"Castañeda Mondragón, 31, is one of an unknown number of immigration detainees who, despite avoiding deportation during the Trump administration’s enforcement crackdown, have been left with lasting injuries following violent encounters with ICE officers. His case is one of the excessive-force claims the federal government has thus far declined to investigate."
https://apnews.com/article/immigration-enforcement-minneapolis-hospital-ice-beating-assault-4e77742e0629fc7f127c0aa38b3d2a70
#UncheckedAggression
Photojournalism: 31 days in Minnesota
https://www.startribune.com/a-state-on-edge-what-the-last-31-days-have-looked-like-in-minnesota/601573087?utm_source=gift
I am authorized to say that the action we are now reporting may well bring the war within measurable distance of its end.
—George Orwell, "1984"
Minnesota BCA pursuing ‘path forward’ for investigation with FBI into shooting death of Alex Pretti
By Jeff Day
The Minnesota Star Tribune
https://www.startribune.com/pretti-investigation-mn-bca-fbi/601577509?utm_source=gift
"The state for so long resisted the embrace of corrosive falsehoods that swept over other states or groups. …
"What has this all been for? An edge in the 2026 elections? To halt the nation’s reliance on immigrants? To shift attention away from bureaucratic mistakes or the Epstein files?
"The answer is all of the above. And most disturbing of all, none of those reasons justify the costs.
"Those start with the lives of Renee Good and Alex Pretti and extend to harms being felt by disabled Minnesotans, businesses, the state’s reputation and the actual solving of problems."
The Great Wrecking of Minnesota is underway
By Evan Ramstad
The Minnesota Star Tribune
https://www.startribune.com/ramstad-the-great-wrecking-of-minnesota-is-underway/601574027?utm_source=gift
MPR News: Solberg has had trouble sleeping since Tuesday’s pursuit by federal agents. They feel uneasy about leaving their home or walking their dog. But they said they know the fear they experienced is the same feeling a lot of neighbors who worry about being taken by ICE experience every day, and they’re committed to doing what they can. …
“It feels like we are genuinely alone, and it's just community members supporting community members, which is beautiful,” Solberg said. “It's impossible to escape, and I don't know if I'm going to come out of this alive.”
Pursued by federal agents, suburban ICE observers remain resolved
By Jon Collins
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2026/02/04/pursued-by-federal-agents-suburban-ice-observers-remain-resolved
How Battlefield Tech Was Used in Minneapolis
https://youtube.com/shorts/nlJ3H9VFK_0
'Kira Kelley, an attorney who represented two petitioners at the hearing, said the flood of immigration petitions is necessary because “so many people being detained without any semblance of a lawful basis.”
'“And there’s no indication here that any new systems or bolded e-mails or any instructions to ICE are going to fix any of this,” she added.'
Government lawyer yanked from immigration detail in Minnesota after telling judge ‘this job sucks’
https://apnews.com/article/julie-le-job-sucks-minnesota-dhs-ice-b0affbb6c394c39184a813c8f597d5a2
Minnesota school districts, teachers union sue Trump administration over ICE activity near schools
By Mara Klecker
The Minnesota Star Tribune
"The lawsuit repeats what school officials have said for weeks, amid the surge of federal immigration agents: Attendance is down because students fear coming to school. Agents are staging on school property and conducting operations near schools and bus stops, which interferes with student learning and the regular functions of a school district and school staff.
"Then last week, Fridley Superintendent Brenda Lewis said she was followed by ICE on her way to school. Several of the district’s school board members have had ICE vehicles park outside their homes, something she said is “retaliation” for speaking out against ICE.
"Fridley schools closed Jan. 9 and Jan. 16 because of safety concerns and have seen attendance fall by nearly a third, prompting the district to expand remote learning. School social workers are delivering food to families staying home, which means “diverting their time from their normal work” and putting their own safety at risk, as agents have followed them during deliveries, according to the complaint.
"Duluth schools say administrators are spending nearly a third of their time on planning related to immigration activities, an effort the district estimates costs about $573,000 a month."
https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-school-districts-teachers-union-sue-trump-administration-over-ice-activity-near-schools/601576148?utm_source=gift
David M. Perry: "Before I get into the latest argument about the Holocaust — a predictable one involving Gov. Tim Walz and the legacy of Anne Frank — take a minute and think about what [Billy] Bragg is doing with history. Analogies are arguments. We, the Minnesotans, are in the position of the Lutheran pastor, but unlike him can make a choice to stand up for people right from the beginning even if they aren’t people with whom we identify directly. The analogy, then, is not saying that the current situation is the same as Nazi Germany, but that the types of choices and actions are at least very similar, and so history (and poetry) can be our guide."
Perry: When is it OK to compare aspects of what’s happening in Minnesota to Nazi Germany?
By David M. Perry
The Minnesota Star Tribune
https://www.startribune.com/walz-anne-frank-comment-holocaust-museum-nazis/601575968?utm_source=gift
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A federal judge in Minnesota demanded to know why Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is not complying with court orders and failing to immediately release immigrants who are being wrongfully detained as part of Operation Metro Surge. A government attorney responded that the federal government’s system "sucks."
Julie Le, an attorney working on behalf of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, admitted in court Tuesday that the government is "overwhelmed" by the number of legal challenges coming out of Operation Metro Surge.
