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News Bites: Minnesota Immigrants, ICE, and Politics

A noise demonstration is scheduled in Albert Lea Sunday on behalf of a 23-year-old man with serious health issues who has been in ICE-related detention for 14 months. And Keith Ellison updates campaign volunteers on cases against ICE agents.

Commentary: The Pervasive Smallness of Using Labels to Cause Harm

Whether it is Jewish people, Somalis, Indigenous, and the many others who have been labeled as inferior by those who see people by skin color and birthplace, our children are noticing the propensity toward racism and violence. Why speakers at a rally in support of Rep. Ilhan Omar Monday see Minnesota as the birthplace for a new promised land of unity and solidarity.

Bulletin Board: A Running Tally of Posts From Other Sources

When “Home” Is Complicated: A Reflection From the Book “Remember the Bees”

Where to live is not a simple question. Everyone has to make difficult decisions in prioritizing certain aspects over others: a beautiful view or cost, safety or family, economic stability or culture. No one can tell my husband whether living in Thailand or the U.S. is a better choice, just as no one can tell the family in "Remember the Bees" whether to stay in Inzerki — home to the world’s largest collection of managed beehives — or to try life in the city. 

DATA: Test Your Knowledge of the Numbers of Immigrants and Asylum Seekers in Minnesota

In Minnesota, an estimated 9,000 residents with temporary protections have lost their status or are at imminent risk of losing it. Roughly 13,000 asylum-seeker cases sit pending in Minnesota alone, part of a national backlog exceeding 1 million.

Publisher’s Commentary: “A Work in Progress” Documentary by Robert Reich

The conversations we can have with each other are not about telling people what to think, but by creating more places to think together. More opportunities to explore the essential ingredients of collective health and personal fulfillment, and to ask what we owe one another as neighbors and citizens. This feels more consequential to me than the horse races, outrage, and gossip that so often define the media landscape.

Heid E. Erdrich: McKnight Foundation’s 2026 Distinguished Artist

“Listen to the city dreaming, calling us home in many languages,” she writes. “Listen to the city flowing, dreaming, moving toward its chorus, learning its multiple and singular voice.”

Truth #2: Learning From Rapid Response Lessons for the Next Crisis

A missed opportunity was protecting the right to seek health care, go to school, go to worship, go to work. “We had the ability to basically bring a lawsuit against the government, saying that because of their operation, they were freezing people who should be unaffected by your operation. ... We didn't really have the ability to gather their stories so we could put them in a petition against the government.”

Truth #3: Protecting Small Businesses and Elderly Neighbors

“In moments of crisis, people appreciate you just asking them how you are doing. As someone who has suffered from PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder], it is important to have moments of humor, cracking a joke, simply talking to somebody that you knew for years. Just doing those things can really change a person's outlook.”

Somali Panelists Answer: What Does Home Mean to You?

"I've had so many opportunities to move — to go to school somewhere else. Every time I've traveled, I've always missed Minnesota. There's no other community that has given me a sense of belonging like here."

Truth #1: Truth-Telling About ICE-Related Human Rights Violations

The testimony of seven people about their experiences with ICE agents during Operation Metro Surge, shared at an August National Convergence for Democracy conference held in Minneapolis.

“What Forgiveness Means to Me” — A Story of Healing From Domestic Violence

After surviving an acid attack in South Africa by her ex-husband — and spending four months in a hospital — Primrose Ruwocha was able to rebuild her life in Minnesota.