“This Is What It Means to Be Minnesotan”: Why My Neighbors Continue to Stand Up Against ICE

A ProPublica visuals editor documented Minneapolis residents organizing mutual aid networks in response to federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in the city, including neighborhood patrols, food delivery to families in hiding, and protests at ICE detention facilities. The effort, which began after ICE agents killed Alex Pretti and intensified during Operation Metro Surge, involves dozens of volunteers—ranging from a technical writer to a barbershop owner to a palliative nurse—who say they are motivated by community responsibility rather than political organizing. While media attention has moved on and ICE enforcement activity has decreased, residents continue providing assistance to families displaced by the enforcement surge. The volunteers explicitly rejected characterizations that they were paid agitators or following government direction, instead framing their actions as an expression of Minnesota identity rooted in mutual aid and caring for neighbors.