Immigration officials across the country have detained at least five Native American men minneapolis area, and several other people were interrogated, ICT reported. According to a top official, it is happening amid “the largest immigration raid ever,” according to the outlet.
Nearly 2,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrived in Minneapolis earlier this week, and are now reportedly interrogating and detaining Indigenous residents on the city’s south side. This incident happened after death due to gunshot. renee nicole good In Minneapolis, Minnesota. Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was shot by federal agents jonathan ross He then allegedly hit her with his vehicle.
“I think some of them (ICE) don’t even know what they’re doing or where they are,” said Little Crow Belcourt, director of the White Earth Ojibwe and Indigenous Peoples Movement, according to the outlet. “If you’re brown, they’re randomly pulling people over. Some of our Native (American) people mistake us for our relatives south of the border.”
What we know about ICE agents allegedly targeting Native Americans
ICE agents tried to enter the Little Earth Housing Project property, the first Native American community housing project in the US, but property managers reportedly turned the agents away. ICE agents later tried to detain another Native American community member, Indigenous Peoples Movement co-founder Rachel Dion-Thunder, who was sitting in her car down the street from the Powwow Grounds coffee shop. Employees at the coffee shop told the outlet that they ran outside to rescue Dion-Thunder.
Dion-Thunder said in a facebook post that ICE agents tried to arrest him, and shared a video recorded by another member of the community. “While observing ICE activity, agents approached my vehicle and demanded I roll down my window. I did not consent. They accelerated and began threatening to break my window,” Dion-Thunder wrote.
“The thing that kept that from happening was the community,” Dion-Thunder said. “People immediately surrounded my vehicle. My husband and others came quickly, remained calm and held the line. Once the witnesses and numbers were in, ICE backed off and left. That’s how things can change so quickly. That’s how unsafe it is right now. And that’s why no one should be alone here.”
Dion-Thunder said in a previous post Her community in South Minneapolis “experienced extreme and horrific violence during ICE activity.” “I witnessed community members being kidnapped,” he wrote. “I saw observers being hit. I saw observers being stopped in their cars. I saw tear gas and pepper spray being used.”
Dion-Thunder shared a photo in which she claimed an ICE agent was photographing her and her vehicle while “we were present as community observers.” He added, “We actively patrolled for more than six hours today – documenting abductions, monitoring conditions and trying to keep people safe. We recorded what we could. We showed up where we were needed. At one point, we gave a ride to a young immigrant mother and her child who were walking alone. No one should have to go through this kind of terror with a child in their arms.”
Later, under a bridge near Little Earth, ICE agents detained four Native American men, all citizens of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, according to tribal President Frank Starr Comes Out. At least one of them was freed after a 12-hour capture, but the community does not know his whereabouts, a community advocate at Homeward Bound, a South Side homeless advocacy center, told ICT on Friday, January 9. The names of the four people are not yet available.
Jose Roberto ‘Beto’ Ramirez, a descendant of the Red Lake Nation, was also detained by ICE in a northern Minneapolis suburb while driving to visit his aunt. He was later released from the Whipple Building in Minneapolis.
The tribe is now working with Minnesota Senator Tina Smith, a Democratic-turned-farmer-laborer, her office told ICT.
About 24 hours after Ramirez reported being stalked, Good was shot by an ICE agent. That same morning, residents of Little Earth claimed that ICE agents entered their building and dragged people out.
Jerrika Fountain, community advocate for the Karuk Tribe, said she has heard multiple reports of ICE encounters with Native Americans. “Native Americans are being detained, but no one knows where to find them to show that they are Native Americans,” Fountain said.
Members of the Native American Caucus condemn alleged targeting of Native Americans
Members of the Native American Caucus in the Minnesota Legislature – Senator Mary Kunesh (DFL-New Brighton), Representative Heather Keeler (DFL-Moorhead) and Representative Leish Kozlowski (DFL-Duluth) – issued a statement Condemning the actions of ICE. Read the full statement here:
“ICE has carried out unspeakable acts of violence across Minnesota. Now, federal agents have unlawfully detained four unsheltered relatives of the Oglala Sioux and a descendant of the Red Lake Nation, Jose Roberto Ramirez, after countless community members have reported they are being harassed, stopped without cause and questioned for documentation. This is an unlawful abuse of power rooted in systemic racism – And this will not be tolerated.
Native peoples are the original inhabitants of this country, having existed on this continent for thousands of years before the colonization of this country – making deportation impossible and absurd. Snatching an Indigenous person off the street is not a careless mistake – it is a direct attack on Indigenous sovereignty and due process. Native Americans are citizens by law, history, and treaty.
The detention of Native people in Minnesota follows a troubling nationwide pattern by ICE agents: targeting immigrants and citizens, grabbing American Indian individuals off the street, ignoring their clear identification as tribal members, and detaining them by brute force. This behavior highlights the cruel irony of indigenous people being treated like outsiders in our own motherland. These are not isolated or new injustices – they compound historical trauma at the hands of this federal government, exacerbate intergenerational damage to mental health and cultural identity, and reinforce long-standing distrust of power and a government that has repeatedly broken its treaty promises.
Masked fighters are unleashing violence on entire communities. These federal escalations – highlighted by the killing of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent – reveal ongoing patterns of militarized force that Native peoples, Black and brown people, and immigrant communities have long endured. The inexcusable actions of masked ICE militias destroy individual lives and threaten the cultural, social, and spiritual fabric of our urban Native and Tribal communities. ?We are warning that violence against us, against trans and two-spirit relatives, and against immigrants puts everyone’s rights at risk.
We demand the defunding of ICE forever, an end to discriminatory practices, and a comprehensive, transparent investigation of ICE and its allies throughout the system. Officials at all levels must recognize and respect the sovereignty of Native Nations, DHS must fully consult with tribal leaders, and ensure that their citizens and descendants are never subjected to violations of Indigenous rights and civil liberties. We must ensure that no one is forced to prove their right to exist in their homeland or subjected to unlawful stop, detention or excessive force.
There is nothing illegal on stolen land. We call on tribal and urban Native leaders, on behalf of the community, to stand up and declare: ICE is not welcome and has no authority over any tribal or urban Native lands, businesses, or other entities. We call on each Tribe to establish rapid response policies and protocols regarding ICE activity, and to ensure that Know Your Rights resources are available to all community members and employees – Native and non-Native. Our existence, resources and funding may be at risk – but our resolve to resist injustice is non-negotiable.
We are strongest when we act loudly and clearly, with solidarity that is rooted in our identity as the first people of this land – the original caregivers who understand what it means to be good kin. Together, we can and will protect the security and well-being of our people and homeland.
Waveney and the Wopila Stitch – Leash, Mary and Heather”.
