Braving extremely cold weather, local residents took to the streets of Minneapolis, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, on Tuesday to continue protesting what they described as violent law enforcement practices, particularly by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
On January 7, Renee Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen, was fatally shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis during a federal enforcement operation. The city has remained tense since the shooting, as outrage has spread locally and nationwide.
The Trump administration had recently announced it is sending 2,000 immigration agents to the Minneapolis area amid allegations of welfare fraud involving immigrants in Minnesota. The number of newly dispatched ICE and Border Patrol agents has since increased to nearly 3,000. It is an operation that many in Minneapolis said is cruel, racist and completely unwarranted.
"They're picking people at random. They're not targeting the worst of the worst, college students, children. This is about standing for what is right and standing up for those who cannot stand up for themselves," said Asher, a protester.
"Here in Minneapolis, we've got a lot of ICE agents who are taking not only illegal citizens, but legal citizens and detaining them. I work in a hospital in this area and we have parents who are afraid to come to the hospital to visit their children. So, that's a big problem because they're afraid they'll be detained. Since ICE is not detaining only illegal immigrants, any parent who looks not white is just afraid to come in the hospital, afraid that ICE will be patrolling in the public areas of the hospital and just take them," said Jamie, another protester.
Some protesters accused ICE of using "brutal" tactics and operating without sufficient legal basis.
"We're protesting that ICE is in Minnesota. Well, because their tactics are so brutal and they don't follow the law, they don't have warrants. And that kind of thing is very, very problematic. But unfortunately, the Justice Department isn't doing its job and it's allowing this to happen," said Julie, a protester.
Holding placards saying that federal law enforcement should not be a symbol of violence, protesters also called for an economic shutdown day, urging the public to skip work, shopping, and school to demonstrate their opposition to current immigration enforcement actions.
Locals rally in Minneapolis against violent law enforcement
Locals rally in Minneapolis against violent law enforcement
