From David in Minneapolis
A friend said those of us who live in Minnesota should write about what’s going on here for folks who live elsewhere. You need to know that whether you’re a Republican, Independent or Democrat, the Constitution is being violated by our federal government. This is not about catching criminals, or even deporting people. It is about punishing an entire state, including citizens, for not supporting the president.
Everyone in my part of Minneapolis is affected. On our streets, ICE is stopping people of color and demanding their papers. In America. US citizens do not have to prove citizenship to ICE. Yet people are being intimidated, some cases beaten up and detained, for requiring ICE to follow the law. ICE needs a judicial warrant to enter homes. Yet there are documented cases of them ignoring the law - violating a bedrock constitutional principle.
Americans of color are staying home, afraid to go to work, school, to grocery shop, or fill their cars with gas. This isn’t just “illegals” or immigrants with valid work permits, it is citizens who have had their cars rammed by ICE for merely looking Hispanic. Businesses are closing. Schools are 50 percent full. When they are open, fascists are calling in bomb threats because the president decided to make us a meme.
After a daycare teacher with a valid work permit (through 2030) was snatched from her workplace, parents (and grandparents) have had to organize to watch their SCHOOLS, to make sure constitutional rights are observed. This is being repeated throughout Minnesota. Imagine trying to do your job or live your life while also taking volunteer shifts to make sure the federal government doesn’t act extrajudicially.
Because of ICE’s documented abuses, neighbors have organized to monitor federal actions. This observation is legal, as long as it doesn’t interfere with a valid action. Yet since ICE killed Renee Good, they are increasingly stopping this observation, breaking car windows and pulling observers out, in one case unconscious, merely for watching what they are doing.
The country should be alarmed — they won’t stop with us — but know that while this is traumatizing to any good person you know here, we’re also pissed and resolute. Please do what you can to let your friends know what’s happening, to support us and local orgs as you can, and to learn how to defend your own community. Thanks for reading this. Please feel free to share.
