"It's more soccer moms than hardcore activists, they said. But the challenging conditions have brought them closer together. After knowing each other for just weeks, they feel like they’d give their lives to protect one another if necessary..." www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...

The order to stop the FBI investigation "came from senior officials, including Kash Patel, the F.B.I. director, several of whom worried that pursuing a civil rights investigation — by using a warrant obtained on that basis — would contradict President Trump’s claim." www.nytimes.com/2026/02/07/u...

At Whipple where expired dicks are being thrown at ICE vehicles and those believed to be agitators. The area has been a place of protest since thousands of federal agents arrived in the city. Near Minneapolis February 7, 2026

A Mexican immigrant whose skull was broken during his arrest by immigration officers last month in Minnesota says the beating was unprovoked. A judge ruled his arrest was unlawful.

Concentration camps: stories of as many as 50 people to a cell — men and women in some cases — with no windows and limited airflow, a single camera-monitored toilet, aluminum blankets, no showers and poor quality food.

My friends at Niemanreports.org asked me to write about the experience of being a journalist on the ground in Minneapolis right now. I knew I wanted to tell reporters elsewhere how even this most hopeless of times has been clarifying and, in some ways, energizing. (1) share.google/ms1wKDQZmgep...

The law says "it shall be unlawful” for investigators to search for or seize journalistic work product & documentary materials, except when there is probable cause the reporter herself “committed or is committing the criminal offense to which the materials relate.” www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/u...

Rental assistance hotlines in the state say calls for help have skyrocketed this year. Some callers say they’re not going to work because they’re afraid they’ll be detained by ICE if they leave the house. Others say a family breadwinner was detained, leaving them struggling to pay the bills.

BREAKING: The federal government has filed a motion seeking to end asylum claims for the family of Liam Conejo Ramos, according to the lawyer representing the family.

ICE surge news: Minneapolis Public Schools has extended *optional* distance learning until April 6.

I'm convinced that @lounewsman.bsky.social reading these quotes from the DOJ attorney at court would be a power for good if someone transformed it into a meme. www.instagram.com/reel/DUUCD9Z...

One reason Minneapolis remains in the world's eye is we have one of the most robust & independent media ecosystems remaining in the country. You all need this...and more! @mprnews.org @startribune.com @sahanjournal.bsky.social @minnesotareformer.com @minnpost.bsky.social @racketmn.com etc.

Families, lawyers work to locate Maine immigrants moved out of state

NEW: Records reviewed by WIRED show DHS’s facial recognition app (Mobile Fortify) isn’t designed to actually "verify" identity—despite DHS claims and its agents relying on its matches to support probable cause in the field.

The real story behind the midnight immigration raid on a South Shore apartment building. ✍️ @propublica.org: blockclubchi.co/3ZjrTXX

JUST IN: A federal judge has barred ICE and DHS from using taxpayer information provided by the IRS. Judge Talwani says that DHS' view that noncitizens lack 4th amendment rights — combined with ICE use of administrative warrants — is a recipe for abuse. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

With employees afraid to work and customers fearful, Minneapolis businesses are losing $10 million to $20 million in sales a week, according to city estimates.

. @wired.com: "Bovino told them it's their country and no one can tell them what to do, right?” forum members wrote, referencing Gregory Bovino, who, up until January, held the title of Commander-at-Large of Border Patrol. “I guess they’re [sic] taking him seriously.” www.wired.com/story/inside...

The streets of Minneapolis feel dystopian, writes @jcollins.bsky.social of @mprnews.org "with feds arresting and brutalizing citizens, seemingly with no real response from state authorities. As residents remind me all the time, ‘No one is coming to save us.’" niemanreports.org?p=20920&prev...

This is important and echoes my discussion — www.lawdork.com/p/hennepin-c... — with Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty.

Steve Descano, prosecutor for Fairfax County said prosecuting federal agents isn't easy but officials have a responsibility: “If they are not willing to take these actions,” he said, “then they are cowards and they are not worthy of their positions” via Andy Mannix www.propublica.org/article/why-...

Minneapolis residents are trying a new tactic to slow and deter federal agents from entering city neighborhoods. Called filter blockades, they’re pop-up block parties in the middle of city streets, and they’ve already earned the ire of Trump border czar Tom Homan (1) www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...

Join us next week for an important conversation on covering immigration safely and with care. We'll hear from experienced reporters & editors about their experiences on the ground. With @adriancarrasquillo.bsky.social, @arelisrhdz.bsky.social, @jcollins.bsky.social, Michelle Zenarosa

This morning at the Minnesota State Capitol. An ice sculpture that reads "PROSECUTE ICE". I'm told the organization behind the sculpture is Common Defense.

OPINION: The government "has tried to criminalize journalism by characterizing reporting as doxxing and observing as impeding law enforcement, and its agents are now threatening and sometimes assaulting people who record them..." www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/o...

