Twin Cities on edge as ICE raids ignite fear and protests

Amna Nawaz:

It's been just over a week since an ICE agent fatally shot 37-year-old Renee Good in Minneapolis, setting off large protests in the Twin Cities and nationwide. Since then, the presence of immigration enforcement officials has only grown, leaving Minnesota communities on edge.

Special correspondent Fred de Sam Lazaro begins our coverage with this report.

Fred de Sam Lazaro:

The images are now familiar across the Twin Cities, federal agents making a stop, observers rushing to the scene with whistles and car horns, scuffles breaking out, with agents deploying pepper spray or tear gas, and an endless standoff between protesters and officers at the federal building which serves as a base for the immigration crackdown here.

MAN:

It's unconscionable to not stand up and say this is wrong. This is part of democracy.

Fred de Sam Lazaro:

In recent days, hundreds of additional agents have been sent to Minnesota on top of the roughly 2,000 already on the ground. That's more than the size of the Minneapolis and St. Paul police departments combined.

In a statement to the "News Hour," the Department of Homeland Security says it's made over 2,000 arrests throughout its largest operation in history, adding -- quote -- "This is just the tip of the iceberg."

Meanwhile, in a Truth Social post today, President Trump said he's cutting off federal funds to so-called sanctuary states. That's after saying on Tuesday -- quote -- "Fear not, great people of Minnesota. The day of reckoning and retribution is coming."

Fears have risen steadily in Minneapolis and St. Paul since Renee Good's killing. Business at many local immigrant-owned shops has plummeted in recent weeks, down in some areas at least 80 percent, according to one report.

DHS told the "News Hour" -- quote -- "Removing dangerous criminals from our streets makes it safer for everyone, including business owners and their customers."

At the Park Avenue Church, just steps from where Good was shot, the tension is palpable.

Rev. Jennifer Ikoma-Motzko, Pastor of Park Avenue United Methodist Church: We gather today with heavy hearts.

Fred de Sam Lazaro:

Jennifer Ikoma-Motzko is a pastor at the more-than-100-year-old church. Her grandmother was one of more than 120,000 Japanese-Americans interned during World War II.

Rev. Jennifer Ikoma-Motzko:

My legacy is to call people of all different backgrounds to fight now for who are the marginalized, who is being targeted right now.

Fred de Sam Lazaro:

Just as I asked Ikoma-Motzko about what comes next, we were interrupted by the sounds of car horns and whistles outside. Agents were raiding a house across the street from the church, and a crowd had gathered.

When officers emerged with two handcuffed young men, tempers flared. Agents fought with observers. They deployed pepper spray, tear gas and flashbangs, as Ikoma-Motzko watched nearby. At one point, a woman tried to drive past the scene. Authorities smashed her window, dragged her from the car and detained her.

She shouted that she was on her way to a doctor's appointment. The episode lasted more than 45 minutes. And, when it was over, local resident Will Vermie was gone. His wife, Heather Mains, believed he was one of the first people arrested.

Heather Mains, Minneapolis Resident:

I'm worried about Will, but I also -- I know he will be fine. He's a citizen. For the folks who don't have those privileges, I can't even imagine what they felt in this situation.

Fred de Sam Lazaro:

Vermie was released after about eight hours at the federal building without being charged, bruised, but otherwise all right.

Will Vermie, Minneapolis Resident:

They were asking people to move back. I guess I wasn't quick enough for them. This didn't appear to be a well-run operation inside the building. We were walking through. And the agents that were escorting me didn't actually have the ability to get into the detention area. They had to wait for someone to let them in.

Fred de Sam Lazaro:

DHS said agents ultimately detained four -- quote -- "illegal aliens" who now face removal proceedings. It said the crowd impeded operations and that the woman in her car ignored multiple commands by an officer to move her vehicle and was arrested for obstruction.

In all, six -- quote -- "agitators" were taken into custody for assaulting law enforcement.

PBS News' Liz Landers asked White House border czar Tom Homan about the incident.

Liz Landers:

There are Americans who see this and say this looks like Putin's Russia. What is your response to that?

Tom Homan, White House Border Czar:

You know, if they would let us in their damn jail and stop being a sanctuary city, we could arrest the bad guy in the safety and security of a jail. But because they normally release them, now we got to go in the community and find them. Then they're mad we're in the community.

Fred de Sam Lazaro:

Were you surprised at what unfolded right outside your church?

Rev. Jennifer Ikoma-Motzko:

It was a battle scene. I had this moment where I didn't bring my cell phone, and I just lifted up what I had and I lifted up my hand. And I looked over and I saw a neighbor I didn't know lifting up the middle finger.

There is protesting, there's observing, and there is prayer, and all is going to be needed.

Fred de Sam Lazaro:

But now, as the crackdown widens, many Twin Cities residents, including U.S. citizens, fear they could be targeted.

Nimco Omar, Minneapolis Resident:

I was going this way.

Fred de Sam Lazaro:

Like Nimco Omar, who was surrounded by at least three federal agents on a sidewalk Sunday.

Nimco Omar:

I was like, what is happening? What did I do? Because, at the first, I wasn't thinking ICE. I was able to take out my phone because, in case they kidnap me, so later on there was something at least. So that's why I recorded it.

Man:

All right, can we see an I.D., please?

Nimco Omar:

I am U.S. citizen. I don't need to carry around an I.D. in my home.

Man:

Well, where were you born?

Nimco Omar:

This is my home. This is my home.

Man:

Where were you born?

Nimco Omar:

Minneapolis is my home.

Fred de Sam Lazaro:

The agents ultimately left after one of them took a picture of Omar, seemingly checking it against a government database.

Nimco Omar:

This is my home. This is where I belong. In a quiet Minneapolis neighborhood, I should not be seeing a soldier walking and asking to give him identification.

Fred de Sam Lazaro:

DHS told the "News Hour" -- quote -- "Those who are not here illegally and are not breaking other laws have nothing to fear."

But after agents left Omar on Sunday, she said she was shaking and began to cry. The shock has stuck with her.

Nimco Omar:

This morning, when I left my house, I was like, am I going to see ICE? I don't know. Are they going to arrest me? I don't know. And that's what the entire Somali community and community of color are feeling now.

Fred de Sam Lazaro:

For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Fred de Sam Lazaro in Minneapolis.

Amna Nawaz:

And Fred's reporting is a partnership with the Under-Told Stories Project at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota.