Residents of Minneapolis and St Paul are organising neighbourhood rapid response groups to disrupt the operations of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, who have been deployed in force under the Trump administration. The Department of Homeland Security sent 2,000 federal agents to the Twin Cities earlier this month, carrying out what it described as its 'largest operation to date' targeting immigrants. Tactics including door-knocking, racial profiling and aggressive arrests have angered many in a city with a history of racialised police violence.
Participation in these groups has surged since the killing of Renee Good by an ICE agent on 7 January. City council member Robin Wonsley condemned the operation as 'a blatant campaign of cruelty'. The community response builds on networks established after the police killing of George Floyd in 2020, which sparked widespread protests and a police withdrawal from some areas. 'This is not our first rodeo,' said Andrew Fahlstrom, an organiser with the rapid-response group Defend the 612.
During the 2020 uprising, residents had to organise their own infrastructure when police disappeared, Fahlstrom said. Now, similar efforts are underway: parents stand guard outside schools in freezing temperatures, people carry whistles to warn neighbours of ICE presence, and volunteers like Jamie Schwesnedl patrol streets in their vehicles, monitoring federal agents' movements. Kelly Petersen, co-founder of the Community Aid Network (CANMN), said: 'We have whistles, and we have organising. That’s all we have against people with huge trucks and guns.'
Marcia Howard, an educator and organiser, told neighbours gathered at George Floyd Square: 'It’s just us, y’all. No one’s here to save us.' The square, a memorial and community hub, holds meetings twice daily and provides free clothes, food and medical care. Mutual aid has resurged across the Twin Cities, with food drives and fundraisers for those on lockdown. 'We’ve always had to do it ourselves,' Petersen said.
