Immigrants in greater Minnesota fear leaving homes during ICE surge

Ahmed Makaraan, the executive director of the Ethnic Self-Help Alliance for Refugee Assistance, said the recent immigration crackdowns across the state have made the people he works with feel fearful and rejected. 

“They don’t want to feel outcast. They want to feel they belong here,” said Makaraan, who has lived in Moorhead for nearly a decade. Born in Somalia but having grown up in Kenya, he arrived in the U.S. as a refugee in 2017. 

As federal immigration enforcement crackdowns have fanned outwards from the Twin Cities, with ICE agents showing up in towns like Pelican Rapids and Detroit Lakes, the clients Makaraan works with have been increasingly worried about leaving their homes.

“People are not coming to the office,” said Mukaraan. “The last few weeks, it's been very challenging.”

Meanwhile, Makaraan said there are several local organizations that are pitching in to help immigrants in their communities who may feel afraid to leave their homes for fear of being targeted by ICE, which is something playing out all over all over Minnesota.

For Good Farms, run by Garrett and Audra Maurer, recently donated most of their weekly crop to the Ethnic Self-Help Alliance for Refugee Assistance to distribute to families that may be worried about leaving their house to shop for groceries.

“There’s a lot of hesitation for people to go out, especially in our Black and brown communities, new immigrants, things of that nature, which is very unfortunate and a tragedy,” said Garrett Maurer.

— Noah Bloch, MPR News

This story is part of our live coverage. Go to live updates.

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