• A federal judge orders the deportation of Liam Ramos and his family. Weeks after outcry led to Liam and his father returning from Federal detention in Texas, a New York judge orders their deportation.

We do what we must for our neighbors:

• The JFK Library awards the people of the Twin Cities the Courage Award.

• Minneapolis Mayor Frey wants $40 million for our own Cop City. This, after the insult and injury of vetoing any assistance for neighbors impacted by ICE last week. Councilor Soren posts a reply on BlueSky. This while Minneapolis schools are facing budget cuts.

It’s not over:

• Somali neighbors raising alarm over deportation “Rocket docket” is infringing on civil liberties.
• Human Rights First reports on ICE Flight activity in February. The ICE Flight Monitor account on BlueSky posted a thread of key findings.

Around town:

• Minneapolis restaurant owners impacted during The Surge tell of a hopeful recovery.

• MPR has a report on Drone activity over Minneapolis. While such drone sightings have been occasional on social media, this is the first time a news outlet reported on them.

WTF:

• GOP Congressmen Stauber introduced a bill which drew sharp criticism from the Somali-Minnesotan community. This isn’t the first time GOP intentionally uses inflammatory language in their bill names.

Solidarity from across the world:

• “Take your mafioso chief of staff, go to Mar-a-Lago, and leave us here — because we are more like the brave ones from Minnesota”

Cool shirts for mutual aid:

• David Brauer is organizing a T-shirt drive. All proceeds to go Lucy Laney school families.

• Minneapolis are reporting an astonishing upswing in Judges speeding up deportation hearings for Somali neighbors. Yes, this would violate the Equal Protection Clause, but SCOTUS already gutted it for Skrmetti. Do you really think this DOJ won’t use that precedent against anyone they please?

ICE Watch:

• mspwhistles posted on BlueSky about multiple ICE abductions outside the metro.
• ICE Flight Monitor documented a flight to a tiny, landlocked monarchy in southern Africa.. This is the third such deportation flight monitored, making it highly unlikely that those abducted are actually from there.
• Posts on social media reported ICE continuing to circle schools are photographing children. Reminder that ICE has been using Facial Recognition tech which is notoriously inaccurate to racially profile individuals using only a photo.

Solidarity from Minneapolis:

• ICE protesters were teargassed in Vermont.

• The Strib reports the Target Boycott is “over”. The boycott was originally called after kissing Trump’s ring, removing pride merch and gutting DEI projects.
• Turns out the original Minneapolis organizer behind the boycott wasn’t interviewed at all for the Strib’s article. You can also read a copy of the post on BSky. This is a pattern we’ve see by Minneapolis leadership since 2020; co-op, take ownership, kill slowly, claim everything is better now, status quo maintained.

Frey vetoes eviction notice extensions:

• Despite hours of testimony and approval by the council, Minneapolis Mayor vetoes the eviction filing period extension. You can read the full veto order here. Jerk.
• Posts on social media describe a tent encampment obliterated by Frey’s MPD. Our Mayor, everyone!

[Padme meme] “So you’re going to do something, right?”:

• Judge wags the finger at racial profiling, does nothing. ICE has repeatedly violated and ignored court orders and you think strong words will sway them!?

Donation opportunities:

• North Minneapolis Mutual Aid put out a call to fulfill a $60k need for rent assistance. Donations are accepted on Venmo

• The Dropkick Murphys, among other groups held a free benefit concert on Eat Street, the site where Alex Pretti was killed.

Another death:

• Ruben Ray Martinez was killed by ICE in Texas. Body cam footage already contradicts the ICE account

They’re still taking our neighbors:

• Ottergoose posted video of the latest ICE deportation flight out of Minneapolis. 15 neighbors were deported. Observers noted a [full-body restraint] laid next to the flight onramp used as an implicit threat.
• A post on social media shows 20 ICE agents detaining a 50 year old woman for…protesting. Constitution? What Constitution?
• Parents reported ICE impersonating an Ice Cream Truck in an attempt to abduct children from a school

It’s F$%k Jacob Freyday…again:

• Frey vetoes the Council passed motion to extend eviction notices in Minneapolis to 30 days. Who will think about the poor landlords? Our mayor, apparently. Frey has a history among locals for dramatic emotional displays but then maintaining the status quo.

