News and Views from the People's Struggle
St. Paul, MN – On March 22, the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) and other grassroots organizations held a rally outside of the Minnesota Governor’s Residence to pressure Governor Walz to issue an executive order that would ban cooperation between ICE and state and local law enforcement.
Saint Paul, MN – Members of the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) held a press conference in front of the office of Governor Tim Walz, March 11, to demand immediate action from state leaders to make Minnesota a sanctuary state. MIRAC announced their new campaign aiming to pressure Governor Walz to sign an executive order that will use every power at his disposal to protect immigrant residents.
In the wake of Operation Metro Surge, activists are wary of the announcement by border czar Tom Homan of “unprecedented cooperation” between local and state law enforcement agencies and ICE.
Speaking on behalf of the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice (TCC4J), Jae Yates stated, “We are sick and tired of ineffective leadership from the DFL and broader Democrat establishment. Ultimately, state leaders left the people of our state to fend for themselves during this crisis. Democrat politicians were willing to use this crisis to improve their images with heartfelt statements on camera, but have shown little political will to actually protect residents from ICE.”
MIRAC has already joined dozens of organizations across Minnesota working to pass sanctuary state legislation, but knows that immigrant residents can’t afford to wait. They will push for a gubernatorial executive order because there is a need for an immediate response to the urgent threats and hardships faced by thousands of the state’s residents.
Speakers outlined the demands of the campaign, some of which include: Banning all collaboration between local agencies and ICE; protecting sensitive locations from immigration enforcement; prohibiting the use of state property by federal agents; banning face coverings and requiring all agents to clearly display their agency affiliation; defending protesters against political repression by demand that state and federal prosecutors drop all charges against ICE observers and anti-ICE protesters; arresting and prosecuting the killer agents and federal agents who violated laws around warrants and excessive force; providing justice for victims of ICE terror through financial assistance, and implementing a statewide eviction moratorium.
MIRAC member Myrka Zambrano stated, “The people of Minnesota will not stand for spineless leadership that make compromises and sell us out. We make no compromises when we fight for our neighbors in the streets. We want action and we will hold leaders accountable for our livelihood and that of our neighbors.”
St. Paul, MN – The Minnesota Immigrant Right Action Committee (MIRAC) led a lively rally, of about 100 people, February 24, in frigid temperatures outside the governor's mansion in the Summit Hill neighborhood of Saint Paul to demand that Tim Walz take action to ensure real sanctuary for all Minnesotans.
By Jessica Lotze and Sophie Breen
On February 15, Minnesotans gathered in Northeast Minneapolis in response to Tom Homan’s announcement that Operation Metro Surge would be coming to an end due to “unprecedented cooperation” from local and state law enforcement agencies and made it clear that the fight is not over.
Minneapolis, MN – Over 1000 union members, immigrant rights activists and supporters marched through Minneapolis’ Whittier neighborhood on Monday, February 16, to demand an end to ICE’s occupation of the city and for the defense of immigrant rights.
Marchers held dozens of banners with slogans like “ICE our now,” “Legalization for all,” and “Killer ICE off our streets.” The march began at Stewart Park, crossed a highway where the supportive honks of passing traffic temporarily drowned out the marchers’ chants, and ended at the intersection of Nicollet Avenue and 26th Street, where Alex Pretti was murdered.
by Livian Roth and Yann Chen
St. Paul, MN – On the evening of February 6, hundreds of protesters gathered outside of Governor Tim Walz’s mansion. The event, organized by The Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC), was held to demand that elected office holders do not sell out for ICE.
By Sophie Breen and Dante Rocío
Minneapolis, MN — In freezing temperatures with wind whipping around downtown Minneapolis, hundreds of protesters huddled near the front doors of Senator Amy Klobuchar’s office to rally against a proposed $170 billion in additional funding for ICE.
Minneapolis, MN – ICE has committed its second open murder of 2026 in the Twin Cities, with the fatal shooting of a legal observer on Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis on the morning of January 24. The Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC), quickly had members on the scene to document and began planning a vigil for the fallen community member.
The shooting was witnessed and documented by several bystanders, some of whom were then detained by ICE. In a widely circulated video from one bystander, five to six ICE agents can be seen swarming, tackling and pistol-whipping a community member. As the civilian kneels, surrounded by agents, one agent shoots him. The agents then begin to back up, and at least one of them shoots the community member several more times as he lies motionless on the ground.
Minneapolis, MN – On January 21, the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) held a press conference outside Mayor Jacob Frey’s office to respond to the federal agents’ ongoing assault upon the people of Minneapolis, and to demand that city officials prosecute the violent agents harming our communities, rather than the people reacting to that harm.
