Protests, skepticism continue in Minnesota following announcement that federal surge is ending
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Protests against the surge of federal immigration agents in Minnesota continued over the weekend — even after last week’s announcement by White House border czar Tom Homan that the operation is winding down.
While there’s relief — there’s also still fear, sadness, skepticism and anger in communities across the state.
Hundreds of people rallied at Jackson Square Park and marched on Central Avenue in northeast Minneapolis on Sunday.
They spoke out against any potential cooperation between local law enforcement and federal Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. And marchers — including Debra Larson of St. Paul — said they are wary about whether Operation Metro Surge is really coming to an end.
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“No one believes it, we all know the truth,” Larson said. “They’re not going anywhere. I think they’re just trying to downplay it, but they are still doing raids as far as we know.”
And while law enforcement officials in the Twin Cities have said they did not change any policies to facilitate ICE leaving, there was still a lot of skepticism and doubt among those at the march, including Katie Sepehr of northeast Minneapolis. She questioned whether an end to the surge would just mean less transparency and awareness about immigration enforcement.
“The lack of visibility doesn’t make it any better. If it is really going behind closed doors, that’s not an improvement to any of the situation,” she said.
As for the end of Operation Metro Surge, Sepehr said she’ll believe it when she sees it.
Sunday’s march — organized by the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee — included people carrying signs reading “We Love Our Immigrant Neighbors,” “Diversity Makes Us Stronger,” “Are We Great Yet?” and “Abolish ICE.” There were also people wearing blue bunny hats — like the one 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos was wearing when he and his father were detained in the Twin Cities.
Along the way, some neighborhood residents came out of their homes to chant along with march organizers, some waving Mexican and Colombian flags.
Elsewhere in the Twin Cities over the sunny, unusually mild weekend, people were still mourning the two Minnesotans — Renee Macklin Good and Alex Pretti — who were fatally shot by ICE agents.
Ace Ronayne visited Pretti’s memorial to pay her respects. She said the ICE surge left her more distrustful of law enforcement. She also criticized local leaders for not doing more to keep Minnesotans safe.
“They’re like, ‘Oh, we’re here to protect you.’ Well, I ain't seen it. I ain’t seen y’all protect nothing. Nobody trusts law enforcement ever around here,” she said.
Ronayne said she carries her passport everywhere she goes and said she’ll continue to do that — until she sees with her own eyes that ICE is gone.
Along Nicollet Avenue, Renee Rippberger echoed those sentiments. The Minnesota native has been traveling back to the state to check in with friends since the surge started. She said she felt grief when she heard Homan’s announcement last week.
“You can’t trust that it’s over — and even if it is over, where are they going to send the agents next? Minnesota has been a victim of that, and while it would be wonderful to have Minnesota not be experiencing the terror that it has, I can only help but wonder — who’s next?”
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