"I wish you would just hold me in contempt of court so I can get 24 hours of sleep," Le said. "The system sucks, this job sucks, I am trying with every breath I have to get you what I need."
https://www.fox9.com/news/federal-attorney-ice-cases-the-system-sucks
At gunpoint.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Immigration officers with guns drawn arrested activists who were trailing their vehicles on Tuesday in Minneapolis, while education leaders described anxiety and fear in Minnesota schools from the ongoing federal sweeps. …
Several cars followed officers through south Minneapolis after there were reports of them knocking at homes. Officers stopped their vehicles and ordered activists to come out of a car at gunpoint. Agents told reporters at the scene to stay back and threatened to use pepper spray.
https://apnews.com/article/minneapolis-immigration-crackdown-arrests-29ab636ca0f7db5389418463ca8b67c7
'The case drew national outrage after images circulated of Liam wearing a Spider-Man backpack and an oversized blue winter hat as officers detained him 10 days ago. The detainment become a flashpoint over the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota.
'In ordering the release of the Columbia Heights preschooler and his father, Texas-based U.S. District Judge Fred Biery wrote: “For some among us, the perfidious lust for unbridled power and the imposition of cruelty in its quest know no bounds, and are bereft of human decency.” The judge’s comments were a rare judicial rebuke as federal immigration operations continue across the state.'
Live: 5-year-old detainee Liam Ramos and his father back in Minnesota
https://www.startribune.com/ice-raids-minnesota/601546426?utm_source=gift
“We learned growing up about a lot of horrible things people have done in history. And there’s a lot of asking yourself, ‘What would I have done if I was in that time period?’” Cory said. “And I found myself asking that a lot – like, what is our obligation to stop things, like these horrible racist attacks on people and frankly what feels like an ethnic cleansing project?”
‘We’re fighting for the soul of the country’: how Minnesota residents came together to face ICE
By Rachel Leingang in Minneapolis
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/01/minnesota-twin-cities-ice-protests
A former colleague at public radio, Laura Yuen, now writes for the Strib.
"In the initial weeks of the ICE surge in Minnesota, I refused to carry my passport, an act of defiance in a country I no longer recognize. I worried more about my mom, who has a master’s degree in English but speaks with a Taiwanese accent, and my dad, an Army veteran who grew up in the Midwest but has Alzheimer’s and struggles with his words.
"But the other night, after hearing from Twin Cities police chiefs that their officers of color have been harassed by federal agents demanding paperwork, I uploaded my passport to my Apple Wallet, just to be safe. It felt like a compromise I could live with."
https://www.startribune.com/yuen-my-parents-thought-we-had-made-it-now-we-carry-papers/601568148?utm_source=gift
"The AP interviewed a doctor and five nurses who work at HCMC, who spoke on condition of anonymity to talk about Castañeda Mondragón’s case. AP also consulted with an outside physician, and they all affirmed that his injuries were inconsistent with an accidental fall or running into a wall."
https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/article/ice-claims-that-immigrant-shattered-his-skull-running-into-wall/
Immigration sweep brings overcrowded rooms and overflowing toilets. Lawyers say they can’t visit their clients. The Department of Homeland Security says “all detainees receive full due process.”
‘No humanity’: Detainees describe conditions inside Whipple Federal Building
By Reid Forgrave, Susan Du and Christopher Magan
The Minnesota Star Tribune
https://www.startribune.com/no-humanity-detainees-describe-conditions-inside-whipple-federal-building/601566788?utm_source=gift
'Conejo means “rabbit” in Spanish. Ramos said Liam loves his rabbit hat and his teacher would ask about it when it was being cleaned. Ramos said Liam no longer has the hat or his backpack. She added that her husband has told Liam that they are being stored.'
‘Mommy, why don’t you pick us up?’: Mother of Liam Conejo Ramos shares her story from hiding
Regina Medina
January 30, 2026 5:01 PM
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2026/01/30/mother-of-liam-conejo-ramos-speaks-to-mpr-news-about-her-sons-detainment
A widely shared photograph of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos has come to represent ICE’s “Operation Metro Surge” in Minnesota.
An undated photo of Liam Conejo Ramos, who was detained by federal immigration agents. Courtesy photo.
This has me thinking back to what I was doing in the second or the fifth grade―
'The superintendent of the school district in Columbia Heights, a Minneapolis suburb, told the Guardian that two brothers, in second and fifth grades, were detained with their mother on Thursday. The mother has a pending asylum case and the family has since been transported to a Texas detention facility, the school official said.'
From Columbia Heights, a northern suburb of Minneapolis —
The Guardian: 'The mother called school leaders from detention asking that they bring her children to her at the Whipple federal building, a local facility where immigration officers have been holding people arrested during the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration operation in the region.
'The mother told the school there was no other family to take care of her sons, leaving her no choice but to have her boys detained with her, Stenvik said.
'“It was awful. It was heartbreaking for everybody,” the superintendent said. “This isn’t something we are prepared or trained for. We’ve dedicated our lives to protecting and educating children.”'
ICE detains two more students from Liam Ramos’s school, officials say
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/30/ice-detains-kids-minnesota-liam-ramos-school
"The barriers for her members are real, said the north Minneapolis resident. In addition to the difficulties of learning new activities from scratch and dealing with harsh weather, the women also contend with fears that their traditional clothing would attract unwanted attention.
“And now this.”
Groups with a mission to diversify activities including hiking, running and skiing are facing challenges amid Operation Metro Surge.
By Bob Timmons
The Minnesota Star Tribune
https://www.startribune.com/getting-outdoors-is-more-difficult-for-minnesotans-wary-of-ice/601569745?utm_source=gift
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