In recent times, while many have focused on global issues such as the Iran war, the climate crisis, and the AI debate, troubling events continue to unfold closer to home. This article sheds light on the alarming misconduct that occurred during a federal raid in Minneapolis last year, demonstrating the ongoing challenges facing communities affected by aggressive immigration enforcement.
By Brett Wilkins, staff writer at Common Dreams. Originally published at Common Dreams
Human Rights Watch recently unveiled a critical report that highlights how President Donald Trump instigated a human rights crisis in Minnesota by sanctioning a federal raid on the Twin Cities as part of a broader scheme for mass deportation.
The report describes Operation Metro Surge, initiated by Trump in December, as “an unprecedented deployment of thousands of federal immigration agents and officers to the state of Minnesota,” including personnel from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
While the Trump administration claimed that Operation Metro Surge aimed to secure American communities and specifically target noncitizens with violent criminal backgrounds, the report reveals a starkly different reality. “The operation itself caused significant harm, and nearly two out of three immigrants arrested by ICE during Operation Metro Surge had no prior US criminal history whatsoever,” the report states.
The operation has been linked to at least three fatalities. On January 7, ICE agent Jonathan Ross fatally shot Renée Good, a 37-year-old US citizen, in Minneapolis. Just a week later, 36-year-old Nicaraguan detainee Victor Manuel Díaz passed away while in custody at the infamous East Montana detention center in Texas. On January 24, nurse Alex Pretti, 37, was shot and killed by CBP officer Raymundo Gutierrez and Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa in Minneapolis.
“Federal agents shot a third Minneapolis resident and pulled guns on dozens more,” the report further elaborates. “Agents also violently smashed car windows without justification, physically threw people to the ground who were not resisting arrest, and deployed chemical irritants and flash-bang grenades on numerous occasions, sometimes at close range and without warning, resulting in injuries, including to journalists.”
Moreover, federal agents “unlawfully arrested and detained hundreds; engaged in racial profiling, harassment, and surveillance; and terrorized Minnesotans, chilling their rights to freedom of expression and assembly, while also impacting their rights to education and health,” added HRW, emphasizing that “residents faced further abuses when they collectively acted to protest against these violations of their rights.”
The HRW report calls for an immediate end to abusive federal actions in Minnesota; independent investigations into alleged unlawful killings, racial profiling, arbitrary arrests, excessive force, and other violations; and full accountability for those responsible.
“The federal government sent hordes of masked, armed agents to detain people off the street, whisk them away in shackles, and intimidate those trying to witness the events,” stated Reagan Williams, HRW’s crisis and conflict researcher. “Minnesotans mobilized to protest, document abuses, and provide vital aid to one another. National-level action is essential to ensure accountability, stop ongoing abuses, remedy the damage, and prevent another crisis of this magnitude.”
“Operation Metro Surge exposed the violent and abusive practices of these agencies,” Williams concluded. “We have compelling evidence of their operations when unchecked, and we must urgently pursue accountability and structural reforms to end these abuses.”
