The Minneapolis Star Tribune editorial board described the administration of US President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement operation in the Twin Cities as “a military occupation.” Local leaders have used words such as “siege” and “invasion.” After a week of reporting in Minneapolis and St Paul, I would not know how else to describe the scene.
I have been covering the administration’s immigration policies since Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20 last year.
I was in Chicago in January last year, when the administration assigned hundreds of federal agents to conduct “enhanced targeted operations” in the city. I was in Los Angeles last summer, when agents began seizing workers at car washes and garment warehouses, grabbing bicyclists and raiding churches.
Still, the operation in the Twin Cities felt like a marked escalation.
The US Department of Homeland Security’s “Operation Metro Surge” in the Twin Cities far surpasses previous mobilizations. The government has assigned about 3,000 federal agents to Minnesota in what it is calling its largest enforcement operation to date. This show of force has an outsized impact in Minneapolis and St Paul, which have a population that is less than one-fifth that of Los Angeles.There are now so many federal immigration officers operating in the region that they outnumber the Minneapolis police force five to one.
The tactics of the federal force, too, have grown more aggressive and indiscriminate. Armed officers have appeared at schools, daycares, churches and mosques. Masked agents are stopping residents at traffic lights, or on their walk to the grocery store, demanding — at gunpoint — that they prove their citizenship.
The agents are targeting not only undocumented immigrants, but also those with legal immigration status and valid visas, as well as US and tribal citizens.
A group of local law enforcement officers said even their agents were being pulled over, reporting that off-duty police officers of color had been stopped and questioned at gunpoint by the administration’s immigration force.
Immigration agents have been emboldened by a US Supreme Court ruling in September last year, which gave them legal cover to stop, question and detain people based on appearance, accent or vocation.
Over the past few weeks, they have broken into the homes of private residents without judicial warrants. Last week, agents used a battering ram to break down the door of Garrison Gibson, a 38-year-old Liberian man, and arrested him. Over the weekend, they forced their way into the home of 56-year-old US citizen ChongLy “Scott” Thao, and led him outside in his underwear in subfreezing conditions.
Minneapolis’ 911 dispatchers have been overwhelmed by calls from residents who have encountered immigration enforcement. The city’s police chief, Brian O’Hara, said callers have often been hurt by the chemical irritants and crowd-control weapons that federal agents have been using against immigrant targets, as well as advocates and bystanders.
“The administration has been emboldened,” Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota policy director Julia Decker said. “The federal government feels it has the right to act beyond its authority.”
It is unclear how many instances of warrantless entry have occurred and not been filmed or reported, Decker said. Lately, in “know your rights” trainings for immigrants, attorneys have had to caveat lessons with an acknowledgement that federal agents would not necessarily be deterred by constitutional and legal restrictions.
For many residents, this has meant that regular life has been suspended. Immigrants and people of color who fear being stopped by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are staying home — avoiding work, school and shopping. About 80 percent of immigrant-run businesses were closed last week. Some restaurants that are still open have posted signs barring federal agents and locked their doors — urging patrons to knock or ring a bell for entry.
“Almost every single Latin business has their doors closed,” Leo’s Tow owner Juan Leon said. “They’re trying to strangulate our income.”
For the past several weeks, he has been providing a free service towing the abandoned vehicles of those taken by ICE.
“It feels as though nowhere is safe,” one woman wrote to the Guardian; she is a US citizen from Colombia who now carries around her passport with her wherever she goes. “I never felt the level of fear and constant concern that I feel now.” The Guardian is not identifying her because she fears being targeted by authorities.
She wondered if her ancestors lived through something similar during the years of civil war in Colombia in the 1940s and ’50s.
It is difficult to drive around these cities without spotting an ICE vehicle. Evenings are soundtracked with the whistles and car horns of volunteer legal observers, posted at street corners and poised to alert residents that agents are in the area.
As was the case in Los Angeles, Chicago and so many other cities that have been swamped by federal immigration agents, locals have stepped up to organize mutual aid efforts and food delivery services for immigrants too afraid to leave their homes. Minnesotans have booked out online legal observer training sessions.
“What you have is moms, grandmas, teenagers out on the streets day in and day out doing everything that they can to protect their communities, so that we can go to bed with a clean conscience,” said Andrew Falstrom, a longtime community organizer. “But whatever we do, we won’t be able to match a federal force backed by billions of dollars.”
“They have guns and teargas,” he said. “And we’ve got whistles and car horns.”
Maanvi Singh is an immigration reporter for the Guardian.
An elderly mother and her daughter were found dead in Kaohsiung after having not been seen for several days, discovered only when a foul odor began to spread and drew neighbors’ attention. There have been many similar cases, but it is particularly troubling that some of the victims were excluded from the social welfare safety net because they did not meet eligibility criteria. According to media reports, the middle-aged daughter had sought help from the local borough warden. Although the warden did step in, many services were unavailable without out-of-pocket payments due to issues with eligibility, leaving the warden’s hands
When former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) first took office in 2016, she set ambitious goals for remaking the energy mix in Taiwan. At the core of this effort was a significant expansion of the percentage of renewable energy generated to keep pace with growing domestic and global demands to reduce emissions. This effort met with broad bipartisan support as all three major parties placed expanding renewable energy at the center of their energy platforms. However, over the past several years partisanship has become a major headwind in realizing a set of energy goals that all three parties profess to want. Tsai
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Monday announced that she would dissolve parliament on Friday. Although the snap election on Feb. 8 might appear to be a domestic affair, it would have real implications for Taiwan and regional security. Whether the Takaichi-led coalition can advance a stronger security policy lies in not just gaining enough seats in parliament to pass legislation, but also in a public mandate to push forward reforms to upgrade the Japanese military. As one of Taiwan’s closest neighbors, a boost in Japan’s defense capabilities would serve as a strong deterrent to China in acting unilaterally in the
Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Randhir Jaiswal told a news conference on Jan. 9, in response to China’s latest round of live-fire exercises in the Taiwan Strait: “India has an abiding interest in peace and stability in the region, in view of our trade, economic, people-to-people and maritime interests. We urge all parties to exercise restraint, avoid unilateral actions and resolve issues peacefully without threat or use of force.” The statement set a firm tone at the beginning of the year for India-Taiwan relations, and reflects New Delhi’s recognition of shared interests and the strategic importance of regional stability. While India
RSS