Afraid But Undeterred, Minnesota Greets Trump’s ICE Surge With Demonstrations

Minneapolis, Minnesota — Tear gas filled the air outside the Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis on January 9 as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers led two demonstrators away in handcuffs. For hours on Friday, caravans of ICE vehicles passed in front of the pop-up protests, carrying immigrants to be processed for deportation. Amid a mass influx of federal immigration agents to Minnesota, the Whipple building, normally a hub for the Department of Veterans Affairs, has become a staging ground for ICE operations. A group of approximately 20 federal immigration agents stood guard outside the building.

After masked federal agents fired chemical irritants into the crowd, medics rushed to the scene to assist those who had been injured. One demonstrator could be heard exclaiming, “This is the fifth time I’ve been hit with a pepper ball here.” Others clutched their faces, struggling to breathe; one woman collapsed to the ground.

Protesters have been a regular fixture outside the Whipple building since January 7, when ICE officer Jonathan Ross killed Renee Nicole Good on a quiet residential street in Minneapolis after she stopped her car to observe what appeared to be a kidnapping in progress. Video filmed on Ross’s cellphone during the shooting, made public by a right-wing news site, shows him firing three shots into Good’s vehicle before someone off-camera, presumably Ross, calls her a “fucking bitch.”

Protesters have been a regular fixture outside the Whipple building since January 7, when ICE officer Jonathan Ross killed Renee Nicole Good.

Renee’s wife, Becca Good, said in a statement published online after her death that “kindness radiated out of her.” In Minneapolis and across the country, more than a thousand anti-ICE demonstrations continue in her memory.

Over the weekend, thousands demonstrated at Powderhorn Park in Minneapolis, which was also a major site of protest during the 2020 George Floyd uprising. Floyd was killed by police officer Derek Chauvin just a few blocks away from 34th Street and Portland Avenue, where Good was shot by Ross. Now, Minneapolis has been cast into the national spotlight yet again, as more than 2,000 federal immigration agents operate in the state as part of what ICE has termed “Operation Metro Surge.”

On the ground in Minneapolis, it feels as though the city is collectively holding its breath. “We are still very much living in the shadow of the Black Lives Matter protests,” said Jacob, 42, a small business owner in Minneapolis who asked to be identified only by his first name due to safety concerns, during a demonstration at Whipple. “Everyone is just waiting to see if these demonstrations will escalate in the same way as they did in 2020.” If Renee Good had been killed in any other city, he added, expectations for mass escalation and mobilization might have been different — but “this is Minneapolis,” where the legacy of the George Floyd uprising never really faded.

The Department of Homeland Security has threatened the city with “the largest immigration operation ever” carried out by the agency. Operation Metro Surge began in December, after President Donald Trump and right-wing media outlets amplified baseless reports of “widespread fraud” at day care and health care facilities in the state. Minnesota’s Somali community, numbering approximately 80,000, became a scapegoat amid claims of lost Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds, prompting the Trump administration to deploy immigration officers to the state.

Operation Metro Surge began in December, after President Donald Trump and right-wing media outlets amplified baseless reports of “widespread fraud” at day care and health care facilities in the state.

In the days following Good’s death, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has adopted a confrontational tone. Frey’s remarks at a press conference on January 7, just hours after Good was killed, earned him praise even from some critics on the left, who remain angry over his handling of the George Floyd uprising. “ICE, get the fuck out of Minneapolis,” Frey said. Democratic socialist Omar Fateh challenged Frey in the Minneapolis mayoral election last fall, campaigning, in part, on strengthening the separation ordinance between local police and federal immigration authorities. Frey defeated Fateh in the general election, amid criticisms of outsized campaign PAC spending.

Gov. Tim Walz initially said Minnesota’s National Guard was “on standby,” stating that “they remain ready in the event they are needed to help keep the peace, ensure public safety, and allow for peaceful demonstrations.” Walz, who recently ended his reelection bid due in part to criticism over his handling of alleged fraud in the state-administered public grants system, now faces the challenge of confronting Trump as the president continues to aggressively target Minnesota.

Twin Cities Democratic Socialists of America spokesperson Elizabeth Bonin said, “It is certainly opportunistic. Frey and Walz have failed to protect their constituents. They should have been calling for ICE to leave as soon as the agents set foot in Minnesota, but they didn’t, and they endangered their constituents.” Protesters gathered for a noise demonstration, banging drums and chanting on Friday night outside a Hilton Canopy Hotel on the outskirts of Minneapolis, where ICE officers were rumored to be staying. Truthout could not independently confirm whether officers were housed at the hotel.

The protest was eventually declared an unlawful assembly by the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD), and dozens of MPD officers were deployed to the scene. Thirty protesters were detained and cited for acts of civil disobedience.

On January 10, Representatives Ilhan Omar, Angie Craig, and Kelly Morrison attempted to enter the Whipple Federal Building as part of their congressional oversight duties. They were initially allowed inside but were then denied access at the instruction of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

In June, Noem issued a directive requiring members of Congress to provide at least seven days’ notice before visiting an ICE facility. However, last month, a court ruled that Trump administration officials could not prevent congressional oversight by imposing advance-notice requirements or blocking visits altogether. Noem is attempting to circumvent that ruling by claiming that facilities funded by appropriations under the GOP budget bill last year are not subject to the same oversight requirements, in a memo that will likely face a new round of legal challenges.

As masked federal agents patrol city streets, residents have stepped up to organize resistance. Whistles signaling the presence of ICE officers have become nearly ubiquitous.

Demonstrations represent only one aspect of residents’ response to ICE’s presence in the city. Bonin continued, “We have members working on rapid response teams and mutual aid, helping undocumented residents with food and supplementary income while they are scared to leave their homes.” As masked federal agents patrol city streets, residents have stepped up to organize resistance. Whistles signaling the presence of ICE officers have become nearly ubiquitous as the number of agents has swelled.

“This is about community,” said Viktor, 33, who asked to be identified by his first name only due to safety concerns, during a demonstration a few blocks from where Good was killed. Viktor, a military veteran, recalled the George Floyd uprising as a precedent for the current wave of anti-ICE demonstrations — only this time, he said, instead of being able to heal in grief, the community continues to be antagonized by masked federal officers.

“I’m here because I want to stand in solidarity with my immigrant neighbors, and as a Minnesotan, that is my responsibility,” he concluded.