Heavy snow and difficult travel expected again, heaviest snow in southern Minnesota

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

President-elect Donald Trump promised that he would carry out the largest deportation effort in American history and impose other 

 once he takes office, though has not been specific in how he would do that, what resources would be involved and how much it would cost.

In interviews, Trump has said he would end birthright citizenship, which is included in the 14th Amendment.

In response, Minnesota immigrant rights groups say while they want to avoid evoking fear in their communities, they’re finding ways to stay prepared.

The Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee, or MIRAC, is one of those groups. 

They are hosting what they call an “immigration raid response training” on Jan. 4 aimed at people who are not immigrants but are concerned about their coworkers, neighbors, friends and family members who might be impacted by possible Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations.

Brad Sigal, a member of the group, says the goal isn’t to instill fear in people. Instead he says the training sessions are meant to be a proactive way to address concerns.

“Basically it’s a slide presentation walking through information about what ICE operations look like, what ICE officers uniforms look like, what Customs and Border Patrol officers uniforms look like, as compared to local law enforcement uniforms,” Sigal said.

ICE officials push back on the term “raids.” In a statement, an ICE official said Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers do not conduct raids and that all arrests are either targeted to a specific person or are the result of encounters during targeted enforcement. 

“ERO officers are sworn federal law enforcement officers who enforce U.S. immigration laws created to keep Americans safe from criminal noncitizens,” reads a statement from an ICE spokesperson.

Related reporting

2025 budget includes funding for immigrant-centered initiatives

Local refugee resettlement group prepares for second Trump term

Why Trump’s immigration rhetoric appeals to one first-time Latino voter in Minnesota

Organizations like COPAL, a nonprofit organization focused on Minnesota’s Latino community, say they are also hosting conversations to educate immigrant communities on legal protections and the resources that are available. 

They say they want people to be prepared, not afraid, including people who have temporary protected status and DACA recipients; those who qualified for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program who might be wondering what happens next. 

Ryan Perez, organizing director with COPAL, said the organization doesn’t want fear to drive its decision making in a time of uncertainty, but that it’s important to acknowledge the concerns people have.

“We’ve gotten people who reached out and they don’t know how ICE works, they don’t know how a deportation works, and they just want that basic level of understanding,” Perez said.

Perez says he hopes to continue meeting with elected officials and law enforcement to discuss ways they can work together.

Data from the Department of Homeland Security shows that overall, more noncitizens were sent back to their home countries under Biden than were under Trump’s first administration, but that is because the vast majority of those removals were under Title 42.

Title 42 is a policy that was used widely beginning in March 2020, during Trump’s first administration, in order to regulate border crossings under increased COVID-19 precautions. 

The policy allows federal health authorities to prohibit migrants from entering the country in order to prevent the spread of contagious diseases.

When Biden took office, he initially promised to end Title 42 expulsions, as the policy was widely criticized for bypassing regular immigration procedures, including asylum hearings. However, Biden continued the use of Title 42, arguing that it was still necessary to limit the spread of the virus at the border and Title 42 expulsions remained during most of his presidency, before the 

Sigal said MIRAC has organized “know your rights” trainings in the past, regardless of the presidential administration. He said the organization has protested against both 

 and Republican administrations for their immigration policies, and that current training is part of ongoing efforts to provide accurate information to community members.

Politics and Government News

Social Issues

Immigration

Shows

All Things Considered

NewsPartners

Homepage

Sarah Thamer

Author

Minnesota immigrant rights groups say they want to avoid evoking fear in their communities, but are finding ways to stay prepared ahead of the next Trump presidency.  

Advocates seek to prepare for possible ‘mass deportations’ without fearmongering

Go Deeper.

Like this?