Minneapolis, MN – On Thursday, June 5, Minnesota Immigrant Movement (MIM), Asamblea de los Derechos Civiles, and the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) held a press conference at Minneapolis City Hall outside of Mayor Jacob Frey’s office, hosting an array of local political and social justice leaders.

The community members and organizers demanded accountability from the mayor and MPD after local law enforcement helped federal authorities terrorize the immigrant community on Lake Street on June 3.

On June 3, witnesses reported an action aimed at spreading fear and terror into the Latino community, with more than 40 officers, most masked and armed, present in an operation including federal law enforcement agencies such as the FBI, DHS, HSI, ATF, DEA, and ICE. Officers were heavily armed with military-grade weapons and had at least two BearCat vehicles and a long range acoustic device (LRAD).

Although Minneapolis is supposed to be a sanctuary city, the June 3 events raised questions for neighborhood residents and the media alike. The operation included officers from the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Department and the Minneapolis Police Department in the heart of Minneapolis’ Latino immigrant community. This was despite the city of Minneapolis having a policy to not cooperate with immigration enforcement activity and the Hennepin County sheriff also having stated an intention to not cooperate with immigration enforcement. The violence perpetrated by the federal agencies and MPD resulted in several people being injured, at least one in need of medical attention.

Speakers included four city council members, who had approved a resolution earlier in the day to have the city auditor do an after-action review of the city’s involvement in the raid. Despite MPD and Mayor Frey’s initial claims that local authorities were only present for “crowd control,” eyewitness accounts say the opposite. “What happened is disgusting, it is wrong, and we will not tolerate that in the city of Minneapolis,” Councilmember Jason Chavez said Thursday.

Rachel Dionne Thunder, representing the Indigenous Protector Movement, emphasized to the crowd that “No one is illegal on stolen land.” Vash Lamp of MIRAC closed out the press conference calling out the mayor, police chief, sheriff and president, “When Frey, O'Hara, and Witt violate and threaten our sanctuary city policies to subtly appease Trump, we will respond. There is no amount of police violence, military force, or political pr tactics that these four can engage in that will result in the people of our city surrendering to this vile and racist agenda.”

#MinneapolisMN #MN #ImmigrantRights #MIRAC #MIM

Saint Paul, MN – With Governor Tim Walz and legislators huddled behind closed doors making deals for a looming legislative special session, around 50 people from the immigrant rights movement protested May 27 at Walz’s office in the State Capitol. The protest was in response to Governor Walz and legislative leaders announcing that they intend to pass a budget that takes away access to health care from adult immigrants in the state.

In the hallway outside Governor Walz’s office, four speakers talked powerfully about the human and social costs of denying health care access to immigrants. Then the group marched around the capitol rotunda with chants like, “Fight, fight, fight! Healthcare is a human right!” echoing throughout the capitol. The group then went into Walz’s office to ask for a meeting. When the receptionist said no, they stayed in the office, leading more chants.

Robyn Harbison of the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) said, “We call on the legislature to reject any budget agreement that would take away health care from immigrants. And if they pass it, we call on Governor Walz to veto it. Immigrants should not be pawns in budget negotiations! To deny health care to any segment of the population is inhumane and wrong. Denying health care to some Minnesota residents will negatively impact all residents.”

Since his vice-presidential run, Governor Walz has positioned himself as a champion of health care on the national level, even arguing that Democrats need to stop tinkering on the edges of the Affordable Care Act and enact universal health care.

But in Minnesota, Walz, along with Democratic Party state legislative leaders are proposing to take health care access away from thousands of Minnesota residents. As the protesters left Governor Walz’s office, they declared they would be back.

Legislators continue to meet behind closed doors to try to hammer out a budget deal, but they keep missing their own self-imposed deadlines. As long as they continue to meet, protest organizers are asking Minnesotans to call their state legislators and Governor Walz to demand that they stop trying to take health care access away from immigrants.

The protest was organized by the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee, Asamblea de Derechos Civiles, Minnesota Immigrant Movement, 50501 Minnesota, and the Minnesota Abortion Action Committee.

#StPaulMN #MN #ImmigrantRights #MIRAC #ADC #MIM #MNAAC #Feature

St. Paul, MN — Over 7000 people took to the streets from the Minnesota State Capitol, May 1, to commemorate International Workers Day 2025. Attendees of the protest rallied and marched for over three hours in rainy weather to demand an end to attacks on immigrants and workers, to fight Trump’s billionaire agenda, and for legalization for all.

The event was organized by a coalition made up of the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC), Minnesota Workers United (MWU), Minnesota Immigrant Movement (MIM), and Asamblea de Derechos Civiles (Asamblea). It was endorsed by over 50 local community organizations and unions, including the Minnesota AFL-CIO, Minneapolis Federation of Educators, SEIU local 26, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Indigenous Protectors Movement, Minnesota 8, and MN Anti-War Committee.

