Minneapolis, MN
Clergy allowed to visit Minneapolis ICE holding facility in latest ruling
A federal judge has mandated that clergy be granted access to minister to immigrants held at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, a facility central to the Trump administration’s enforcement surge in Minnesota. The ruling, issued by U.S. District Judge Jerry Blackwell on Friday, marks a significant victory for religious freedom advocates.
Judge Blackwell granted an injunction sought by Minnesota branches of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the United Church of Christ, and a Catholic priest who had initiated legal action against the Department of Homeland Security.
His decision ensures that clergy will be permitted in-person pastoral visits to all detainees within the building, which has been the site of frequent protests concerning the approximately 3,000 federal officers deployed to the state during the crackdown.
In his ruling, Blackwell stated that the plaintiffs had successfully demonstrated a strong likelihood of prevailing when the case reaches its final conclusion. He further asserted that restrictions on the religious freedom of clergy to minister to detainees constitute “irreparable harm.”
The judge has ordered both parties to convene within four business days to negotiate the specifics of providing access while addressing the government’s legitimate security concerns. A plan, or competing proposals if an agreement cannot be reached, must then be submitted within seven business days.
Bishop Jennifer Nagel of the Minneapolis Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, who was denied entry to Whipple on Ash Wednesday when she attempted to visit detainees, spoke to reporters after the hearing.
“The trauma that families are going through, and individuals are going through, at these times is exorbitant. And so to be able to meet people in those needs, that’s very much at the core, the heart and soul of what we do as ministers of all different traditions,” Nagel said.
The lawsuit itself alleges that the Whipple building, named after Minnesota’s first Episcopal bishop and a 19th-century human rights advocate, “now stands in stark contrast to its namesake’s legacy.”
It claims the facility has “become the epicenter of systematic deprivation of fundamental constitutional and legal rights by the federal government.”
Government attorneys countered by noting that Operation Metro Surge officially concluded on February 12. They also argued that the number of new detentions has since decreased, leading to an easing of temporary visitor restrictions, with clergy visits having been permitted for over two weeks.
However, Judge Blackwell sided with the plaintiffs’ attorneys, who contended that the issue remains pertinent because the government still lacks a formal plan outlining access requirements and the conditions under which clergy are admitted.
The request for access garnered broad support, including from Catholic and Episcopal bishops in Minnesota, other Christian and Jewish clergy, and the Minnesota Council of Churches. The courtroom was notably filled with clergy from various denominations, including Lutheran, United Church of Christ, Unitarian Universalist, and Jewish faiths.
Clergy nationwide have been advocating for greater access to immigration detention facilities, particularly during significant religious periods like Lent and Ramadan.
While ministering to detainees has long been a practice for faith leaders, it has become increasingly contentious amidst the current immigration enforcement efforts. Similar legal action was required last month for two Catholic priests and a nun to gain entry into an ICE facility in the Chicago suburb of Broadview on Ash Wednesday. Muslim and Christian clergy in Texas have also faced difficulties accessing large Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facilities.
Tauria Rich, a senior local ICE official overseeing Whipple, stated in a recent filing that visitors to the facility are rare and that any clergy requests are handled on a case-by-case basis.
She recounted one instance in early March where a clergy member attempted a visit but left because no detainees were present, asserting that the visit would have been allowed had detainees been there. ICE classifies the building as a short-term holding facility, distinguishing it from long-term detention centers where clergy visits are typically routine.
Access challenges at Whipple extend beyond clergy. Three members of Congress from Minnesota were initially denied entry when they sought to inspect the facility, and upon gaining access, they reported poor conditions. Attorneys have also faced obstacles; another federal judge last month ordered Homeland Security to provide new detainees at Whipple immediate access to legal counsel before their transfer elsewhere. That judge recently held a hearing to consider converting her temporary order into a permanent injunction, with a ruling still pending.
A new cultural arts center in downtown Minneapolis will open its doors Saturday, helping artists of color turn their creative practices into sustainable careers.
Organizations like Public Functionary, Indigenous Roots and CLUES’ Latino Art Gallery have long supported artists as they grow their creative businesses. Roho Gallery & Cultural Arts Center aims to strengthen that ecosystem by offering artists marketing, branding and financial training alongside opportunities to exhibit and sell their work.
Keep reading to learn more about Roho, meet the artists exhibiting at Minnehaha Falls, find out what to expect at the Floating Lanterns and Night Market Festival at Bde Maka Ska and learn how to create murals at the Center for Performing Arts.
