Social Issues

 Being Muslim and American in the nation's heartland
The oldest surviving place of worship for Muslims in the United States was erected in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, almost a century ago by immigrants from present-day Lebanon.
What happens to cases of Minnesota immigrants after they are deported?
President Trump’s deportation policy is impacting Minnesota’s Southeast Asian community, with five Hmong Minnesotans facing removal to Laos. Lawyer and professor Ana Pottratz Acosta joined MPR News to discuss the legal and human implications of the detentions.
Minn. joins lawsuit to stop immigration requirements on victim funds
A coalition of attorneys general from 20 states and Washington, D.C., is asking a federal judge to stop the U.S. Department of Justice from withholding federal funds earmarked for crime victims if states don't cooperate with the Trump administration's immigration enforcement efforts.
Overdose deaths disproportionately impact older Black men. Few programs in Minnesota exist to support them
Synthetic opioids such as fentanyl have accelerated overdoses for Black men ages 55 to 74 who have suffered disproportionately for decades. One Ramsey County nonprofit is working to fill the gap.
Immigration officials release Twin Cities mom from custody after federal judge order
Antonia Aguilar Maldonado came to the U.S. in 2016 without legal status as a 17-year-old unaccompanied minor. She now has two young U.S. citizen children and was pursuing an asylum case when she was picked up on her way to work, attorneys said.
Federal judge to hear case of Salvadoran mother in ICE detention
A Salvadoran mother detained by ICE in Minnesota is at the center of a federal court case Tuesday, after immigration officials blocked her release despite a judge's bond ruling.
Factories are losing immigrant workers, stressing those who remain
Trump campaigned on helping American workers through his immigration policies. Now that he’s revoked work authorization for thousands of immigrants, those left behind are feeling taxed by their absence.
Asylum-seekers thought they were following the rules. Now some are told to start over
NPR has learned that dozens of immigrants across the U.S. have received letters notifying them that their asylum cases have been dismissed because they have not yet received a screening interview.