• Trump fired Kristi Noem as DHS Sec today in an announcement on his own personal social network. Trump loyalist and congressional pugilist Mullin will replace her pending congressional rubber-stamp.

Yesterday:

• To serve and protect (property). Why does this feel like a scene from The Simpsons?

Around town:

• As ICE moved in, neightbors set up a shadow medical system to keep neighbors in touch with care.
• Target’s new CEO gives the same tired corporate speech about values and fresh eyes confronting sales slump. Target has a history of cooperating with ICE since the early days of The Surge, and was cooperative with police during the George Floyd Uprising; the store most heavily damaged in 2020 was an incubator from invasive surveillance for the retail chain.

The bigger picture:

• Wired writes about how Futurism gave way to fascism. Sound familiar? Now go check the date this was originally published.

• ICE is now using fake commercial vans to facilitate abductions. One of these vans was used when ICE pulled a gun on a pedestrian. This is fine. This is just fine.

Follow the money:

• The Minnesota GOP blocked a measure that would would bar ICE partnerships with local governments. The party of small government sure does love the gestapo, does it?
• The MPD is bilking the city for more budget while they actually do nothing to protect us from ICE. We are getting very sick of paying for that helicopter, by the way.
• Despite inaction in Minneapolis, St. Paul considered extending eviction notices to 60 days.

Around town:

• “We don’t just want ICE out of Minnesota, we want ICE out of everywhere.”
• Racket pens the complicated history of Mancini’s with law enforcement in the wake of the slaying of Rene Good.

• The Minneapolis City Council heard hours of testimony from renters and neighbors about the eviction crisis. This included landlords who were “concerned for their livelihood” if evictions were paused even an additional 30 days. Local housing orgs also chimed in, although members of the community noted how quick they were to evict those they supposedly benefit. While the motion passed, the final vote is Thursday and may be subject to veto by Mayor Frey.

Post modern times in the Post Surge:

• The Modern Times restaurant considers making their donation model permanent. The restaurant had briefly been donations during the George Floyd Uprising, and came back to it again during the Surge.

It’s still not over:

• Posts on social media show new deliveries of ICE vans to the Whipple Building.

• 182 filed since last Friday, eclipsing 179 at the end of 2025. This despite raising $2.42 million dollars in mutual aid, Governor Tim Walz is MIA while his spokesperson says there’s “no legal basis” for aid.
• Tell your city council member to do something.
• Or, donate directly.

Missing friends, family:

• Posts on social media still report missing neighbors despite the end of The Surge.

Report ICE abuses:

• Hennepin County opened a new form to report ICE abuses.

• Posts on BlueSky reveal ICE is becoming more active again in Minneapolis now that media attention is elsewhere.

Marketing. It was about marketing:

• NYT writes about what feds accomplished in Minneapolis. The intent was always to brutalize and create incentives to not fight the brutalization; “We did this to them, we can do this to you”. The problem was, we fought back.

Religious freedom for me, but not for thee:

• The AG charges 30 more people involved with the church demonstration in St. Paul. The same church was being led by a pastor who was also an ICE field commander. Unicorn Riot has a copy of the indictment.

Oh good a surplus! Now here’s your eviction notice, BYYYYEEEEE:

• MN projects a surplus, despite Surge and general uncertainty. Will any of our neighbors see this? Any eviction prevention? No?

The bigger picture:

• Federal court strikes down the regime’s scheme of deporting people to countries they’ve never lived in. Multiple things are coming to a head at once for the admin, meanwhile they try to distract by attacking trans people or threatening war with Iran.

• A Minnesota judge threatens to hold Federal agencies in contempt. The federal government has long ignored state court orders, and continue to harass our neighbors.

Rumors of a change in tactics:

• Multiple posts on social media cite ICE has again changed tactics, circling schools as they are let out for the day, hoping to capture parents.
• Other posts suggest ICE may now be monitoring homeless shelters and encampments to capture and deport those evicted due to Walz’ and Frey’s continued inaction.