A business incubator for creatives of color
The grand opening of the Roho Gallery and Cultural Arts Center’s 3,000-square-foot space will mark a new chapter for the Roho Collective, a nonprofit founded by seven Twin Cities artists in 2017.
Christopheraaron Deanes, a visual artist, educator and one of Roho’s original members, said the collective was created to expand opportunities for artists of color in Minnesota.
“I had found out right away that the business side of being an artist is not part of the training that takes place in academic fields,” he said. “We’re Afrocentric so we know about the Black and brown artists that exist within our spaces but most people don’t. Most grants, most foundations, most of the folks with the money don’t know about us and it makes it very difficult for artists to position themselves to be successful.”
Since taking over leadership in 2019, Christopheraaron Deanes and co-executive director Cara Deanes have grown the organization beyond artist networking into business development.
“Our organization is not so much helping artists with their actual creative practice, but it’s really showing them that they are the brand and they are the business,” Cara Deanes said.
Rather than teaching painting techniques or studio practices, Roho helps artists learn the skills often left out of traditional arts education, including grant writing, branding, marketing and pricing artwork.
Saturday’s grand opening will feature a ribbon-cutting ceremony alongside a permanent marketplace with vendors selling everything from clothing and jewelry to books and handmade goods. Throughout the day, visitors can experience Indigenous singing and drumming, Latin dance and spoken word.
“The vision for the Roho Gallery and Cultural Arts Center is really to be a hub of cultural representation for the Twin Cities,” Cara Deanes said. “Not just a hub for artists but a home for our community.”
More than 30 Black artists will fill the gallery with paintings, sculptures and photography responding to the country’s political and social climate, including immigration policy and the erasure of Black history.
“When your family and friends come here to the Twin Cities to visit and they ask the question: ‘Where do I go to see some Black art? That was not a space unless it was a pop-up exhibit or an event or a fair,” Christopheraaron Deanes said. “Now it’s a space.”
The opening will be followed by the second annual Roho Ignite Business Conference, which kicks off with an evening reception on July 23 at the center, before a day of programming on July 24. The conference will bring together creative professionals for workshops on artificial intelligence, social media, grant writing, marketing, mental health and how to navigate the world of pop-up markets.
Attendees can also join a behind-the-scenes tour of the Minneapolis Institute of Art’s Harlem Renaissance collection and hear from community arts leaders, including Ta-coumba T. Aiken, Tish Jones, Angela Two Stars and Chadwick “Niles” Phillips.
Date: Opening on Saturday, July 18. Reception on Thursday, July 23. Conference on Friday, July 24
Time: Opening from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. Reception from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday. Conference from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. next Friday. Regular gallery hours are from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. Hours are extended to 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Location: Roho Gallery and Cultural Arts Center, 520 Nicollet Ave., Minneapolis. Conference at Minneapolis Institute of Art, 2400 3rd Ave. S., Minneapolis
Cost: Free. RSVP for conference here.
For more information: Visit rohocollective.org/home
5 artists to meet at Minnehaha Falls
While the views at Minnehaha Falls are reason enough to visit, the Minnehaha Falls Art Fair will fill the park with local artists, live music and global cuisine this weekend. New this year, visitors can vote for their favorite artist at an information booth near the Sea Salt Eatery.
Among them is author and illustrator Meenal Patel, whose picture books are rooted in the warmth of Indian households and the innate curiosity in children.
“I grew up in Minnesota but when I was living in San Francisco in 2013, my little niece came to visit me and I wanted a way for her to remember that trip so I made a picture book for her about a little kid adventuring around San Francisco,” Patel said. “She was only 2 years old, but she was just so delighted and thrilled to see a little person in the book that reflected her.”
“It really took seeing the impact on her for me to think about how important that is for all of us,” she added.
Patel self-published “Neela Goes to San Francisco” in 2016 as her debut. Since then, she’s published “Priya Dreams of Marigolds & Masala” with Beaver’s Pond Press, and her latest, “Where Do Stories Live?” with Penguin Random House.
“In my work, I’m really looking at the every day moments that connect us,” Patel said. “It’s an invitation to be curious about the stories that live within us and also the stories that live outside of us in the world around us — whether that’s nature or a family photo that we have in our house and pass every day. Sometimes there’s a deeper story behind that.”
