well, the official Trump administration. explanation is this fraud scandal that's.

been sort of building for a while that. does implicate a number members of the. Somali community. of Minneapolis. And. it's been a little hard to keep track of. why they're here because they've thrown. out a number of other reasons since then. having to do with the immigration. crackdowns in general that we've been. seeing, which have spanned Los Angeles, Chicago, New Orleans, other cities. But. if you're the Trump administration and. you're looking to just arrest a lot of. undocumented immigrants,

Minneapolis is an odd choice because. it's still a largely white city that. doesn't have the sort of numbers that. you would have in California or Texas or. many other states, which has made it. pretty clear that a lot of the context. of the decision here likely has to do. with other factors. Mhm. Minnesota is. the state of Tim Walz, the vice. presidential candidate in 2024, who. Trump does seem to truly hate and vice. versa. It's also a very liberal city in a state.

that Trump has not ever won. He's. claimed that the election here has been. stolen from him several times without. any evidence. And it is just sort of a. state that embodies in many ways. ideas and people that he is really. staked his second presidency against. Minneapolis, of course, is also, we. should note, the site of George Floyd's. murder and the eruption of protest that. obviously convulsed the country back in. 2020. That's right. Minneapolis was very. deeply affected by what happened here in.

2020. Minneapolis is a very liberal. city, and a lot of people here were. extremely outraged over the murder of. George Floyd and broadly sympathetic to. the protests. But they were also very directly. affected by, you know, the rioting that. followed some of these demonstrations, and often lived in neighborhoods where, you know, they saw people showing up in. masks to burn the police station and. things like that. So, it's left all of. these kind of divisions within what is. really like broadly a white liberal. city. And, you know, when I've come back here.

in years since then, you really see the. kind of long shadow of 2020. in Minneapolis. But what's been very. interesting being here over the past. week is that. you also see a lot of the legacy of that. in these kind of community structures. and just kind of an ethos that is being. applied to this current crisis in. Minneapolis. A lot of the same relationships and. organizing ideas that people used to. respond to what was happening after. George Floyd, whether it was.

coordinating protests or doing these. sort of neighborhood watches to keep. what people considered sort of bad. elements from, you know, causing trouble. on their block, a lot of that stuff is. being used now and sort of updated and. evolved ways in the response to the. federal deployment here. Mhm. It is. really interesting to think about how. what happened after George Floyd changed. the city in a way that is affecting the. response currently. But I want to also. acknowledge that while we are talking. about broad opposition to what the.

federal government is doing, there are. also people who support what ICE is. doing, of course. I wonder how many of. those supporters you've actually. encountered on the ground. In. Minneapolis, very few. There are many. people here who view the fraud scandal. as, you know, genuinely appalling. And there are certainly people who are. broadly supportive of removing. undocumented immigrants with criminal. records from the streets here as. elsewhere. You don't hear those people talking.

vocally in Minneapolis right now. I think because the crackdown itself has. so visibly been sweeping up a pretty. wide range of people beyond the stated. targets of it, that has contributed to a. sense of real embattlement in. Minneapolis itself. Right, there have. been all these videos and images, some. very graphic and violent, of federal. agents detaining people, grabbing people. out of cars. We know in at least some. instances, folks that have been detained. by federal agents ended up being US.

citizens. The video, of course, that has. gotten the most attention in recent days. is the footage of Renee Good being. fatally shot by an ICE officer a couple. weeks ago. That certainly infuriated. people all over the country and. mobilized people on the ground in. Minneapolis. Can you talk a little bit. about how that shooting changed things. on the ground in the Twin Cities? I. think that it made this much more direct. and personal for a lot of the people who.

are involved in the response, many of. whom are white liberals from these sort. of South Minneapolis neighborhoods that. have been most galvanized by what's. happened. And, you know, it's a city. that has a long history of somewhat. impersonal. liberal activism on things like civil. rights. by kind of white liberals who don't. necessarily have a ton of skin in the. game themselves or particularly direct. relationships or even interactions with. people of color here. And I do think that the shooting of.

Renee Good changed that in a way. And. I've heard this from both people who are. involved in the activism here and also. some of the people who are immigrants. who are targets of these raids, they recognize that something really. shifted with the shooting. I wonder what you make of what we've. seen in Minneapolis the last couple. weeks just in total. The stakes obviously feel very high. We've all seen these incredibly violent. images. But the weekend did not escalate, I. think, the way that a lot of people had. been worried about or may at least have.

anticipated. The federal government has also been. trumpeting its success in Minneapolis, and there's this open question about. whether the president will invoke the. Insurrection Act. And basically there's. no sign that the feds are planning a. widespread pull back anytime soon. So, I just wonder if you have any sense. from your reporting what to expect in. the coming days. That, I think, is really the big. unanswered question, and you hear it. from people a lot. Like, there's a sense. that something really profoundly.

different is happening here, that we're. sort of off the map of prior experience. When I was in LA in in June when this. was happening there, there was certainly. a sense that oh, you know, these agents. are actually kind of making a lot of. just very opportunistic arrests. They're. not necessarily targeting people they. know have criminal records. They are. looking for a landscaping truck and then. just grabbing everybody on the. landscaping truck and seeing who they. have. And so, there was a very palpable. sense there that anybody could. be a target who wasn't immigrant or even.

ethnically Latino or otherwise not. white. I think that what is different in. Minneapolis is that there is a more. pervasive sense that not just could. anybody in those categories be a target, but that there's a good chance that. those people will be a target. Because it's a small city, non-white. people here tend to be very visible. because it is a heavily white city. And there are just so many federal. agents here. And so, there's a sense of. real vulnerability that feels different. from other places where these federal.

raids have happened. But I think the extent of what's. happened so far and the uncertainty. about what could happen from here has. led a lot of people to ask themselves. these real questions about how far. they're willing to go in the response. efforts here. You know, I've talked to. people who have said like, am I going to. need to start hiding people in, you. know, spare room in my house? I mean, those are questions that people are. seriously. asking themselves and each other right. now. And there is a real sense that this is.

an important moment in history that's. unfolding, and how people respond to it. does have the ability to kind of direct, you know, which direction. history goes from here. [Music]. Charlie, thank you so much. Thanks for having me. [Music]. We'll be right back.

Here's what else you need to know today. In a nearly two-hour speech to mark the. first anniversary of a second term in. office, President Trump listed a litany. of grievances and accomplishments that. wavered from his prowess as a Little. League player to complaints about. European allies. He also said he'd learned that Renee. Good's father had been a Trump supporter. and said that he hoped that he still. was. The administration has accused Good of.

being a domestic terrorist. And. the S&P 500 dropped more than 2% for the. first time since October as investors. reacted to President Trump's increasing. threat of higher tariffs on European. allies unless they supported his plans. for America to take control of. Greenland. Tuesday's trading was the first chance. US markets had to react to the threats. that Trump made over the weekend when he. also declined to rule out the use of. military force to take over the country.

[Music]. Today's episode was reported and. produced by Anna Foley and Michael Simon. Johnson and produced by Caitlin O'Keefe, Nina Feldman, and Rochelle Bonja with. help from Lindsey Garrison and Olivia. Nat. It was edited by Patricia Willens, Devon. Taylor, MJ Davis Lynn, and Ben Calhoun. Contains music by Marion Lozano, Alicia. Bitu, Pat McCusker, and Dan Powell, and. was engineered by Alyssa Moxley.

Special thanks to Vivian Yee. [Music]. That's it for The Daily. I'm Rachel. Abrams. See you tomorrow. [Music].