• J.D. Vance enacts a collective economic punishment on Minnesota after ICE brutality. By witholding federal funds, they seek to punish the most vulnerable of our neighbors. This while we’re already doing an investigation ourselves. Recent medicaid cuts may force the closure of HCMC, surving many of Minnesota’s most disadvantaged members.

That’s still too many:

• “Hundreds” of Federal agents still remain. Locals reported an uptick in ICE activity in the metro after over a week on focusing on the surrounding suburbs. Reportedly, local police cooperated with ICE.

Rent is coming due:

• With esitmates of up to 20% of Minneapolis renters behind rent in the wake of The Surge, calls went out for mutual aid on social media to help cover the costs. March 1st is coming up fast, and still Governal Walz and Mayor Frey can more for landowners then residents.

• A post on BlueSky charts the size of Metro Surge compared to other cities.

The hurt continues:

• Even with the end of the Surge, many families continue to shelter in place. Nieghbors on social media remarked we’re facing an eviction crisis over the next month. https://www.standwithminnesota.com/ is coordinating mutual aid collection. Governal Walz and Mayor Frey continue to be AWOL.

“They said they were.”:

• Tiff and Even sets the tone.

• “We belong to each other now”.

“Professionals”, “The best of the best”:

• Agent cleans gun in hotel room, nearly shoots the person in the next room over. So…choosing a hotel that turns away Federal Agents is now a matter of personal safety Greaaaat…
• ICE agents use free walkie-talkie app to converse with each other. And guess what, it’s the same one January 6th insurrectionists used! UGH.

It’s quieter, but…

• Minnesota Reformer [examines the “end” of the surge in data](https://minnesotareformer.com/2026/02/23/the-end-of-operation-metro-surge-in-data/.

…It ain’t over.

• School Districts say ICE is still disrupting schools. Locals on social media post about agents still nearby schools at last bell.
• International students in Minnesota face added pressure amid ICE surge](https://www.minnpost.com/mental-health-addiction/2026/02/minnesotas-international-students-face-added-pressure-amid-ice-surge-and-its-aftermath/).
• Minnesota clergy sue to access Whipple.

• The Minneapolis Park Board, which owns several owns homes, imposed an eviction moratorium for its properties. While that’s a start, Walz, Frey, and other Twin Cities politicians have been silent on a broader moratorium. Neighbors providing mutual aid for rent support have expressed strain on social media. Renter’s unions have recently proposed a strike to force the local government’s hand.

Businesses seek aid:

• Latino and East African business owners saw a drastic fall in income during Metro Surge. Many closed outright, preferring to stay home and shelter-in-place. Many of these businesses are local favorites.

It’s not just business owners:

• “Because of ICE, I’ve Been in Hiding for Months. It Has Transformed Me.”

• Weeks after the abduction of members, Ogala Sioux still left in the dark. ICE has made it obvious they are part of the white nationalist project, abducting anyone they have the opportunity.

Resistance doesn’t always mean protest:

• Sometimes it means, doing your neighbor’s laundry. Sometimes it means fetching groceries. Sometimes it means winter coats. We need all of us, in all ways.

It ain’t over:

• Sahan Journal writes how ICE has shifted to the suburbs. The lesser population density and the lack of experience in communication networks formed in the wake of George Floyd makes the suburbs a softer target.
• Lawyers have filed over 1000 lawsuits during the occupation. And there are so many more nationwide, with ICE and the Federal government ignoring them entirely. Rule of law? Only to punish us, not protect, apparently.

• Renters unions across Minneapolis and St. Paul announced a strike to protest government inaction. If held, it’d be the largest rent strike in 100 years.
• House Dems tried and failed to secure emergency funds for neighbors sheltering in place due to ICE. Minnesota Republicans just love landlords more than us, I guess.

Investigation into Mondragón beating:

• The FBI and St. Paul Police opened an investigation into the ICE beating of Castañeda Mondragón which resulted in multiple skull fractures.

A fire at the Good Memorial:

• A suspicious fire broke out at the Rene Good Memorial in South Minneapolis. Such activity echos similar suspicious and not so suspicious vandalism at the George Floyd memorial.

