Minnesota Now

There are several federal court cases involving immigration enforcement activity in front of a judge this week.

A federal judge in Minneapolis is ordering the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to appear personally in his courtroom on Friday. Judge Patrick Schiltz said ICE has failed to comply with dozens of court orders. And he wants the agency’s acting director, Todd Lyons, to answer for why he shouldn’t be held in contempt.

Over the weekend, the same judge had harsh words for the way the U.S. Justice Department is handling its case against a group of protesters who disrupted a St. Paul church service to protest ICE. MPR News host Nina Moini spoke with MPR Reporter Matt Sepic to sort through the various legal filings.

Additionally, judges are considering temporary restraining orders in two separate federal cases dealing with the ongoing massive immigration operation in Minnesota. MPR reporters Peter Cox and Jon Collins give the latest on those cases.

Constitutional observers, protestors and others detained by ICE at the Whipple Federal Building are released from the building at all times of the day, every day. And a newly organized group of people, called HavenWatch, spends its days waiting outside the Whipple building. They help newly released people get home, contact their loved ones and stay safe from the cold.

Leading the group is Natalie Ehret. She talked to MPR News host Nina Moini by phone outside the Whipple building.

A federal judge is hearing arguments in a lawsuit over the presence of 3,000 federal immigration agents in Minnesota. We have updates on the case.

Also, we heard from health care workers about the killing of V.A. nurse Alex Pretti by a Border Patrol agent.

A Republican state representative is calling for an end to what the federal government has called an immigration operation. He said it’s not worth the chaos.

A group of volunteers are waiting outside the Whipple federal building with coats, warm cars and cellphones. Their goal is to help people detained by immigration officers and then released from holding cells.

Plus, we visit a church one block from Alex Pretti's memorial.

On Monday morning, a federal judge has been hearing arguments on whether to temporarily halt immigration enforcement activity in the state. MPR News host Nina Moini spoke with MPR News reporter Estelle Timar-Wilcox, who listened to the hearing.

A Republican state representative has joined calls from Democrats for an end to the heightened presence of federal immigration officers in Minnesota.

In a statement, Rep. Nolan West placed some of the blame for the situation with Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. But he wrote on social media "It's clear that Operation Metro Surge is causing more harm than good. It puts law enforcement officers' lives at risk, and it feeds the chaos destroying our state.”

MPR News host Nina Moini spoke with Rep. West, who represents an area of the northern Twin Cities suburbs.

We hear the latest on the arrest of two Minnesotans, including civil rights lawyer and activist Nekima Levy Armstrong, after she took part in an ICE protest at a church. Plus, we learn about Vice President J.D. Vance's visit to Minnesota on Thursday.

We learn from one historian about how the current flood of ICE agents in Minnesota connects to other historic events.

ICE is telling agents to enter private property without a warrant. We talk more on the legality of that.

And we hear the voice of one central Minnesota organizer whose brother was detained by ICE.

Plus, thousands of Minnesotans are gearing up for an economic blackout tomorrow to protest the presence of ICE in the state. We learn how businesses are responding.

Critics — and supporters — of President Donald Trump have compared his administration’s actions to those of Nazi Germany.

In May, Gov. Tim Walz compared ICE operations to the Gestapo. Joe Rogan, an influential podcaster and a Trump supporter, brought up the Gestapo comparison on his podcast last week.

The comparison to Nazi Germany and World War II is a striking parallel to a dark time in history. Holocaust educator Kristin Thompson said history often plays an important role in understanding our society today.

Thompson was a classroom history teacher in Redwood Falls for 20 years. She also was the education program coordinator at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. Thompson now runs her own Holocaust and human rights consulting firm.

She spoke to MPR News producer Aleesa Kuznetsov about the several examples of similarities between the two governments.

Thousands of Minnesotans across the state are gearing up for what union organizers and faith leaders are calling A Day of Truth and Freedom this Friday.

It's meant to cause an economic blackout to protest the influx of ICE agents in the state. That means no going to work, school or spending money. While the U.S. has seen its share of labor-related general strikes, it's far less common to see a widespread action about a social issue like this one.

Some businesses have gotten on board with the protest — including many of the 2,000 businesses that call Minneapolis' Lake Street home.

Theresa Swaney is the director of operations at the Lake Street Council. She talked with MPR News host Nina Moini about what to expect on that business corridor.

Minnesota Now has been hearing from people affected by federal immigration activity in the state. Ma Elena Gutierrez is a Bush Fellow and founder of an immigrant rights nonprofit in central Minnesota. She has been working with volunteers to get food to people who are afraid to be in public. She's also been communicating with observers. Recently, those communications hit very close to home, when her brother was arrested by ICE and sent to Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas.

The FBI has arrested two activists, Nekima Levy Armstrong and Chauntyll Allen, who were part of an anti-ICE protest at a St. Paul church on Sunday. Border Patrol Commander at large Greg Bovino spoke to reporters Thursday morning with J.D. Vance expected to visit Minneapolis later that afternoon.

MPR News host Nina Moini talked with MPR News reporter Jon Collins to explain what's happening.