Last week I was in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to observe and learn from those who have attempted to protect members of their community from the brutal assaults by ICE and other government agencies and hold those agencies accountable for the violence they are wreaking on the community.
ICE in Minneapolis—From Surge to “Surrender” (Kind of)
The Trump administration’s decision to surge 2,000 ICE and Border Patrol agents into Minneapolis to uphold White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller’s directive for the arrest in the U.S. of 3,000 persons each day to teach immigrants and everyone in the U.S. a lesson, backfired as the actions of the federal agents in Minneapolis outraged the city, state and nation.
Due to community pressure and non-compliance to the violent attempts by ICE agents to force capitulation by the community and the lawlessness of the masked agents—caught on video by bystanders in busting doors to homes, smashing car windows, and beating up and murdering two Minneapolis residents—the community eventually forced the Trump administration to replace the well-known, mean-spirited Gregory Bovino and bring in “Border Czar” Tom Homan, who very quickly reduced the number of ICE agents in Minneapolis by one-third and required the agents to wear body cameras.
“I Can’t Breathe” Organizing in Minneapolis Six Years Ago with the Horrific Murder of George Floyd Prepared the Community
Community organizing began six years ago with the community response to the horrific murder of George Floyd. The protests and vigils for George Floyd in Minneapolis and around the world brought attention to the continued targeting of African-Americans for minor incidents that the police escalated into “I Can’t Breathe” and death.
To this day, and each day for the last six years, a group from the community meets at 8:00 a.m. at George Floyd Square located across the street from the memorial over coffee to discuss the previous day’s events and the organizing needed for that day. There are several persons who are at the square each day who can provide to a newcomer the historical context for the treatment by police of African-Americans, Native Americans and immigrants in the Minneapolis area.
Others arriving may be unhoused who are needing a cup of coffee and a donut for breakfast or some “new clothing” from the donations that are located inside a city bus stop shelter located at the square. By 9:30 a.m., the group has disbursed; some left quickly after 8:00 a.m. to take kids to school or to go to work, others to continue work on community mutual aid projects.
Block-by-Block Community Organizing
In speaking with residents in several parts of Minneapolis, beautiful stories of organizing on a block-by-block level emerged! Residents got to know those who lived on the same block. Everyone had a whistle to alert the neighborhood that suspicious cars were in the area.
Those residents who were not targeted by ICE—generally Caucasian—came out and onto the streets to find out what was happening and ready to record ICE actions. They began doing grocery shopping for those fearful of leaving their homes, taking kids to school, picking them up from school, taking people to medical appointments.
The Minneapolis friend who housed us for this visit usually has at least two activities per day that she does for immigrants in her neighborhood. Others, in teams of two or three, stand outside businesses that ICE might target, with the businesses thanking the volunteers by providing coffee and snacks.
Other volunteers in their personal cars follow vehicles that they suspect may be driven by ICE agents. Many of these volunteers have been physically assaulted by ICE agents who stop the volunteers, damage their cars, take their license plate numbers, find out the addresses of the volunteers and then harass them at their homes.
The Veterans for Peace chapter in Minneapolis has a Rapid Response Team composed of veteran volunteers from around the country that has provided a presence in various parts of the city.
In an article by VFP board member Gerry Condon, he relates that “Younger post-9/11 veterans have taken the lead. They have been patrolling in at-risk neighborhoods, monitoring for agitators, de-escalating situations at protests, and training people how to stop bleeding. At least four veterans have been arrested while peacefully protesting but have been released without charges.”
These types of community volunteering happen every day throughout the city, including a team of carpenters who replace doors that ICE has knocked down when entering a residence, to a team of tow truck operators who return a vehicle from which occupants have been kidnapped to the person’s residence—free of charge.
Many of these stories, organizations and actions are chronicled by the website of “Stand With Minnesota” (standwithminnesota.com).