Things to think about:

• Zafar Siddiqui writes about the repeated broken promises of racial justice in Minnesota
• Will McGrath writes about his experiences in the resistance against ICE
• Earlier this month, Billy Bragg writes about how the protest song can be a powerful force multiplier

• There is no drawdown, just a shift to places with less resistance. Activists on social media mapped recent ICE activity just for today
• As showdown in congress over DHS funding looms, Minnesotans arrive to protest.
• Sahan Journal writes how ICE has impacted Minnesota’s disabled neighbors.

Constitution shomstitution:

• Trump says the gestapo needs no warrants in budget showdown.

The bigger picture:

• Multiple states move to crack down on protests after Church demonstration. A protest is supposed to be a disruption. That’s the point. The entire idea of a disruption-free protest is to render the notion of protest toothless.
• Clio and the Contemporary blogs about the connection between federal violence against indigenous Americans and the slayings in January.

Collaborators:

• St. Paul company ResponseAI Solutions were awarded a contract with DHS to support the “surge”. The article notes that by using a civilian company, they can avoid key oversight rules.

• Homan says an additional 1000 ICE agents will leave MN. idk, man, my math says 3000 - 700 (drawdown) - 1000 = 1300. Thirteen. Hundred. That doesn’t sound f-ing “small”.

Same old shit:

• A post on instagram tells how ICE continues even after news coverage fades
• The FBI still won’t cooperate with Minnesota over killings of Good and Pretti.
• The Trump admin continues to push for higher detention and deportation numbers, trying to run out the clock on court challenges

• Two men ICE accused of attacking a federal agent had all charges dropped against them. Local’s already doubted the agent’s account.

Meanwhile, the platforms sell us out:

• Researchers have found all Big Tech platforms, including Apple, Google, Microsoft, Meta, and others, are eager to censor ICE critics.

Around town:

• ICE is still here, and still holding our neighbors prisoner at Whipple.
• Tipis erected around the Fort Snelling as Native American’s protest ICE. The site is particularly symbolic given Snelling’s history as an internment site.
• MPR speaks with Columbia Heights school leaders.
• Just who was the bathrobe lady? MPR interviews.

And in Greater Minnesota:

• Minnesota Reformer covers the devistating effects of the ICE occupation outside the metro.

• Tom Homan announced an end to the federal occupation of Minneapolis. That “success” cost us lives, neighbors, sleep, long term well-being, and yeah, some property too, I guess. Homan continues to attach various conditions to the “end”.
• Wedge Live reported Minneapolis Homan thanked Minneapolis mayor Frey for vicious actions against filter blockades. Cops gonna cop.
• Minnesota Reformer [reports how churches formed a key support pillar as neighbors sheltered from ICE)[https://minnesotareformer.com/2026/02/12/minnesota-churches-provide-critical-supports-as-immigrants-hide-at-home/).
• Even if things do end today, the financial impact of the occupation will last for months.
• Minneapolis Counsillor Chavez acknowledges the “resiliency, strength, and dedication” of neighbors throughout the occupation.

From the department of “why are you even surprised”:

• Walz tells the Star Tribune the Trump admin backed out of joint investigations into the killings of Good and Pretti.
• Abductions continued immediately after Homan’s press conference. Helicopters without a transponder buzzed south Minneapolis at the same time this morning.

“Stay safe!”:

• Tiff and Eve points out the changing norms in Minnesotan politeness.

• During a high speed pursuit, federal agents wreck three cars and injure two outside of Nina’s. Sahan Journal also covered the crash. Locals have oft remarked on social media about the recklessness of ICE on our streets. Rumors are car rental agencies working with occupiers are cancelling contracts due to damage of vehicles.

Snoop on to them, as they snoop onto us:

• While Ring cameras are tools of ICE, one Minneapolis man builds a network with his neighbors to observe ICE.

“Nobody wants these ding-dongs in our fucking city”:

• Local “fishing influencer” is fed up with ICE in interview with Mother Jones.

The bigger picture:

• They’re building The Camps.

