‘A real deep wound’: The push for survival in MN areas targeted by ICE
By Mike Moen – Producer /Minnesota News Connection
Community resiliency in Minnesota is getting praise as neighbourhoods try to meet daily needs while surrounded by federal immigration officers.
A local philanthropic arm is distributing new financial relief in hopes that grassroots organizing and civic engagement do not lose energy.
The Headwaters Foundation for Justice says it’s providing $120,000 in emergency funding to organizations throughout Minnesota assisting with mutual aid.
The foundation’s co-executive director, Bilal Alkatout, says he is sad to see businesses shuttered in culturally rich neighbourhoods.
He argues it puts pressure on households struggling to pay rent and cover basic needs.
“It’s gonna be a real deep wound to heal, and it’s gonna take quite a bit of time,” says Alkatout.
Local organizers say, unlike the racial reckoning after George Floyd’s murder and the COVID-19 pandemic, there is not much in the way of help from the government.
Aside from some state support, Alkatout echoes sentiments that communities are mostly on their own.
The Trump administration has described the local resistance as overly hostile, but national observers mostly paint a different picture, suggesting Minnesota is a model for how to respond to this kind of crisis.
Pundits and op-eds credit Minnesota residents, churches and aid groups for banding together to ensure access to essential items while emphasizing nonviolent forms of protest.
Headwater’s rapid response grants are also going out to organizations providing legal counsel to immigrants.
Alkatout says it is no secret that aspect of relief is under a lot of stress.
“We haven’t really invested enough in that, what I call the moral, ethical arm of our economy, to handle such pressure,” says Alkatout.
The Twin Cities are the focal point of political tensions, especially after the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents.
But Alkatout reminds the public that intense immigration enforcement is seen in towns and cities across the state, and hopes those areas are not overlooked.
