Minneapolis Residents Organize Community Patrols to Push Back Against ICE Presence
After more than 100 ICE agents were deployed to Minnesota, Minneapolis residents have begun organizing neighborhood patrols to monitor and disrupt immigration enforcement activity. Community members say the actions are a direct response to heightened ICE presence following racist rhetoric targeting Somali Minnesotans and reflect growing resistance rooted in collective protection and solidarity.
After more than 100 ICE agents were sent into Minnesota this week, following President Donald Trump’s attack on the state’s Somali population, Minneapolis residents have begun to fight back. Many residents are patrolling the streets in their cars, hoping to run agents out of their neighborhoods.
On Tuesday, Trump made racist comments, criticizing the Somali population in Minnesota, calling them “garbage” and saying he doesn’t “want them in our country, I’ll be honest with you… Their country is no good for a reason.”
This comes at the same time hundreds of new ICE agents have been deployed into the state, a move that Kristi Noem said would be coming during her press conference in Minneapolis at the end of October.
Minnesota has the highest concentration of Somalis in the country, despite them making up only 1.5% of the state’s residents. Since Trump’s latest attacks, agents have been seen more frequently in the metro area, particularly in neighborhoods with a high Somali and Latino population.
However, Minnesotans are refusing to let these officers be at peace, with multiple residents organizing patrol efforts in their neighborhood to chase ICE away before they can take any more of their neighbors.
“I’ve watched people rise to the occasion over and over,” said one Phillips resident who has been patrolling the downtown Minneapolis area this week. “I knew it was my time to do my part. I work from home and oftentimes have lulls in work. I can get up and respond at a moment’s notice.
“I kept thinking, ‘When will it be my friend, my daughter’s teachers, my own child? I can’t sit and do nothing, hoping it doesn’t affect me. Every person who is impacted is important.”
Born in Minnesota, this resident is among the hundreds of Minnesotans taking to the streets to chase out these agents. Residents have begun to organize locally, using secure channels to share live updates on the roads quickly.
They search for cars that are identifiable as ICE and follow them around to make their job more difficult. They also patrol areas where agents have been frequently sighted, such as Karmel Mall, the Target on Lake Street, and others.
“I drive the neighborhood looking for the vehicles we know are ICE,” the Phillips resident said. “We also keep a lookout for the kidnappers outside their vehicles or approaching homes, cars, people.
“I was there for the attempted raid near 32nd and Park [on Thursday]. The community quickly assembled a group and blew whistles, honked horns, filmed, etc. The more pressure we can put on them the better, because it makes it harder for them to steal people. We need more homeowners to not allow trespassing. It helps to limit their resources.”
Despite being an entirely volunteer effort, people gathered within minutes at the home, effectively driving the ICE agents away without taking anyone. Once could be considered lucky, but throughout this week, the daily citizen patrols have been effectively shutting down attempted arrests and chasing them away, at least for a couple of hours.
On Wednesday night, Hola Arepa, a popular Venezuelan restaurant, had an ICE scare when officers entered the establishment and showed a picture on their phone of someone they said they were looking for. When told they couldn’t come in without a warrant, they said, “We don’t need a warrant,” according to the restaurant’s general manager, Naomi Rathke.
Workers refused to let them in, called the police, and asked the community for support, with both responding within a matter of minutes. Despite a worker saying ICE claimed they would stay “all night” if need be, they left after 10 minutes when multiple community members arrived. After the encounter the restaurant closed early, and workers were escorted to their cars.
Despite the dangers of being harassed or arrested by ICE for their work, Minneapolis residents are continuing to show up every day.
“I have had interactions with ICE, but thankfully there were a lot of people, and they were on a busy street, so I wasn’t afraid at that moment,” the Phillips resident volunteer said. “Do I worry in general that they will harm or arrest me? Yes. But I won’t let that stop me from protecting my community.”
It’s not just these patrollers who are willing to stand up against ICE. Minneapolis resident Lydia Nomad was heading home on Tuesday morning when she witnessed an arrest on Portland Avenue, immediately got out of her car, and began filming and asking the man being arrested for his name.
“I knew I had to take action because those are our neighbors,” Nomad said. “And so I parked my car in El Kevin’s Tacos parking lot, and I ran across the street, texted my group to say the feds are here right now. I got my phone camera out, and I was shaking.”
Despite the overwhelming number of officers and dropping temperatures, these residents are not stopping their resistance efforts anytime soon, with Nomad echoing the sentiment many residents are feeling: that these arrests are illegal and immoral.
“It’s the morally right thing that if someone is doing something wrong, you should speak up about it, regardless of the outcome,” Nomad said. “I’m really proud of myself and others who, regardless of whether it’s going to work, are trying it.”
Izzy Canizares welcomes reader responses at icanizares@spokesman-recorder.com.