• Minnesota reformer interviews several young people at the forefront of ICE activity.
• ICE is now actively targeting immigrants with active work permits. Even if you follow all the rules and break no laws, you’re still a target.
• A blog post on Substack outlines how ICE is a less dangerous job than…an elementary school teacher.

Sure, we believe you:

• Walz claims a “significant” drawdown in ICE presence “soon”. Yeah right.

And no one was surprised:

• A federal employee who did background checks on ICE gets busted for sex trafficing. While the KSTP article omits it, this was an underage sex sting.
• ICE agent bites wife in altercation, keeps job. Reminder, that the demographic with the highest rate of domestic abusers? Cops.

The bigger picture:

• Wired points out ICE is building gulags. What happens when the gulags become too crowded? The Nazis tried deportation, then extermination. Sound familiar?

We keep us safe:

• Minnpost covers neighbors effort to cover each other’s rent while ICE abductions continue. Walz continues to do nothing.
• Minnesota’s queer-owned businesses are leading the fight against ICE.

• Walz won’t call for an eviction moratorium because it’s “legally fraught”. Oh, yes, we should be concerned with legality in the middle of our neighbors being abducted in broad daylight.

They are building enemy lists:

• Court filings reveal what was long suspected, ICE uses plate readers and facial recognition to track citizen observers. They do this even to city counselors.

Nothing has changed:

• Terror and sheltering-in-place continue after the so-called “drawdown”. The only drawdown was less media coverage. They didn’t want our stories to be told.
• Liam Ramos continues to shelter in place after ICE detainment and return. Despite reports that he appeared at the Superbowl halftime show, his father confirms that was not him in interview with MPR.
• Tom Homan calls on locals to “end the resistance”. What was it the cops kept saying, “If you’re doing nothing wrong you have nothing to fear”? What’s wrong, have something to fear from the people with whistles and cameras?
• University of St. Thomas in downtown Minneapolis was in lockdown earlier today due to a “credible threat”.
• An anonymous post from Alex Pretti’s community ICE watch dispatcher posts a memorial open latter.

No right to a speedy trial, imprisonment forever:

• Thanks Texas, for making this worse.

• Truthout writes how indigenous-let communities are keeping people safe from ICE. ICE has detained many native americans who live in the Twin Cities.

To protect and serve (fascism):

• NYT reports at least 50 arrested outside of the Whipple Building yesterday where many detainees are kept in inhumane conditions. Once again, the cops help ICE.
• Minneapolis Spring interviewed several neighbors about filter blockades. They weren’t even obstructing traffic, just causing a minor inconvenience. And the cops sent bulldozers. Probably the same ones they use to raze homeless encampments to the ground…

• Overtime for law enforcement creating budget problems for Minneapolis.

Huh, didn’t expect that:

• Glamour (yes, the fashion mag) reports on the resilance of women in the Twin Cities.
• Rolling Stone (yes, the music mag) writes about the connection between Twin Cities activism and the punk music scene.

We really do mean “all cops”:

• Man assulted by ICE while in the hospital recounts his experience.
• Protestors creating a block party clash with police and state troopers. The Minneapolis Spring account on BlueSky posted additional photos of the demonstration. Posts on social media also suggests demostrators threw dildos, and rebuilt barricades after the cops left.

• Not even a week after Liam Ramos and his father’s return to Minnesota, DHS tries to deport them all again.
• Observers of ICE’s flights document a rise in deportations despite Bovino’s departure and the “draw-down”.
• Sahan Journal hosts an opinion piece on how Somali families find their children I reason to resist ICE.
• Unicorn Riot reports 6 University Of Minnesota students chained themselves to the doors of Morrill Hall to protest the U’s accomdation of ICE.

The bigger picture:

• Agents in Coon Rapids caught on tape revealing the link between deportations and elections. They seriously think if they get rid of all the non-white people, they’d have a red state. They also believe non-citizens are allowed to vote in elections – they aren’t. It’s all a fig leaf for white nationalism.
• Sir Ian McKellen (who famously played Magnito) recited The Strangers’ Case from the play “Sir Thomas More” on Stephen Colbert. None of this is new, anti-immigrant hate is older than borders.
• A clandestine note attached to a lotion bottle was recovered by the ICE detention facility in San Diego describing the horrific conditions. And this is what we know, what about what we don’t? Dem politicians are routinely denied access to detention facilities.

