Minnesota protest demands end to the war on immigrants
Saint Paul, MN – On March 20, around 60 people protested outside the Whipple Federal Building, which houses Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), to demand an end to the war on immigrants. The protest was organized by the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) to mark two months since President Biden was inaugurated.
After several speakers outside the perimeter of the Whipple Federal Building, the protesters marched to the building’s main entrance for a rally. There were speakers from Mexican and Filipino immigrant communities, two powerful Black spoken-word artists, as well as speakers expressing solidarity with immigrant communities from Native Lives Matter, Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar, and the Anti-War Committee.
In the new administration’s first two months, they have taken some significant actions to undo some of President Trump's anti-immigrant policies, like fully reinstating the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, ending the Muslim ban, and reinstating Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for several countries that President Trump had intended to end. But we're also seeing some steps backward too, like the opening of a new jail for immigrant youth, and no action yet on other urgent issues.
Demands of MIRAC’s End the War on Immigrants campaign include legalization for all, close the camps, no kids in cages, no border militarization, no wall on Native land, end abuses in ICE jails (including forced sterilization), and immediate access to COVID-19 vaccine for all people in ICE detention who want it.
The March 20 protest was the second protest MIRAC has organized in as many months to mark each month the Biden administration continues in office without action on the above issues. Organizers plan to continue regular actions to build pressure to end ICE’s war on immigrants.