Beto Villanueva of MIRAC stated, “Immigrants are essential. We contribute to the economy. We help keep this country alive. And we’ve been doing it while being targeted more and paid less – while being disrespected and undervalued. The systems are built to divide us. They want workers to blame immigrants. They want to pit trans people and women against each other. They want poor folks to fight poorer folks. It’s all a game to divide us. But we see through that. We stand together.”

Sara Nelson, the international president of the Association of Flight Attendants CWA, AFL-CIO spoke to the long fight for workers’ rights. She said, “100 years ago workers didn’t have legal rights, they organized and built them through solidarity.” She also stated that we must stand together, “No one is born with racism, sexism or bigotry in their heart. These are the tactics from the boss to keep us from exercising our power and gaining our fair share.”

Rachel Dionne-Thunder of the Indigenous Protector Movement grounded protesters by saying, “Today is a reminder of the power of the people. These borders crossed us, we did not cross these borders. This country is built on an illusion of power, but the true power is with the people. Now is the time to say enough is enough!”

Marcia Howard of the Minnesota Federation of Teachers Local 59 spoke in strong support of immigrant students and colleagues. She urged listeners to stand up in solidarity, saying: “I need you to think about your neighbor. The immigrants we are talking about are your neighbors. They are your coworkers. They are your students’ classmates. I need you to pick a side and if you’re standing here, you better not be on the side of any billionaire.”

During the rainy march, the crowd was energized by a group of young people. The middle schoolers, who organized a walkout at their school, led chants like “No one is illegal, all power to the people!”

At a time when anti-immigrant rhetoric is rampant, the people of Minnesota stood up to send a clear message that they stand united in solidarity with workers and immigrants across the country.

#StPaulMN #MN #Labor #ImmigrantsRights #MIRAC #AFACWA #MWU #MIM #Asamblea #MFE #SEIU

Speakers at the rally will include representatives of unions and organizations fighting for immigrant rights and racial and social justice. Among them will be Marcia Howard, president of the teacher chapter of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers (MFT); State Representative María Isa Pérez-Vega; Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), and Sara Nelson, the international president of the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA).

Jovita Morales, an organizer in the Minnesota Immigrant Movement, said, “May 1 has always been important, but this year it matters more than ever. While the wealthy try to strip away our rights – attacking unions, slashing healthcare and education, deporting our neighbors – we are standing together, stronger than ever. We will not accept their cruelty. We will fight for the future our families deserve.”

Sorcha Lona, an organizer with Minnesota Workers United and a rank-and-file member of Teamsters Local 638, commented on the Trump administration’s attacks on organized labor, saying, “All of us in the May 1st Coalition are ready to stand up and fight back against the mass firings of federal workers, the attempts to eliminate their unions, and the efforts from Donald Trump and Elon Musk to privatize the federal government, which includes vital programs like Medicaid, Social Security and public education.”

At a moment of intense attacks on immigrants and workers from the Trump/Musk administration and their corporate backers, the May Day protest is going to show that working-class Minnesotans won’t be divided by our jobs or where we were born in our fight for a better future for all of our families.

Marchers will stand against escalating attacks on immigrants around the country including attacks on immigrants here in Minnesota such ICE detaining immigrants at workplaces from Saint Louis Park to Duluth; the Department of Homeland Security revoking the visas of at least 11 international students at the University of Minnesota, ICE detaining a hospital employee at the hospital where he works in Marshall, as well as other unjust immigration enforcement operations around the state.

The May 1 protest was initiated by the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee, Minnesota Immigrant Movement, Asamblea de Derechos Civiles, and Minnesota Workers United. It is co-sponsored by the following 50 organizations and unions: Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFSCME Local 34, AFSCME 2822, AFSCME Local 3800, Anti-War Committee, Asamblea de Derechos Civiles, Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en Lucha, Council on American Islamic Relations-MN, Climate Justice Committee, Communities United Against Police Brutality, Communications Workers of America Local 7250, East Phillips Neighborhood Institute, Families Against Military Madness, Filipinx for Immigrant Rights and Racial Justice, Free Palestine Coalition, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Healthcare Workers for Palestine, IBEW 292, Indivisible Twin Cities, Indigenous Protector Movement, Kalpulli KetzalCoatlicue, Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, MN8, Minnesota 50501, Minnesota Abortion Action Committee, Minnesota AFL-CIO, Minnesota BDS Community, Minnesota Federation of Teachers Local 59, Minnesota Immigrant Movement, Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee, Minnesota Peace Action Coalition, Minnesota Workers United, Party for Socialism and Liberation – Twin Cities, Saint Paul Federation of Educators, Service Employees International Union Local 26, Students for a Democratic Society, Teamsters Local 638, Twin Cities Coalition for Justice, Twin Cities Democratic Socialists of America, United Food & Commercial Workers Local 663, United Food & Commercial Workers Local 1189, UMN Graduate Labor Union-United Electric Local 1105, UNITE HERE Local 17, Veterans for Peace Chapter 27, Women Against Military Madness, Women’s March MN, Wrongfully Incarcerated and Over-Sentenced Families Council – MN.

#StPaulMN #MN #Labor #ImmigrantsRights #MayDay #MIRAC #MWU #AFSCME #AFACWA #MIM #ADC