Minneapolis, MN – The People’s Action Coalition Against Trump (PACAT) organized a massive mobilization to protest Jake Lang’s planned “Crusader March,” where he announced that he would burn a Quran on the steps of City Hall before marching into the predominantly Somali Cedar-Riverside neighborhood.
He and a handful of other racists were confronted by extreme cold weather. They were shut down and chased away by an overwhelming crowd of at least 1000, who answered PACAT’s call for a “Protest to defend our neighbors!”
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Community (MIRAC).
On Wednesday, January 14 at about 7:00pm, the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Community (MIRAC) received reports of an ICE shooting at 6th St & 24th Ave in North Minneapolis. Reports confirm a community member was shot in the leg by ICE thugs. He is alive, but was taken away by ambulance. As the events unfolded, ICE officers also denied medical care to a pregnant woman present inside the home.
By Layna Crandell and Peter Kellner
Minneapolis, MN – On January 11, over 50 people rallied to demand an end to state terror from Minneapolis to Palestine.
Attendees waved Palestine and Venezuelan flags in the busy intersection of Hennepin Avenue and Oak Grove on the corner of Loring Park and displayed a banner on the pedestrian bridge over I-94 reading “Free Palestine: End ethnic cleansing.”
By Myrka Zambrano and Montana Hirsch
Minneapolis, MN- The Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) led a historic march of 100,000 people through Minneapolis to honor the life of Renee Nicole Good and to demand ICE out of Minnesota. The gathering was not only a show of grief and anger, but a powerful declaration of collective resistance.
On the morning of January 7, community member Renee Good was observing a raid and was murdered by an ICE agent. Good was known as a devoted mother and a neighbor who believed deeply in protecting her community. On the night of her murder, thousands gathered at a vigil and rally organized by MIRAC to mourn her loss.
Minneapolis, MN – At about 10 a.m. on January 7, ICE agents swarmed Portland Avenue and 34th Street, preparing for an operation despite Minneapolis’ new stronger separation ordinance. An observer was sitting in her car when ICE agents swarmed her while yelling aggressively. One agent came to the front of her car with his gun, and shot her in the head through her windshield, killing her. The victim has been identified as Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother.
By Sophie Breen and Montana Hirsch
Minneapolis, MN – With wind chills bringing temperatures below zero, 15,000 Minnesotans took to the streets in Minneapolis on Saturday to demand ICE get out. The protest was organized by a large coalition of immigrant rights groups and unions in response to an upsurge in attacks by ICE in the past month in the greater Twin Cities area. Many of these attacks have focused on the Somali community after Trump’s racist call for mass deportations of Somali Minnesotans.
Minneapolis, MN – On Tuesday, December 9, at least 100 immigrant rights advocates packed the Minneapolis sanctuary ordinance public hearing to demand a stronger separation between the Minneapolis Police Department and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Community members witnessed the Minneapolis Police Department assist ICE in an operation in the community on June 3 and spoke up against this collaboration.
Minneapolis, MN – On December 8, despite subzero temperatures and snow, 300 people gathered at Mayday Plaza for a rally in solidarity with the Somali and Afghan communities in Minneapolis. The event was organized by the Free Palestine Coalition, with a wide range of grass roots organizations participating in the event.
St. Paul, MN – Dozens of Minnesotans gathered in the pouring rain on Tuesday, November 25 to show their solidarity with those affected by federal immigration raids. The Trump administration is launching racist attacks through ICE in Saint Paul. Meanwhile there are no official protections for the most vulnerable against this violence.
By Mira Altobell-Resendez and Montana Hirsch
St. Paul, MN – At around 8 a.m. on November 18 immigrant rights organizations received reports of federal immigration agents staging in a public park gearing up for what turned out to be a large raid at Bro-Tex INC., a paper distributor in Saint Paul.
![Press conference demands police contract contain penalties for officers who collaborate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement \[ICE\] or violate the city’s separation ordinance. | Lilian Anderson/Fight Back! News](https://i.snap.as/Bcll4PrD.jpg "Press conference demands police contract contain penalties for officers who collaborate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE] or violate the city’s separation ordinance. | Lilian Anderson/Fight Back! News")
Minneapolis, MN – At a packed November 14 press conference outside the Minneapolis Public Service Building, community advocates and three Minneapolis City Council members joined the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) in calling for the city’s upcoming police contract to finally include real penalties for officers who collaborate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or violate the city’s separation ordinance.