Local police collaborate with ICE harrassment of Latinos in Minneapolis

Just as immigration "reform" bills are being discussed in Washington, federal goons are working to terrorize and intimidate Latinos, whether they be US citizens, immigrants with proper documentation, or undocumented workers. These actions have resulted in the separation of children from their families, even the detention of children as if they were criminals! The ACLU is presenting a lawsuit to publicize just one of the many cases in which children in particular have been subjected to government abuse.

Now we can add Minneapolis to the list. A staffer from the Resource Center of the Americas reports:

On Saturday, May 19, agents from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) launched an operation which hit various areas of the Latino community including the Mercado Central area in south Minneapolis. According to witnesses, agents stopped pedestrians on the sidewalks and began moving into apartments and the Guayaquil restaurant demanding identification and verification of immigration status of anyone looking “Latino.” Anglo bystanders were ignored or moved aside. The Minneapolis Police Department played a key role in facilitating the ICE operation.

This Twin Cities Planet story reports how, on Saturday, agents began stopping people on the street near the Mercado Central, a thriving Latino business area on Lake street, systematically asking all dark-skinned people for citizenship documents while ignoring White people. An emergency response group gathered to document the proceedings. This action violates a City ordinance, and is a blatant exercise of coercive power to try to intimidate the Minneapolis community, which has rallied in support of folks affected by raids in Minnesota towns where meat-packing plants are housed.

Minneapolis has enacted an immigration separation ordinance, which says in essence that city police should not ask about immigration status except when directly relevant to a criminal investigation—making police involvement in this operation illegal. Mayor R. T. Rybak, who has one of the staunchest defenders of the separation ordinance, said he is inviting community members to make available any video or photos of the event. He plans to review the materials today and Tuesday. From the mayor’s prepared statement: “The role of the police officer is to protect and serve every person who is in Minneapolis. We know that if there is a fear that reporting something to the police could jeopardize someone immigration status…then people will not come forward with the information that we need to know.”

This MPR report gives some more context to the Minnesota situation.