Challenging ICE at the Whipple Federal Building
Every day hundreds come to the immigration court and detention facility located inside the Whipple Federal Building in south Minneapolis. ICE agents mobilize in the huge parking lot with hundreds of rental cars and drive out to terrorize the community and bring those arrested into the Whipple facility before sending them to other detention locations.
Volunteers with megaphones speak their minds to the departing ICE agents with the most “F” words I have ever heard in all my life!!! Spontaneous “F**k ICE” chants erupt everywhere—from the entire audience in a recent Minneapolis hockey game to whenever Minneapolis residents meet on a street corner.
Minnesota “Nice” has turned into “F**k ICE.”
ICE put up tall fences on both sides of the roadway used for departure. In one remarkable action, community members threw dildos over the fences at ICE cars because they were such “dicks.”
Due to AI and facial recognition devices used by ICE, most who go to Whipple wear masks and leave their phones in their cars.
Volunteers Help Detainees Released in the Middle of the Night with No Coats or Phones
Another group of volunteers formed “Haven Watch” to provide 24-hour-a-day coverage for those who have been detained and subsequently allowed to leave Whipple. Generally, they are released from the detention facility late at night, with no coats and sometimes no shoes, in the bitter cold with no phones to call for help. The volunteers provide warm drinks and food, clothing, a phone and a ride home.
The Murders of Renée Good and Alex Pretti—Retaliation for Challenging ICE Can Be Swift and Brutal
Hundreds of people visit the memorials each day of Renée Good and Alex Pretti. New flowers, photos, poems, statements are placed at the site where each was murdered by ICE agents. We have all seen the videos of ICE agent Jonathan Ross shooting mother of three Renée Good in her car on January 7, 2026, and of Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez murdering Veterans Affairs ICU nurse Alex Pretti on January 24, 2026, as five of them pinned Alex on the ground.
The attempts by Donald Trump, Kristi Noem and other administration officials to characterize both Good and Pretti as terrorists backfired badly as videos of the federal agents murdering them emerged. The allegations against four others shot by federal immigration agents unraveled in court with little publicity.
Before Trump officials declared Renée Good and Alex Pretti at fault for instigating violence before they were killed, the administration’s allegations against four others shot at by federal immigration agents quietly unraveled in court. There have been 16 shootings by on-duty federal immigration agents patrolling in U.S. cities and towns over the past year, including those that took the lives of Minnesota protesters Renée Good and Alex Pretti.
Continuing Historic Violence in Minnesota—Vigil and March for Disappeared and Murdered Native American Women
ICE violence is not the only type of violence in Minnesota. On February 14, 2026, we went to the Minneapolis American Indian Center to participate in the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Day of Remembrance, which is held each February 14, to bring awareness to the epidemic of Indigenous people who have gone missing or have been murdered.
Startling data collected by the state of Minnesota is evidence that Indigenous people are a high percentage of the state’s missing-person cases.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) reports that 732 Indigenous persons went missing in Minnesota in 2025, more than 64% of whom were women. In 2025, the average number of Indigenous people in Minnesota who were missing on any one day was 63, according to the BCA.
According to 2024 data, American Indians accounted for more than 4% of all reported victims of homicide or non-negligent manslaughter in Minnesota, despite American Indians making up only a little more than 1% of the population.
Wide Array of Injustices
While ICE raids are the main focus of citizens of Minneapolis-St. Paul, they are still active in other issues. They have not forgotten Cuba and Palestine, among many issues, with weekly bridge bannering on Wednesday and Friday afternoons…after a day filled with protests of ICE!
Minnesota NICE—It Surely IS, Despite all the Challenges!
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About the Author
Ann Wright is a retired United States Army colonel and retired U.S. State Department official.
She was one of three State Department officials to publicly resign in direct protest of the 2003 Invasion of Iraq.
Since that time Colonel Wright has been a dedicated peace activist.
Ann can be reached at annw1946@gmail.com.