This place can be so vibrant:

• Racket showcases the art of the Minnesota Resistance.

• Two Minnesota boys from Liam’s school were released from ICE custody. Despite the return, district officials maintain many children are still missing.

These guys are jerks:

• Just Security posts a synopsis of the Constitutional violations of ICE agents.
• Two men ordered released by a Judge based on dubious claims made by Federal agents were immediately re-detained by ice, without ever leaving the courthouse. Cops lie, but also now, ICE doesn’t need a warrant to arrest you, anywhere, for any reason. Great, free country we have here.

Smallest violin:

• A post on Substack describes how ICE is collapsing from inside and out. While Substack posts should generally be considered with skepticism due to company’s support of fascists, this particular blog provides an interesting summation of events.

The bigger picture:

• MN Secretary of State responded to calls from Trump to “nationalize” elections. Curious how the nationalization is only in blue states…

Around town:

• MPR covers how block party barricdes can help defend our communities from ICE.
• Chad Davis maintains a photo blog of street art, protests, and ICE presence throughout the Twin Cities.

• The entire city of Minneapolis was nominated for a Nobel peace prize. While the Peace Price includes some rather dubious selections (Kissinger, really?), given some politician’s obsession with it, the idea at least gives a chuckle.

Prohibition for you:

• The Minneapolis city council delayed liquor licenses for two hotels who are hosting federal agents downtown. Many Twin Cities restaurants also do not serve federal agents out of protest, reportedly, ICE agents are living off of cans of soup in their hotel rooms while citizens have frequent noise demonstrations outside the building.

“They have no boundaries…this is not like something in a movie”:

• The NYT describes the long term distress Minneapolis children are experiencing in the wake of Federal agents descending on the city. Reminder, the NYTs has a history of soft-balling right-wing actions.
• Human Rights Watch released their World Report for 2026, including descriptions of ICE activities in the Twin Cities.

A choice between the noose or hemlock:

• DHS will reportedly draw down 700 agents from Operation Metro Surge, this comes the same day Homan said You’re not going to stop ICE on CSPAN. The draw-down is conditional, and requires residents to back down against ICE. At the peak, DHS sent over 3000 agents here….3000-700=2300 armed thugs on our streets, terrorizing our neighbors.

We’re not stopping:

• Suburban ICE observers in the Twin Cities area remain resolved.
• Protestors continue to gather at the Whipple building downtown, where many ICE detainees are kept in inhumane conditions each and every day.

• An astonishing number of constitutional observers have been trained in the Twin Cities.

Plans no one should ever have to make:

• Advocates urge immigrant families to make plans for their kids in the wake of abductions of parents by ICE.

They’re afraid we’ll laugh at them, we’re afraid they’ll kill us:

• Turns out right wingers don’t like whistles. Really, guys?

Warm hearts, frigid air:

• Anti-ice street art around Minneapolis appeared on social media. We’re not messin’ around.
• Tiff and Eve long for simpler, distinctly Minnesotan, times

• Rep. Morrison was granted access to inspect the ICE detention facility at the Whipple Building, describing horrific conditions.

A pattern of terror and revenge:

• Liam’s Columbia Heights school was closed today due to a bomb threat, reports on social media also noted several ICE vehicles in the school parking lot at 6:30am this morning. While Liam returned yesterday, two others had been abducted from the school recently.

Around town:

• A Judge continues to deny a preliminary injunction to halt ICE in Minnesota claiming to do so would be “overreach”. The lawsuit proceeds, as do the abductions and tearing apart of families.
• The Montreal Canadiens are in town playing against the Minnesota Wild, but have been instructed to carry their passports, and do not leave the hotel. Perfectly normal, sane country we have here…
• Trans News Network describes the occupation from the perspective of a trans reporter.
• MN AG Ellison announced a website listing your rights as an immigrant. Previously, this material we only organized by activists and hard to source directly.

A strike historic:

• The Janurary 23rd Strike was the 3rd largest in US history.

Something to keep your ears warm:

• An earlier post on Ravelry provides a protest cap knitting pattern with Norway and WWII connections.

