Today marks two weeks and one day since Greg Bovino, Border Patrol “commander at large” was dismissed from his role and sent back to his former position. Many Minnesotans were initially optimistic that this would mean positive changes for our community, which has been under siege from federal forces since December. Bovino was replaced by Tom Homan, the White House “border czar”, who claimed that he wanted to draw down the number of agents currently prowling the streets of Minnesota.

Homan met with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, and stated that they wanted to create continued dialogue. One promise Homan made was to reduce the number of federal agents from 3,000 down to 2,300. Another was an indication that the federal government may cooperate in some form with the state investigation into the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents last month. The reduction in federal agents, if true, has not resulted in an appreciable improvement in the situation on the ground in the Minneapolis area. Kidnappings are still occurring on a daily basis by masked — and in some cases plain clothes wearing - agents. ICE observers are being arrested as aggressively, if not more aggressively, than before. Observers who have been arrested or detained by ICE report that they are being threatened with placement into some kind of watch list or database.

In an especially disturbing case that occurred just today, men in plain clothes abducted a man directly from the Minneapolis government center, in front of dozens of witnesses. It was unclear whether this person was attempting to go through the legal immigration process when the kidnapping occurred, but this would not be unprecedented, as there have been many cases of federal immigration officers seizing people before or after court appearances across the country.

In the face of this oppression, the people of Minnesota have continued to stand against government aggression through a variety of means. Peaceful protests have continued at large scale on the weekends, and many smaller protests have popped up organically throughout the city. Mutual aid organizations have formed in some unexpected places. An adult toy store called 'The Smitten Kitten' has become a leader in the Uptown neighborhood on Minneapolis’ south side. Its retail space is now almost entirely filled with food and other mutual aid supplies rather than the sex toys it normally sells. The store’s employees have also organized funds for aiding community members with rent and other necessities and have also coordinated calls for ICE observers.

Regardless of the efforts of the Trump administration’s efforts to intimidate the citizenry into staying home, more than 30,000 people have taken part in ICE observer training. This number is expected to grow rapidly as more trainings are offered in the future. While this has not put a stop to ICE’s campaign of terror, it is creating a vital record of documentation that will support future investigation and prosecution into those who trample the rights and dignity of our neighbors.