Saint Paul, MN – On Wednesday, May 27, the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) brought its demands for a sanctuary state executive order to the office of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, along with dozens of blue bunny hats that they left on the floor outside of his office.

MIRAC has been calling on Governor Walz to issue an executive order making Minnesota a sanctuary state and on all gubernatorial candidates to commit to implementing statewide sanctuary policies. With no response from Walz, the group took their demands to his office in person.

MIRAC member Yann Chen laid out the group’s demands for the governor to sign an executive order that would: ban collaboration with local agencies and ICE; protect sensitive locations like schools, hospitals and churches from immigration enforcement; keep ICE off of state property; ban officers from wearing any face covering or concealing their identity; defend protesters against political repression; provide justice for all victims of ICE terror, and implement a state wide eviction moratorium.

“At least five of my neighbors from my apartment complex have been stolen, while on the way to work, or getting ready in the early morning,” said Chen, “We demand Walz signs this executive order and we demand a sanctuary state now!”

Alissa Washington, representing the Wrongfully Incarcerated and Over Sentenced Families Council (WIAOSFC-MN) as well as Twin Cities Coalition for Justice (TCC4J) said, “We witnessed the devastating impact Operation Metro Surge had on Black and brown communities throughout Minnesota. But our people fought back. Because when systems fail, the people protect each other. And we are still fighting ICE today! Governor Walz, if Minnesota truly believes immigrants belong here, then prove it!”

After hearing from a few speakers, the group brought a box of blue bunny hats into the office foyer and took them out one by one, placing them on the floor. In the next room, children while on tour of the Capitol building watched as the hats were placed and organizers explained the significance of the hats and why they were protesting.

The hats are a tribute to five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos who was kidnapped along with his father outside their home in Columbia Heights, Minnesota and sent to detention in Texas before being released and returning home. Although released by a judge due to the outrage sparked by pictures of Liam being detained in his blue bunny hat, the Trump administration has continued its campaign to deport him and his father. The fight continues, so MIRAC brought the hats directly to the governor’s office, giving him no choice to look away.

A member of the governor’s staff repeatedly told the group they should leave and not interrupt the school groups or leave the hats on the floor, asserting that this was “a hazard.” Protesters left the hats there anyway and told the staff, “if children are not too young to be separated from their families, they are not too young to hear about this.”

After the hats were all placed, the group held a banner in the hallway that read “Sanctuary now!” and chanted “We want justice, you say how? Sanctuary state now!” as school group after school group went in and out of the office foyer, most of them stepping on the pile of bunny hats as they walked through. Before they left, protesters were told that the bunny hats would be thrown away. As MIRAC member Erika Zurkawski pointed out “this shows what they think of immigrants – that they are disposable!” The group left the pile of bunny hats on the floor for the governor and his staff when they left the capitol premises.

#StPaulMN #MN #MIRAC #ImmigrantRights #LiamConejoRamos #TimWalz #Featured

Minneapolis, MN – During the harsh winter conditions on January 11, the streets of Minneapolis were filled with the flags, signs, vehicles and chants of the pro-Palestine movement. 

Marking the one-year anniversary of the Great Ride of Return, an international cycling movement dedicated to raising awareness and funds to support aid efforts for the people of Gaza, a caravan was held to take the streets of the city in an effort to continue applying pressure to get Governor Tim Walz to divest the billions of Minnesota pension holder’s funds from modern day apartheid and genocidal efforts.

The caravan was initiated by the MN Anti-War Committee. It began at Minneapolis South High School, wove through one of Minneapolis’ busiest roads, Lake Street, crossed the Mississippi River, and ended in front of Governor Walz’s mansion in St. Paul.

Before the caravan, participants heard from several speakers. Liz Bolsoni of Minnesota’s Anti-War Committee praised the efforts of the Gaza Sunbirds, a paracycling team that has worked tirelessly to distribute aid throughout the Gaza Strip for the past year. Signifying Minnesota’s complicity with the ongoing genocide, Bolsoni told the crowd, “In a statement of the UN General Assembly in October 2024, the Office of Humanitarian Affairs reported that the besieged Gaza Strip is home to the largest cohort of child amputees in history. Each day, tenchildren are losing one or both legs.” 

Bolsoni continued, “Right now, the Minnesota State Board of Investment - chaired by Walz - has over $700 million invested in weapons manufacturers that are actively selling to Israel. This being only a fraction of the $5.4 billion invested in other corporations that kill, displace, and terrorize Palestinians.”

Brian Chval of Minnesota’s Anti-War Committee explained, “From weapons, tech, and heavy machinery companies, whose inventory marks Palestinian existence for death to demolition the banks, businesses, and government bonds of Israel itself, the SBI has put our tax money and the retirement funds of workers around the state to the service of genocide.” 

Naveen Borojerdi, a unionized public employee and member of the Minnesota Anti-War Committee, stated, “You would think after losing an election on the national stage, Tim Walz would start listening to his constituents. Time will tell if he, and the rest of the State Board of Investment, will start listening to us. Otherwise, it will be a repeat of what happened this past November.” 

Borojerdi also told how the State Board of Investments recently closed their public meetings to community members, by no longer allowing the public to participate in the meetings in person, limiting their participation to being able to watch the meeting as a live stream. 

After the powerful speeches, a caravan of 75 vehicles and cyclists took to the streets of Minneapolis to begin their journeytowards the mansion of Governor Walz. Slowly traversing the traffic of streets, the caravan continued to grow in size as it approached the mansion.

Cheers echoed, fists were raised, and pride in the continued fight against oppression was experienced by thousands who were witness to the action. Upon arriving at the Governor’s mansion, protesters exited their vehicles to plant and hang signs and messages to make it clear to Walz that his willing participation in genocide will not be forgotten.

#MinneapolisMN #Walz #TimWalz #FreePalestine #MNAWC #AntiWarCommittee