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.
Minneapolis, MN – On Saturday, March 8, the Minnesota Abortion Action Committee (MNAAC), Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee and other partners hosted a protest and march on International Women’s Day at Powderhorn Park in Minneapolis. The protest drew over 500 people across generations and movements.
Minneapolis, MN – On Friday March 13, Minnesotans held a candlelight vigil in honor of the 165 to 180 victims, majority children, of the U.S. bombing of the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls’ school in Iran.
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.”
Minneapolis – On the evening of Saturday February 28, 200 protesters answered an emergency call from the Minnesota Peace Action Coalition (MPAC) to gather at Chicago Avenue and Lake Street in Minneapolis to oppose U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran.
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.
St. Paul, MN – On Tuesday, February 24, 15 activists led by the MN Anti-War Committee (AWC) confronted the Minnesota State Board of Investment (SBI) to demand that the Board divest Minnesota public pension funds from Palantir, a Peter Thiel-founded tech company that works directly with ICE and the IDF.
Minneapolis, MN — During rush hour, February 19, protesters rallied in the freezing cold beneath the Interstate 94 bridge to demand the divestment of Minnesota taxpayer money from Israel, ICE and Palantir, a corporation that abets both institutions’ violence.
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.
Minneapolis, MN – 30 people gathered in 16-degree weather in the heart of Minneapolis on February 7 to call for U.S. hands off Venezuela, Cuba and Iran, after weeks and months of tension, threats of escalation, and direct attacks on these sovereign counties.
Brooklyn Park, MN – On a chilly morning, February 7, around 200 union members, union staff and community members assembled in a parking lot in Brooklyn Park, a suburb of Minneapolis which is home to many immigrant families and union members.
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 Friday, January 23, at 2 p.m., it was -11 degrees F with -40 windchill when over 50,000 Minnesotans bundled up in layers and scarves braved the extreme cold. They gathered in a park near US Bank Stadium in downtown Minneapolis to demand that ICE leave the Twin Cities and greater Minnesota.
By 1 p.m. the park was already beginning to fill up with people arriving early to avoid clogged traffic and backed-up light rail trains coming into the area, getting crowded with Minnesotans coming to the march. By 2 p.m., there was no way to see the edges of the protest from inside the crowd, even when standing on benches to get a better view, as it stretched many blocks in all directions and around corners, flooding a large section of downtown.
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.
St. Paul, MN – On Tuesday, January 13, about 20 protesters attended the Saint Paul Board of Water Commissioners meeting to demand that the city cut its contract with Waterfall Security Solutions, an Israeli cybersecurity company with direct ties to the IDF.