Immigration enforcement in Minnesota

MPR News is tracking federal immigration actions across Minnesota — from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations and policy changes to community impact and your rights.

ICE drawdown? Indications point to steady enforcement activity outside the Twin Cities
Some people who observe ICE activity are skeptical about a large scale drawdown of agents in the state. There are indications that activity has decreased in the Twin Cities, but has continued outside the metro area.
FBI, St. Paul police probing ICE arrest that resulted in skull fractures
Alberto Castañeda Mondragón says agents yanked him from a vehicle, slammed him down and beat him with a baton. ICE has said the man caused his own injuries when he tried to run while handcuffed and fell.
Journalist vows to fight federal charges connected to St. Paul church protest
Georgia Fort, an independent journalist who documented the protest, made a brief appearance in St. Paul federal court, where she pleaded not guilty to felony civil rights charges along with activist Trahern Crews.
Minnesota man faces deportation to Laos for a crime he committed more than 30 years ago
At “Ricky” Chandee pled guilty to assault when he was 18 and served a prison sentence in the early 1990s. Since his release, he has worked for the city of Minneapolis for nearly 30 years. His family says he is not a threat to public safety, despite the Trump administration’s portrayal of him.
'We're not free': The voices of Minnesotans in hiding
N is a Mexican immigrant. MPR News is only using her first initial, due to fears of safety. N, hasn’t left her home in weeks. She said she doesn't trust what federal officials have recently said about a drawdown of ICE agents in Minnesota. She worries things may get worse before they get better.
Kidney transplant recipient in ICE custody may be released soon
A kidney transplant recipient from Minnesota now in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in Texas may finally be released on bond Tuesday. Javier Abreu-Vasquez has been held by ICE for nearly two weeks and he has not been regularly getting the medications he needs to keep his body from rejecting the donated kidney, according to his wife and his attorney.
Court hearings Tuesday, Wednesday in lawsuit alleging ICE agents racially profiled U.S. citizens
A federal judge is set to hear testimony Tuesday from U.S. citizens and immigrants in Minnesota — some of whom are asylum seekers or are lawful permanent residents — who say federal agents stopped and arrested them without warrants or probable cause.