Understanding a New Reality: Interacting with ICE in Minneapolis is not a Question of “If” but “When”

In August 2023 I began law school, on track to graduate May 2026. In Spring of 2024 I was offered my first legal job working on an immigration team at a local nonprofit that supports low-income individuals navigating a variety of legal issues.

Lawyers are bound by the law. Attorneys, including student attorneys, take an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution and the law governing our area of practice. We can only help people do legal things. Because of this, some might say immigration attorneys are helping people “do it the right way.” Through both clinics at school and my role at work, I’ve assisted clients with submitting their asylum applications, getting their work permits, submitting other basic motions to the court and immigration services as well as represented them in immigration court, at their naturalization interview, and at their oath ceremony to become a US citizen.

Since December, clients have been cancelling their in-person appointments with me out of fear of leaving their house due to increased ICE presence in Minneapolis. Some are currently “undocumented” and working with us to navigate the legal options for obtaining status whereas others have status and were still scared to leave their homes.

This was before January 7, 2026.

Early last Wednesday morning, I opened my phone to see messages from my neighbors about ICE’s activity. Earlier that week, news broke 2,000 agents were being prepared to come to the Twin Cities for immigration enforcement. As I scrolled through neighborhood chats, I conveyed the new reality to my coworkers. Neighbors were being pulled from bus stops, cars, and an infant was left in a vehicle after ICE detained the mother. With the Supreme Court finding that very little counts as sufficient suspicion for immigration enforcement, it seems the arrests are based on nothing beyond racial profiling.

My phone started buzzing again and I saw messages from a friend who lives nearby. She had been driving to work when she saw a raid at a school. She pulled over to record and although she was safe, she was clearly shaken up by what she saw. After ensuring she had the necessary resources, and the right organizations had been notified, I tried to give her space to process. How was she supposed to go about her day after seeing families separated during their morning drop-off?

I was trying to make sense of new messages in the neighborhood chats when my partner stepped towards me with urgency.

“ICE shot an observer in the head,” she announced, before turning to continue coordinating a response.

I knew no official news outlets would have anything, but the chats didn’t confirm what kind of “shot” had been fired. I prayed it was a “rubber bullet,” pepper spray, or tear gas as they had been using, but what my partner communicated, and the reactions in the chats, made me doubt that likelihood.

I grabbed my work laptop and moved from the room to our kitchen table that barely seats four. My partner’s personal laptop was open across from mine.

“You’re not going out.” I stated, without lifting my eyes from my screen.

“Not right now, but I’m ready if they need me.” She confirmed, distracted, still typing away.

As I responded to client messages, an attorney on the team texted to confirm there were no meetings happening. I assured him there were none and asked if there was any official communication about what happened. It seemed the shooting took place just blocks away from where our client appointments were held, but all he could say was DHS confirmed the woman shot was dead.

ICE had been active in that neighborhood for weeks. Our intermediate adjustment had been to walk clients to and from their cars so they were never alone in a space that could’ve been argued as “public” (and therefore within ICE’s jurisdiction).

My mom called as soon as she was able to ensure my partner and I were safe. We processed our frustration that my partner, a latina, was out doing a supply run restocking the water for medics at the scene. We both worried for her safety, but understood why she felt compelled to go as one of the few people who didn’t work on Wednesdays (benefit of four 10hr shifts Thursday – Sunday). My partner later made it home safely and my mom breathed easier knowing we were both home for the time being.

Around 1:30pm, we heard repeated beeping and whistles move down the street of our apartment. My partner and I rushed to the window to see a car flip a U turn to follow. She looked at her phone and read the neighborhood chats confirming people were already aware of ICE’s presence. When ICE is spotted, community honks or blows their whistles continuously to warn folks nearby. Short tweets/honks mean they are present whereas long tones mean they are actively detaining someone. Since our neighbors were already aware, and ICE was moving away from us, we took a deep breath and returned to our respective computers.