• Liam Ramos and his Father returned to Minnesota last night. He was escorted by Texas congressman Joaquin Castro, and met with Ilhan Omar in Minnesota. ICE had used Liam as bait in order to abduct others.

We have their names:

• ProPublica reports the agents who shot Alex Pretti have been identified in government records.

Yesterday:

• ProPublica had an expose on what they saw in Minneapolis. Yeah, it’s actually worse than that living here. Way worse.

What doesn’t make the news:

• Federal agents threw riot control agents (RCAs) at peaceful observers in Powderhorn Park and abducted one observer this morning. ICE has been particularly active in the Powderhown neighborhood of Minneapolis.
• Minneapolis rapid responders set up block party-style filter blockades to admit residents, and thwart ICE.

• A court order to release Liam Ramos was issued. The judge included the now famous “blue hat” photo of Liam, with references to Matthew 19:14, and John 11:35 with Liam listed as “Bystander”.

Well, that was unexpected:

• MPR Reports Federal agents drew weapons on an unarmed woman in St. Peter Thursday afternoon. Local police intervened and prevented the arrest. Earlier this week NYT reported an internal ICE memo grants agents the ability to arrest anyone without a warrant.

None of this was, though:

• The NYT reports Bovino mocked a prosecutor’s Jewish faith on call with layers.
• Teachers describe how ICE is circling Minnesota schools, looking for more children to abduct.
• A judge declines to halt the ICE occupation of Minnesota.
• ICE claim a detained man shattered his own skull by “running into a wall”. HCMC determined this could not account for the breadth of the injuries he sustained. ICE agents have lingered around the hospital in the past weeks attempting to abduct individuals seeking medical attention.

Papers, please:

• Many Minneapolis residents are resorting to wearing the passports at all times to ward off ICE.

Ways to support:

• Wired writes about how to film ICE.
• Marcia Howard put out a call on BSky to donate to help Minneapolis families.

• Four journalists, including Ex-CNN anchor Don Lemon and Minnesota journalist and NABJ vice president Georgia Fort were arrested by federal agents. Sahan Journal has further details. As with protestors, the goal isn’t to make charges stick, but intimidation and capitulation as well as creating a cooling effect on the free press is the goal.

Yesterday:

• Two more Minnesota children were abducted by ICE. This is from the same Colombia Heights school ICE abducted 5 year old Liam Conejo Ramos last week.

In and outside the TC:

• Twin Cities rapper Nur-D talks with Rolling Stone about their violent detainment by ICE
• Minnesota Reformer writes The Anti-ICE movement is also a caregiving social movement. While many are in the streets demonstrating and others are patrolling for federal agents, others are running their neighbor’s errands, feeding their community, and supporting each other in a myriad of ways.
• In These Times describes how rural Minnesotans are standing up for their immigrant neighbors. While ICE continues to operate in the Twin Cities, it has also shifted efforts to Greater Minnesota with reports from St. Cloud, Willmar, and more.
• Minnesota Reformer reports the DOJ has opened a civil rights case into the killing of Alex Pretti. Many on social media expressed skepticism given how the same DOJ opened a investigation into Renee Good to justify her death.

No one is coming to save us:

• Many Minnesota Republican politicians still continue to support ICE despite the slayings.
• Senate Dems reach a funding deal and continue to make demands to continue ICE funding. Many of those demands – body cameras, more training, stricter background checks – were the same Minnesota politicians offered after George Floyd’s brutal murder in 2020.

Dress for the occasion:

• An older post by CrimethInc. provides some solid demonstration safety advice. While yesterday’s Verge Article was useful, and a bit surprising given the source, this link provides more seasoned advice.

Feeling seen on faraway shores:

• Radical Graffiti has some nice French street art with a Minneapolis connection

A playlist for the fight:

• Minnpost lists 32 protest songs inspired by the Twin Cities

• Minneapolis Public School District issued a statement on false statements that occupiers are using district vehicles.
• Minnesota Reformer writes how First Amendment lawyers say ICE observers are protected. Noam, Homan, J.D. Vance, and Trump have claimed otherwise and have issued various threats in an attempt to cool protected behavior. Longtime protestors know that merely bringing a suit can be damaging even ruled in the protestor’s favor.
• Tom Homan signals the beatings will continue until morale improves.
• A thread on BlueSky sums up the current mood in Minneapolis.
• MS Now has an opinion piece, Protesting is only a small part of the Minneapolis resistance.
• The Guardian on how nothing has changed despite de-escalation promises.

