Rural/suburban/urban Minnesota response continues – allies urgently needed
The following column originally was published by Daily Kos on February 7, 2026
Rural/suburban/urban Minnesota response continues – allies urgently needed
Pictures courtesy of Owatonna People’s Press
Rural, urban and suburban youngsters all over Minnesota are walking out of school to protest ICE. Things are NOT better here in Minnesota after President Trump replaced ICE Leadership. The outrageous behavior continues. The big lies continue from the new director of ICE in Minnesota
* A “BIG LIE” that some media are promoting are that protests are confined to Minneapolis or Minneapolis and St Paul (Where I live) IN fact, there are protests all over the state. The photos above comes from Owatonna, Minnesota, 90 miles south of Minneapolis/St Paul (courtesty of Owatonna People’s Press.
Actually, ICE has and is committing outrages in rural and suburban as well as urban communities. For example
* Suburban police chiefs have described how police officers and US citizens of Asian American or Hispanic American have been stopped and harassed by ICE
* The widely publicized case of a suburban father and son who were dragged from their hope and sent to Texas is only one of a number of such cases. While the widely publicized youngster and his father have been returned, MANY other are still in Texas.
* Rural restaurants have been invaded by ICE that took away workers with no explanation and no prior notice to local police force
* Thousands of Minnesota public school children in rural, urban and suburban communities are staying home — frightened that they or their siblings or parents will be snatched by ICE.
* ICERS say they are going after the “worst of the worst.’ In fact, they are taking people to Texas who have green cards permitting them to work and/or who are in the middle of legal asylum processes and who have committed no crime.
MInnesotans urgently need people ALL OVER THE COUNTRY to call members of Congress and demand that ICE leaves. We also hope people around the country will consider contributing to any of the many efforts to support our neighbors who are being victimized by an out of control, lying federal government. This list of options has been compiled by the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits.
As others have noted, the ICE invasion represents the worst of America. Response from thousands of Minnesotans, supporting, assisting, encouraging and defending eachother, represents the best of America.
Joe Nathan, PhD is an educator, author and newspaper columnist who has lived in Minnesota for 60 years.