Hi Neighbor,
This morning, Border Czar Tom Homan held a press conference (full press conference here) announcing a slow end to “Operation Metro Surge”. He stated that over the next two weeks, 2,000 agents will be leaving Minnesota. Governor Walz and Mayor Frey have said they don’t have any additional information to share yet and are cautiously optimistic.
Our community came together and pushed back an occupation of our city by the authoritarian Trump Administration. A retreat from Tom Homan and a withdraw of 2,000 agents makes me proud of all of you. Proud of our immigrant neighbors who have shown their resiliency and commitment to our beloved community in the face of this crisis. Proud of neighbors who chose to keep each other safe, who picked up a whistle, who donated to a rent fund, who delivered groceries to neighbors sheltering in place. Proud of our small businesses who opened their doors to shelter us on the coldest days and stood with us when we took action. This victory belongs to you and your neighbors. The announcement of so many agents leaving is something to feel proud of, and I hope you can take a moment today to feel and celebrate that. But we know that for real safety, we need more than a reduction of agents, we need ICE fully out of our state and city.
We can’t ever forget the horrors carried out by federal agents during this operation. They roamed our streets in masks and abducted our neighbors, racially profiled residents, brutalized observers, violated our safe spaces in schools and places of worship, and they terrified and stole children from their families. They murdered Renee Good and Alex Pretti, they shot Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, they are responsible for the death of Victor Manuel Diaz who died in ICE custody. While they did this, they continued to lie about what happened. We only know the truth because of the heroes who filmed, the neighbors who whistled, and the families brave enough to share their stories. We have to continue to demand justice, we need to stay organized, and we must stay vigilant.
We know that today’s announcement has not changed the goal of the Trump Administration: mass deportations that tear apart our families, friends, and neighbors. As a community, I hope we keep our arms wrapped around each other. The devastation to our city over the last six weeks cannot be quantified, we will need each other on the long road of healing that’s ahead. That begins with real transparency from all the individuals who have been meeting with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) leadership. That’s why I’m calling on our elected leaders in Minnesota to immediately provide details to the public about what, if anything, was agreed to for agents to leave – because we need and deserve that transparency.
Take care of one another.
In Solidarity,
Aisha Chughtai