Also look for: Walia Hasan, whose clothing designs draw on Pakistani and Indonesian traditions; Alexis Hoghaug, who creates funky polymer clay jewelry; Aruna Rangarajan, whose mixed-media paintings feature women in traditional South Asian dress; and Mexican American singer-songwriter America Ortiz, who will perform Latin music on Sunday.
Tibetan, Salvadoran, Indian, Thai, and Egyptian food trucks will also be on site.
Date: Friday, July 17 through Sunday, July 19
Time: 3 to 8 p.m. on Friday. 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday
Location: Minnehaha Falls, 4801 S. Minnehaha Drive, Minneapolis
Cost: Free
For more information: Visit homespunevents.com/minnehahafallsartfair
Lanterns and Latin dance at Bde Maka Ska
Sample Asian street food, desserts and drinks before watching lanterns glow across Bde Maka Ska during the Floating Lanterns and Night Market Festival on Saturday.
Before the launch, Nancy Xiong will lead a sound bowl experience at 7:30 p.m. And just around the corner, One Reason Dance Studio will host a free lakeside dance party at Pimento Jamaican Kitchen featuring salsa, bachata and timba music.
Date: Saturday, July 18
Time: Festival from 3 to 10 p.m. Dance party from 6 to 9 p.m.
Location: Festival at 2707 Lake Street W., Minneapolis. Dance party at 3000 E. Bde Maka Ska Parkway, Minneapolis
Cost: Free. Lantern kits are sold out.
For more information: Visit facebook.com/events/26411865031752224
Mural-making at the Center for Performing Arts
Help paint two murals with local artists Hibaaq Ibrahim and Daren Scott Hill during a three-week workshop for ages 12 to 15. While the first session started this week, participants can still register to help create two indoor murals that will be on display during the Center for Performing Arts’ fall festival on Sept. 18.
Date: Monday, July 20 through Friday, July 31
Time: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Location: Center for Performing Arts, 3754 Pleasant Ave., Minneapolis
Cost: Free. Register here.
For more information: Visit cfpampls.com/summer-camps-2026
People pack the overflow room outside the Minneapolis City Council chambers on Thursday in opposition to a controversial police drone proposal that would have contracted with the company Skydio, which also has sold drones to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Israeli military.
Cait Kelley | MPR News
Minneapolis, MN
Federal lawsuit raises questions about culture at prior job of Minneapolis mayor’s nominee for fire chief
A federal lawsuit raises questions about the culture at a prior job of Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey’s nominee for fire chief.
In those court documents, there are allegations of harassment and discrimination in an East Coast fire department during Reginald Freeman’s time there as chief.
The city is not commenting on this lawsuit, saying it was filed several years ago, doesn’t mention Freeman and concerns allegations involving a different city and state.
Mayor Frey had high praise for Freeman as he announced him as his choice for the chief’s position in May.
Frey nominates Reginald Freeman to be next Minneapolis fire chief
“The kind of leadership that he brings to the table is second to none,” the mayor declared at the time.
But a 2022 lawsuit raises questions about Freeman’s time as fire chief in Hartford, Connecticut.
“It should always be an open process,” says Paul Ostrow, a former Minneapolis City Council president. “It should always be one where the legislative body has the information they need to properly vet the executive’s appointment.”
Two female firefighters filed that federal lawsuit against the City of Hartford, saying they were “harassed and discriminated against by their employer because of their sex and/or race.”
The document also says, “nearly every female who rose to the ranks of lieutenant or higher either filed an internal complaint of harassment and discrimination — or tragically, surrendered their promotion in order to avoid the hostility of the executive-level fire chiefs.”
It doesn’t mention Freeman specifically or accuse him of any wrongdoing.
But the lawsuit includes allegations of mistreatment while he was leading the department between 2016 and 2021.
We asked Ostrow: “Is it reasonable to say that the chief, the fire chief, would have known about this?”
“I think it’s reasonable to conclude that as chief, he would know about these things,” he says. “Certainly, that he should have known about these things.”
Ostrow calls the allegations “troubling.”
The nomination is now set for a public hearing next week.
We wondered if all of this should be part of the discussion.
“It should be,” Ostrow says. “The most important question I would ask, number one: ‘Was this disclosed to the mayor or the search team?’”
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS spoke with the mayor’s office late Wednesday night.
They told us again they’re not commenting on the lawsuit.
We’re still working to get a comment from Freeman himself.
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