Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis mayor calls ICE operation targeting undocumented Somalis “chaotic”
MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. (Valley News Live) – Fear and uncertainty continue as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement continues its intensified focus on the Twin Cities’ Somali community.
ICE said Friday that 12 immigrants, five of them Somali, have been detained as a result of “Operation Metro Surge.” But immigrant rights groups and attorneys say the number of detainees is much higher.
Opposition to ICE actions is widespread among Democratic elected officials throughout the state, though nowhere more than in Minneapolis, home to the state’s largest Somali population.
Days after the announcement of “Operation Metro Surge,” Mayor Jacob Frey signed an executive order barring ICE from using any city-owned spaces, like parking lots for staging areas.
President Trump called Frey a fool this week for saying he is proud of our Somali community.
“We know that it is a chaotic operation,” Frey said. “We know that the work they are doing seems to be somewhat scattered and, at times, it doesn’t seem like federal agents know what they are doing themselves.”
Last month, ICE conducted a similar operation in Charlotte, North Carolina, arresting more than 250 people in just days. Frey says that has not happened here because so many Somalis are here legally.
“They are American citizens, that is an important fact that is ultimately going missed. It’s not like you can go and deport a whole bunch of people that are here legally, that are American citizens,” Frey said.
Frey says the city gets no information ahead of the raids and Minneapolis police respond to an ICE raid only to ensure crowd control and public safety, as they did in June on Lake Street when federal officers serving a search warrant faced angry protests.
But that’s a difficult balancing act.
“Our police will not coordinate with federal agents for immigration enforcement work, but the presence of ICE agents don’t make our cops not cops,” Frey said. “Our police still need to be in our city to make sure things are peaceful, to prevent people from getting hurt, to prevent property from being destroyed.”
ICE has not said how long they expect the Minnesota-based operation to continue.
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Minneapolis police are investigating a hit-and-run that left a man seriously injured Tuesday afternoon.
The crash happened near Oliver Avenue North and Lowry Avenue North just before 2 p.m., according to the Minneapolis Police Department.
Investigators say an SUV struck another vehicle, which then collided with a motorcyclist. The driver of the SUV then fled the scene.
The motorcyclist was taken to the hospital with potentially life-threatening injuries. Police say the driver of the other vehicle was not injured.
No arrests have been made as of Tuesday night.
A recent FOX 9 investigation found that Medicaid fraudsters owe millions but pay back little with several other defendants discharged from probation after making either minimal or no payments towards their court-imposed debts.
A homicide investigation is underway after a person was found shot to death inside a car parked along the Mississippi River, the Minneapolis Park Police Department said.
Around 6:40 a.m. Sunday, officers from Minneapolis Park police and the city’s police department responded to a report of a body in a car at Mill Ruins Park. They found an adult with a fatal gunshot wound at the scene, as well as a firearm.
The Minneapolis Police Department’s Homicide Unit is investigating.
Police said the Hennepin County medical examiner will determine the manner and cause of death, as well as the person’s identity.
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