Minnesota Now

The holy month of Ramadan begins this week. It’s a time of fasting, prayer and reflection for Muslims around the world. And even as federal immigration agents reportedly leave Minnesota, the past two months of heightened ICE activity has impacted preparations for this holy time.

Imam Hassan Jama leads Alhikma Islamic Center in south Minneapolis. He joined Minnesota Now host Nina Moini to talk about what he’s seeing in his community ahead of Ramadan.

The White House border czar Tom Homan announced that at least 1,000 federal officers have left Minnesota as their ICE surge operation in the state comes to a close. That's according to an interview with CBS News Sunday. Homan said several hundred more will leave today and tomorrow.

In the weeks that ICE agents were here at peak numbers, hundreds of reports of civil rights violations from protestors, legal observers, and other Minnesotans piled up at the office of the ACLU of Minnesota. They are still busy collecting and sorting accounts, and this past Friday the organization added the stories of more than 80 Minnesotans in a lawsuit against the federal government. John Boehler is policy counsel at the ACLU of Minnesota and he joined Minnesota Now to talk about what’s next.

Thursday morning top immigration official Tom Homan announced the surge of federal agents in the state is coming to a close. We have more on what he said, plus reaction from Governor Tim Walz on what recovery is needed.

St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her shares her reaction to today's announcement and next steps for the city.

Plus, we hear from a Minnesotan who has been in hiding as a result of the surge in the second installment of our new series.

Some asylum seekers are seeing their cases get fast-tracked. We check in with a local immigration attorney representing some of these individuals on what this could mean for them.

Plus, we hear from a Duluth curler who just won silver at the Winter Olympics.

The Minnesota Music Minute was “Little Girl Blue” by Tina Schlieske.

Duluth's Olympic curlers Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin claimed silver medals in Milano Cortina during their debut in the mixed doubles event, falling to the Swedish team 6-5 in the gold-medal match.  

This is the first time the U.S. has earned a medal in the event and only the third time that the U.S. has brought home a medal of any sort in Olympic curling. Thiesse is the first U.S. woman to medal in curling at the Olympics.  

Both Cory and Korey knew each other from Duluth Curling Club and started playing together in 2022.  

Korey Dropkin joined MPR News host Nina Moini from Italy.

A new book from Minnesota children’s author V.T. Bidania looks at the profound impacts of war and displacement through the eyes of an 11-year-old girl.

“A Year Without Home” follows Gao Sheng and her family as they live through the wars in Laos and Vietnam during the 1960s and 70s. Eventually, they are forced to escape their beloved home in Laos and make their way to refugee camps in Thailand.

Written as verse, the story is a break from Vong's other novels. It is her middle grade debut. She joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about it.

In a new series, Minnesota Now is airing the voices of people who have been hiding in their homes due to fear of arrest, detention, or deportation during Minnesota's ICE surge. We asked them to send us voice memos for three days in a row, describing how they are spending their days.

A Somali immigrant who we are calling Z told us about her days in hiding. She has been working a nonprofit job from her apartment, which she shares with a beloved cat. MPR News is not using her full name for her safety.

This series will continue on Minnesota Now on Thursday and next week. Listen at noon to hear more voices or check our podcast feed.

The Trump Administration announced Thursday morning it is ending what it calls Operation Metro Surge, which sent thousands of federal immigration officers to Minnesota. Throughout the last two months, Minnesota Now has checked in with Minneapolis immigration attorney David Wilson. He joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about the end of the surge and what he’s seeing in the courts.

The Trump administration announced Thursday that it is ending what it called “Operation Metro Surge.” At its height, the more than two-month long immigration enforcement action brought 3,000 federal officers to the state.

MPR News reporters Estelle Timar-Wilcox and Dana Ferguson joined MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about the announcement and the response from state and local leaders.

Lawyers sued for access to the Whipple Federal Building, where those detained by ICE are being held — and a judge allowed them in. What they learned about the conditions inside.

Plus, the case of a teen girl who was detained at a hotel, alone, with ICE agents.

Fraud is still a focus for lawmakers in D.C. A University of Minnesota professor who testified on the topic in support of immigrant communities in the state details why he decided to speak out.

And a ProPublica investigation takes us inside the Dilley detention center in Texas, where some Minnesotans have been sent after being detained.

Then, we launch a new series featuring the voices of Minnesotans who have been in hiding as a result of the federal surge.

Our Minnesota Music Minute was “Porcelain” by Lucia Sarmiento.

In a new series, Minnesota Now is featuring people across Minnesota who have been in hiding due to fear of arrest, detention, or deportation.

We asked them to send us voice memos for three days, describing what they did that day, what they didn’t get to do, and how it’s impacting their lives.

Indira graduated from law school in Venezuela years ago and moved to Minnesota in the last five years. MPR News is only identifying Indira by her first name due to safety concerns.

Indira currently works with kids and does part-time gig work to pay for college classes that she hopes will advance her career in the U.S. For more than a month now, all of that has been more complicated.

This series will continue on Minnesota Now on Thursday and next week. Listen at noon to hear more voices or check back on our show page.