For the rest of the afternoon, I adjusted meetings with clients while my partner coordinated medics. She ensured that each school in the area had responders for the end of the school day. That afternoon, ICE deployed chemical irritants on students at Roosevelt High School and arrested a staff member.

Renee Good’s name was made public and vigils and marches were planned in response to her death. Video compilations were made and contradicting narratives were spread. My personal opinion, regardless of your political leaning, is you should be outraged by the lawlessness demonstrated by ICE. The blatant lies told by the leaders of this country should concern you. You should feel moved to action in some capacity to help your neighbors. I don’t believe anybody deserves to die, let alone without accountability.

The Days Following

Minneapolis Public Schools closed for the remainder of last week and offered virtual learning into February because of the threat to their students. Many businesses have closed. More clients have canceled their appointments with us. Some have reached out because ICE followed them despite their lawful status. Others reached out because family members were detained for no reason. Officers are going door to door to investigate.  Kristi Noem has said hundreds more officials will be arriving in the Twin Cities. It is now rumored there are nearly 3,000 ICE agents in the Twin Cities which overpowers the ten largest Twin Cities metro police forces combined.

On Saturday, tens of thousands of individuals marched to protest ICE’s actions. One of the most impactful moments was the families stuck inside, scared to leave their homes, waving from the windows and thanking the protestors for their support.

On Sunday, my friend texted because on her way home from work she observed ICE breaking down the door of a neighbor. She pulled over and stepped out of the car to record and an ICE officer turned and pointed his gun at her. This was after they had already deployed pepper spray on individuals lawfully observing ICE’s unlawful actions. I’m thankful that she is physically safe and her neighbors began coordinating ways to fix the door left detached from the home.

I continued messaging clients and coordinating with attorneys on Monday as we adapted to the ongoing ICE presence near our meeting space. ICE ran into a citizen, damaging his car and demanding his ID just blocks away from where Renee Good was shot.

On Tuesday, as I left the coffee shop I was working from, I heard the whistles. Someone had spotted ICE and was alerting those of us nearby. The short bursts alluded to no immediate threat, but I scrolled social media to see they had taken a teenager earlier in the morning.

The Law

Immigration law is one of the most complex areas to practice in. I am on track to graduate law school with an “Immigration Concentration” denoting the coursework and emphasis I have placed on understanding Immigration Law. My school shared an article including some of my work here.

Some fascinating aspects to me:

• “Undocumented,” although colloquially used for immigrants without status, is a misnomer as many have checked in with border officials and are on the government’s record. This can also include individuals who entered the United States legally but lost their status for a variety of reasons.
• Immigration “Judges” are not the same as other judges in the judicial system. In fact, they are staff attorneys of the Executive Branch appointed by the Attorney General (and the majority were attorneys for DHS prior to being appointed as a judge). Immigration “court” is not in the Judicial Branch, but the Executive Branch. Immigration cases must go through a series of appeals before they reach an “Article III” judge. Further, the Trump administration has continued to fire immigration judges, seemingly who are not ruling aligned with the administration’s goals.
• Unlike criminal cases, immigrants are not promised an attorney and many must represent themselves in court. This means even children are appearing before judges without support.
• Having lawful status can mean a majority of things in the United States: having an unexpired visa, being a lawful permanent resident, being a United States Citizen, winning an Asylum case, and having a humanitarian authorization (to name a few).
• In limited cases, you can enter the United States without permission and still have a pathway to legal status.
• Entering with permission does not “fast track” your citizenship journey. It takes years to be eligible for citizenship and with the current backlog, family members petitioning for their loved ones can wait decades before they can even join them as residents in the United States (and lawful residents are not citizens).

Even more interesting was seeing one of my Constitutional law professors answering questions about the scope of ICE’s work (no, they cannot remove you from your car).

