Across the United States, citizens say they have begun carrying their passports during daily activities as widespread immigration raids create a climate of fear and reports of citizens being detained circulate in the media.
Munira Maalimisaq, a family nurse practitioner who runs a clinic in Minneapolis, started carrying her passport with her daily on 2 December, as federal agents surged in the city after President Donald Trump repeatedly targeted Somalis. A naturalised US citizen for more than two decades, she came to the country as a child from Somalia. She previously only carried her passport when travelling abroad.
Her clinic, Inspire Change Clinic, serves marginalised communities in an area where Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have been targeting residents. Patients have expressed fear about coming to the clinic, prompting her to set up a rapid response effort offering more telehealth appointments and safe rides. She says more patients are now presenting their passports rather than driving licences, something she had not seen before.
“I do look like an immigrant,” she said, noting that she wears a headscarf. “It’s not something that I can hide who I am. For me, it didn’t stop me from working and doing everything that needs to be done, but just taking extra precautions, and the passport was my safety net. No one should have to carry a passport just to exist safely in their own city.”
Walter Cruz Perez, a US citizen since 2022 and a landscaper in Kenner, Louisiana, now keeps his passport in his phone case while tending to clients’ gardens. The 58-year-old, who immigrated from Guatemala, puts the document in a zip-lock bag to protect it from inclement weather, fearing agents might doubt its authenticity if it becomes worn. “It’s stressful,” he said, “but you see on the news that people don’t have the chance to identify themselves … so you do what you have to do to avoid problems.”
Carola Lopez, an educator who lives outside New Orleans, has carried her passport in her car since 2015, when authorities stopped her near Houston without apparent reason. A native of Puerto Rico, where residents are US citizens, she said she is maintaining the practice because of the ongoing immigration crackdown.