The times are too interesting:

• The Verge – normally a fluffy Tech news site – compared several gas masks. What a world we live in now.

Something lighthearted:

• Tiff and Eve posted an extremely relatable comic complete with a very Midwestern Dad asking very Midwestern things.

• A leaked memo contradicts a NYT piece suggesting a deescalation of ICE deployment in Minneapolis.
• NBC news has a piece on how daily life in Minneapolis has changed since the occupation.

Wait, I’ve heard this story before:

• Walz wants to give Homan the benefit of the doubt, a frustrating message for many angry Minneapolis residents who feel this is a return to DFL standard messaging on preserving the status quo without any meaningful change.
• Walz and Frey continue to not impose an eviction moratorium despite an many sheltering in place to avoid ICE, and now appears to be rasing funds to fight the DOJ’s fivolous lawsuit.
• The Trump admin gave away the game about “de-escalatory measures” as a smokescreen to placate Senate Democrats, and not any sort of meaningful change in operation at all. Quelle Surprise.

Omar attacked:

• A man rushed Minneapolis congresswoman Omar at a public town hall. Omar was unhurt. Trump peddled conspiracies about the incident. With many conservative politicians, we’ve discovered every accusation is often projection…
• The Sahan Journal provides additional details of the Omar attacker.

The bigger picture:

• Truthout points out what many in Minneapolis already know that “This is not America” is a lie we tell ourselves.
• Welcome to Garbagetown writes about ICE in Minnesota, fascism, and how that reflects on ICE operations in Maine.
• A NYT podcast, The Ezra Klein Show, suggests that Minneapolis is merely a practice likens ICE to a domestic paramilitary force

A ballad to balm the soul:

• Bruce Springsteen released a new track, “Streets of Minneapolis” on YouTube.

• Pretti had his rib broken by federal agents just a week before being killed. In the same article, Homan is quoted as wanting to “make people famous” for interference with ICE abductions, thereby attracting right-wing harassers. A strategy which has been successful against, women, trans people, and non-white people.

Last night:

• Bovino referred to Cedar Riverside, where many Somali MInneapolians live “Little Mogadishu”. locals point out no one from here calls it that. Many consider the term a racist dogwhistle.
• A [post on BSky showed the MN State Police testing an LRAD (long-range acuoustic device) on protestors last night](https://bsky.app/profile/denisedwheeler.bsky.social/post/3mdgq65jwb22l). LRADS use high intensity sound that can cause permanent deafness at close range.

Today:

• Experts say a Whitehouse post on X hurts their own case against activist Nekima Levy Armstrong who interrupted a service at a St. Paul church.
• Literary Hub talks about Moon Palace Book’s role as a hub of ICE resistance.
• A thread on Bluesky by Naomi Kritzer outlines how involved local religious organizations are involved with resisting the occupation.
• ICE operations continued in Minneapolis without pause despite the departure of Bovino.
• Axios reports Noam is pointing the finger at Steven Miller over fabrications to justify the Pretti killing.
• This comes after House Dems deliver ultimatum to Trump to fire Noam or have her be impeached.
• ICE agents attempted to enter the Ecuadorian Consulate in Minneapolis despite it having diplomatic immunity. Reportedly, ICE agents did not have a warrant.

The bigger picture:

• Ta-Nehisi Coats posts an article to Vanity Fair which connects Good, Pretti to larger movements of American Fascism.
• Radley Balko posts on substack comparing the resistance in MN to Boston, 260 years ago.
• Spencer Ackerman posts on how Minneapolis resistance is anarchism in practice.

What’s with the name

“…in the blind” is supposedly communication jargon used to signify you are transmitting without the expectation of being heard or hearing a response. It was popularized by the movie Gravity.