Civil rights activist Medgar Evers was shot in the back by a Klansman in 1963. The National Park Service has removed visitor brochures from Evers' museum and reportedly plans to remove references that call his murderer a “racist"

Two children from Liam Ramos' school who were detained by ICE have been released and are back in MN with their mother. Their Columbia Heights principal, who had to deliver the kids to Whipple last week (as described below), picked them up from the airport. www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...

"I'm worried that if I'm the only one that goes, my kids will still be in this country and if I go, how am I supposed to live? That's what I think about," said Vang, through an interpreter. (Notable that local TV stations link to a Go Fund Me in stories. They're covering this like a disaster).

Kira Kelley, who represents folks arrested by ICE in MN: "Most of my clients, they report that respondents, upon detaining them, have no idea who they are. They are pulled over for how they look or for where they are ..." source: drive.google.com/file/d/1FnY2...

"Should ICE withdraw from Minneapolis or not?" Yes: 60% No: 36% Quinnipiac / Feb 2, 2026

NEW: The @chicago.suntimes.com and @wbez.org have published a 12-minute excerpt of our interview with Marimar Martinez, in which she describes being shot by Border Patrol in Chicago. You can find it here: youtu.be/mCO4vI_KH1w?...

Two Minnesota school districts backed by the state teachers union filed a lawsuit Wednesday to restore the Department of Homeland Security’s policy of recognizing schools as protected areas where immigration enforcement can’t be conducted.

Heartwarming story from my colleague Alex V. Cipolle on @comixaction.com's #Comics4Liam project. Lots of very adorable art submitted by community members. www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...

Veteran DOJ investigator says DOJ conduct surrounding the deaths of Good and Pretti is unprecedented and renders any DOJ investigation untrustworthy.

I think one thing people outside Minnesota don't understand is that after Good and Pretti were killed by feds while observing, the most normal people you could imagine have made peace with the fact that they could be next, and they are still out there because they say it's the right thing to do.

Most of the footage you see from ICE observers in Minnesota comes from the core cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. I talked to observers in the northern suburbs, who say they're taking on the same mission in very different conditions. (1) share.google/ei9giIFLsuEJ...

Minnesota’s Chief U.S. District Judge Patrick J. Schiltz ruled, almost immediately, that ICE could not move the two men out of Minnesota. He gave the federal government until Friday to provide an explanation for their actions.

I just got off the phone with Elizabeth's dad...she and her mom were freed tonight! Updated story: sahanjournal.com/education/co...

Two agents involved in the shooting deaths of US citizens in Minneapolis are reportedly part of paramilitary tactical units—including ICE’s two Special Response Teams (SRT), CBP’s one SRT, and the Border Patrol Tactical Unit (BORTAC)—whose extreme tactics are generally reserved for war zones.

"I wish you would just hold me in contempt of court so I can get 24 hours of sleep," (DOJ attorney) Le said. "The system sucks, this job sucks, I am trying with every breath I have to get you what I need." Via Paul Blume Fox 9 www.fox9.com/news/federal...

I got a little overexcited and planted my first seedlings of the year. They popped up exuberantly even though it's still freezing outside. It's hard to ignore the metaphor. Spring is coming.

ACLU Jennifer Granick: “There’s no oversight ahead of time, & there’s no ramifications for having abused it after the fact... [I]n a world where unmasking critics is important to the administration, this type of legal process is ripe for that kind of abuse.” www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...

Marimar Martinez, shot 5 times by Border Patrol in Chicago, speaks out after Renee Good, Alex Pretti deaths 'I am their voice' NEW w/ @adrianacardmag.bsky.social: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

The White House's doctored image is meant "to send a message to the Black community as a whole that we are going to not only assault but humiliate Black people who join in protest effort across the country,” said John Jay Professor Gloria J. Browne-Marshall. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/u...

“States can’t just generally regulate ICE conduct, because the federal government gets to regulate that,” he said. “But states can provide remedies against federal officials when federal officials violate federal constitutional rights.” www.nytimes.com/2026/02/02/u...

"Arbeiter’s founder attributes the success in part to 'wearing our political viewpoints and our emotions on our sleeve.' Still, no matter your values, it’s hard to keep sales up when regulars fear for their lives.“ vinepair.com/articles/the...

There's something in human brains that sees social media as a barometer for community. That's always been false, & especially is wrong in the era of AI. People are arguing with robots/ robots are replying on both sides. Social media beefs make people lose faith in humanity. Go meet your neighbors.

art shanties. so odd and so delightful and so minneapolis.

Discontent over ICE enforcement tactics is spilling out into races across the country, including competitive congressional districts held by Republicans, like Rep. Mike Lawler of New York. n.pr/49VrH7u

Dozens of media outlets across the country condemn the arrests of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort www.thecity.nyc/media-outlet...