Minneapolis’ New Reality

I’ve been drafting this post for over a week. Each day brings new information to include and new stories to consider uplifting. It’s hard to portray what Minneapolis is like. Our “normal” is on pause as we go through each moment bracing for what could be next. My partner began asking me to run certain errands for her in the areas we’ve seen the most ICE presence. This is even though she is not only a U.S. citizen, but a veteran who was given recognition for her leadership during her service.

Then, Wednesday night, as my partner and I had dinner with a friend, I noticed my partner checking her phone repeatedly. When I finally asked about it, I got the response I dreaded.

“It might’ve happened again.”

My friend lives near North Minneapolis and checked her chats, instantly gasping when she read messages alerting there had been more shots fired by ICE. We spent the next hour trying to make sense of what happened between community response, organizations’ responses, and videos surfacing from the family impacted.

Yesterday morning, Trump threatened the insurrection act, and my coworkers and I wondered how we were supposed to continue working with clients when everything seemed so dystopian.

Although I shouldn’t have to worry as a white citizen of the United States, ICE has been arresting anybody they find suspicious. Each time I check my phone I find dozens of messages waiting for me, updating me on ICE’s activity, and hundreds muted in other chats. My neighbors and I have agreed, it’s not a question of if we will encounter ICE, but rather when.

Action Items

Get involved in your local efforts (including neighborhood chats, local organizations, becoming a trained observer etc.). Those in Minnesota can reach out for specific recommendations or use this resource as a starting point.

Educate:

ICE continues to target a variety of Non-White individuals around the Twin Cities and arrested a series of US citizens:

• Individuals claiming to be US Citizens were detained while working at Target.
• An Uber driver with an accent was questioned by border patrol.
• A lawful Permanent Resident, living out of his car, was attacked by ICE agents, taken to the federal building and then taken to the hospital due to trouble breathing.
• Indigenous individuals have gone missing after being detained by ICE.
• Children were hospitalized after ICE agents attacked their car with tear gas (6 month old stoped breathing).
• Renee Good was found still alive when EMS arrived which makes video of ICE refusing a physician to render aid more concerning.
• The school Renee Good’s son attends has moved to virtual learning after threats lead to safety concerns.
• ICE agents eat at a small-town Mexican restaurant and then later return to arrest workers.
• ICE presence at a hospital without proper warrant threatens client privacy.
• Restaurant worker with confirmed work authorization detained when stepping outside for work duties. Despite his lawful work status, he was transferred to El Paso, TX within 12 hours of being detained.
• U.S. Citizen has car window smashed and is dragged out of her car as she drives to a medical appointment. When she lost consciousness in her cell at the federal building, she was then taken to a hospital for treatment.
• ICE pepper sprayed a vehicle with two U.S. citizens, broke the car’s windows, detained both individuals for ~8 hours, and released them into chemical irritants.
• A U.S. citizen paraprofessional’s car was hit by ICE in school lot, window smashed, and the teacher was detained for ~12 hours. Some report tear gas was used near children.

Outside of Minnesota:

• Arnoldo Bazan – 16 year old citizen taken to hospital after ICE used a banned chokehold, and then officers took and sold his phone. (October 2025)
• El Paso County medical examiner found preliminary cause of Geraldo Lunas Campos’ death to be “asphyxia due to neck and chest compression” and will likely list it as a homicide. This is 1 of 4 deaths in ICE custody so far in 2026 alone.
• In California, ICE agents shot two protestors in the face with “less lethal” rounds, leaving them blind.
• In Louisiana, an ICE officer pled guilty to repeatedly sexually assaulting a detainee. (December 2025)
• ICE detained a Navajo man despite him offering identification documents.
• High school student detained at work.

Reports of other shootings by ICE officers surface:

• Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez (Chicago)
• Keith Porter (LA area)
• Man and Woman in car (Portland)
• Man in North Minneapolis
• General statistics

Donate:

• Immigrant Law Center of MN
• Keith Porter’s Family
• StandWithMinnesota.com
• Support car damaged by ICE
• Food support for impacted families in MN