Federal officials face growing calls to end expanded activity by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Minnesota after a woman was fatally shot Wednesday. Community activists said they remain committed to pursuing accountability but the consistent fear is having an effect.
The Department of Homeland Security said a woman was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis after her vehicle blocked a street where immigration enforcement was occurring. The agency labeled the woman’s actions as “domestic terrorism,” adding the officer who fired acted in self-defense. But city leaders, including Mayor Jacob Frey, said bystander videos show otherwise.
Dieu Do, activist for the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee, said it makes a bad situation worse.
“It’s a very harsh and scary reality that we’re in right now,” Do explained. “There’s a lot of violence being perpetuated against our community.”
Do stressed community volunteers and support organizations will continue training neighbors, worried about ICE activity, about their rights while providing other support but she acknowledged the vast resources the federal government has set aside for boosting deportations. Earlier this week, the Department of Homeland Security announced it was deploying an additional 2,000 federal officers to the Twin Cities.
Do noted based on the committee’s conversations with immigrant-owned businesses, the current environment has harmed foot traffic with people fearful of venturing out. She added it is showing up in other ways.
“We’re talking to teachers who are seeing such a decrease in the level of attendance in their classrooms,” Do pointed out. “Because they don’t know if their students were the ones who were picked up or if their parents were picked up.”
President Donald Trump and DHS officials said yesterday’s incident is an example of protesters targeting officers who are doing their job of making the country safe. Do countered it is agents who are the ones dialing up the agitation.
“We’re talking about these hyper-militarized agents coming to our neighborhoods, coming to our streets, and inflicting harm against our community,” Do emphasized. “We are coming to respond and to document what’s happening.”
