Some Minnesotans skeptical as feds say immigration operation winding down

Amna Nawaz:

We asked the White House for an interview with border czar Tom Homan about the end of the operation in Minneapolis. The administration declined our request.

For an on-the-ground perspective, I'm joined now by special correspondent Fred de Sam Lazaro, who's been covering the crackdown in the Twin Cities.

So, Fred, you are standing at the memorial to Renee Good in Minneapolis. As you talk to folks, tell us about the reaction that you're hearing about this announcement, to this announcement that ICE has begun to withdraw.

Fred de Sam Lazaro:

Amna, you got a flavor for that reaction in the voices you just heard.

I think the reaction ranges from guarded relief to deep skepticism. A lot of people are not quite ready to exhale yet.

Amna Nawaz:

Sounds like a sort of wait-and-see approach for folks there. And we should note Tom Homan said the ICE withdrawal could stretch into next week or even beyond. So what are you still seeing in the way of ongoing ICE operations?

And what should we know about the thousands of people who were arrested as part of this enforcement operation?

Fred de Sam Lazaro:

There are a number of citizen groups in the Twin Cities who monitor what they call ICE sightings. And many of them are saying there's been no diminution in the amount of activity that they see. Some of them are reporting a drop in that kind of activity.

As for the people who've been detained, many of them transferred to facilities in Texas, from the few who've been released, there's anecdotal reports of abysmal conditions, of crowded places, crowded spaces, not enough space to sleep, and, most importantly, the lack of access to their lawyers.

Now, Tom Homan and the Department of Homeland Security insist that these facilities are fine. In their words, they're better than many prisons that are incarcerating American citizens.

Amna Nawaz:

Fred, you and your team have reported so deeply on the many aspects of daily life that have been disrupted as part of those ICE operations, people afraid to leave their homes, afraid to get medical care. It's also had a big impact on schools. Tell us more about that.

Fred de Sam Lazaro:

A profound impact, Amna.

We spent a day yesterday in an elementary school from where about a fifth of all pupils are absent on any given day. A few of them are from families that have been taken by ICE. A few others have actually self-deported, but most of them are attending virtually.

Many of the students who are attending, the teachers say, are traumatized, worrying about what's happening to their absent classmates, where they are, worrying also and reflecting of what they have seen and heard. And so there is real concern about the long-term impacts that these will have psychologically on these children and, in fact, their ability to learn, which is deeply diminished right at the moment.

Amna Nawaz:

Yes, and we heard some of that from Governor Walz, right? He talked about the generational trauma from the ICE raids. Mayor Frey said too that the raids had been catastrophic for these communities. So how do people on the ground begin to heal?

Fred de Sam Lazaro:

That is the all-important question that we may start to see answers for in the weeks and months ahead.

That, of course, depends on what the enforcement looks like in the weeks and months ahead. Economically, from all accounts, this has been a huge, huge deal. We have seen many immigrant-run businesses decimated by this, many small businesses that rely on immigrant labor, the restaurant business, long-term care facilities, the construction industry also decimated.

At the state level, they could possibly provide about $10 million, and that needs to be approved by the legislature. And that's a drop in the bucket from what economists say will be needed. It's reminiscent to many people of what happened to small businesses during the pandemic, with one important difference.

And that is the spigot of federal dollars that poured billions into local economies, that's not an option anymore.

Amna Nawaz:

That is Fred de Sam Lazaro reporting on the ground in Minneapolis.

Fred, thank you.

Fred de Sam Lazaro:

Thank you.