For like a long time.
Have you been watching the news lately? Especially and particularly about what’s happening in Minneapolis – it’s been a non-stop “rolling crisis,” as some experts are calling it, and it should piss off anyone with a conscience.
But seeing how regular people are standing up and doing whatever it takes to stop it? It should give anyone hope and inspiration.
These government agencies – ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and CBP (Customs and Border Protection) have ramped up their activities in Minneapolis as an act of political retribution. Since December 2025, they’ve sent thousands of agents, and they’re acting like they’re in a war zone, not a city. They call it “Metro Surge,” and Tom Homan (the barely distinguishable replacement for disgraced Nazi cosplayer Gregory Bovino) is referring to the city as a “theater”, with accostments and arrests at during traffic stops, home raids, and at workplaces.
The flimsy political cover of “going after the worst of the worst” has long since dried up, if it had any credibility in the first place. Only a small percentage of people they arrest have serious criminal records. This “mask off attitude” of extreme overreach against citizens has shocked even people who would rather do anything besides pay attention to politics.
The country in a nearly unprecedented constitutional civil rights crisis.
The Horrible Things ICE is Doing:
The videos and stories coming out of Minneapolis are truly disturbing:
- People are being killed. In January 2026, two American citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretty, were shot and killed by ICE agents. This is absolutely tragic and unacceptable.
- Basic rights are being stripped without procedure or trial. People who are arrested are often held without basic rights, like phone calls or even water. There are horrific stories of mistreatment and torture inside detention centers.
- Children are being endangered and abused. No surprise from this group. Imagine having your parents taken away by agents, and you’re left alone in a car on the side of the road. Everyone involved should be ashamed – and while a judge has recently ordered
- Racial profiling. An Uber driver, Ahmed bin Assan, was stopped and questioned just because of his accent. A 17-year-old American citizen working at Target was pushed around, likely also because of how he sounded. And Juan Carlos, a homeless American citizen, was reportedly beaten by agents while living in his car.
- Breaking into homes. A DoorDash driver, being followed by ICE, ran into a house for safety. Not long after, masked and armed agents were outside, pointing guns at the house and demanding to enter without a search warrant! The homeowner, who had a baby inside, was terrified. This isn’t how law enforcement should operate in America.
- Nazi propaganda. They even leave “ace of spades” cards behind in the wake of their rampages, a symbol historically used by hate groups like the KKK to threaten people. This isn’t just about immigration enforcement; it looks like a “racist Nazi agenda” that wants to scare people into following certain political ideas.
It’s especially frustrating when we find out Atlanta police (along with cops across the country) are helping ICE by sharing private information from surveillance cameras.
When Democratic “local leaders” claim they don’t like what ICE is doing, their own police forces are often working with them.
People Are Fighting Back!
There are alternatives to the mainstream political culture of one hand washing the other and endless excuses and justifications. Even with all this garbage happening, the spirit of resistance in Minneapolis and across the country is incredible. People are realizing that “we have to make sure that the history books don’t say that the people here didn’t really care about freedom.”
- Community Protection: Across the city people right NOW are organizing autonomous and decentralized rapid response networks. Despite the constant threat of reprisal, ordinary citizens are using messaging apps to track ICE vehicles (often plain, dark SUVs) and warning each other about where these marauders are appearing.
- Strikes and Boycotts: There was a huge statewide general strike in Minnesota, where hundreds of businesses closed. And many religious leaders were arrested for protesting. Despite all of the struggle we’ve seen from the people, companies have either been completely silent or issued mealy-mouthed statements from their local chambers of commerce. People are rightly refusing to buy from companies that support ICE, like Amazon, Target, Home Depot, and basically every hotel chain. The idea is to “impact any of these companies bottom line” to show them we don’t approve.
- Documenting the Truth: People are exercising their rights under the 1st amendment and using resources like
icelist.isto find and document information about ICE agents and their operations.
The human response to defend ourselves is natural and necessary.
We’ve seen that these tactics can work. This situation in Minneapolis, and even similar struggles for freedom in other parts of the world, shows us that governments act out of weakness and insecurity.
They “want to test the defenses” and see how much they can get away with.
But more people are standing together to say “no.”