Freddy was waiting at a bus stop in Brooklyn Center when he was arrested by Immigration Customs and Enforcement on the afternoon of Jan. 8. He’d just finished his shift as a landscaper, a job he held legally with his work permit, before being violently detained and taken to the Whipple Federal Building at Fort Snelling.
He was held there, and later, Freeborn County Jail, for a month before being released without any of his documents. Now, having lost his job and without a work permit to get a new one, he’s struggling to pay rent or buy groceries.
“I know God is great and that I will get through this,” he said in Spanish. “But it’s had a strong impact on what used to be my normal life.”
Freddy, who chose not to use his real name for fear of retaliation, is not alone in facing severe financial burden in the wake of ICE operations.
Families across the Twin Cities have increasingly struggled to make ends meet since ICE agents arrived in Minnesota. And while border czar Tom Homan’s announcement Thursday that federal immigration authorities would be withdrawing from Minnesota was met with relief among many in the community, agents are likely to continue operations in the state for weeks.
That means that for now, families will need to continue seeking outside support to stay afloat.
Feeling the burden
Minnesota has seen an influx of as many as 3,000 federal immigration agents since early December, when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) launched Operation Metro Surge. As the operation expanded from targeted enforcement to a widespread sweep, agents targeted immigrant neighborhoods and business districts, along with work sites, schools, and in some cases, those unlucky enough to cross their path.
According to Minneapolis Council Member Jason Chavez, immigrants who still work have been forced to put themselves in vulnerable positions.
“Many people are still working but it’s not because they want to go to work,” Chavez said. “It’s that they don’t know how they’re going to pay the rent, afford the food for their families and pay the livability stuff that they need.”
For people who have been detained by immigration authorities, the costs are particularly high. Chavez said that in the aftermath of ICE detentions, families are often left without providers to pay the cost of living. This has left many looking for financial and other support from community networks.
“That’s the thing here, that’s why so many people are sharing GoFundMes, are asking for so much help,” Chavez said. “Because there are so many families that are struggling, and they can’t afford it all on their own.”
Since the beginning of Operation Metro Surge, Chavez has routinely shared fundraisers for families impacted by ICE detentions, many of which are seeking assistance for food and rent. In January, the Minneapolis City Council asked Gov. Tim Walz to declare an eviction moratorium in the state as pressure mounted to make rent.
Families and individuals detained by ICE may also face high legal costs. According to Tracy Roy, legal director at the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, the burden of immigration court can quickly make these costs overwhelming.
“You have to pay for an attorney, then say you get bond; you have to pay that amount in full,” Roy said. “It’s not like criminal court in which you pay a percentage. In immigration court, you are paying the full bond amount, which could be $1,500 or $15,000.”
Roy said the burden is exacerbated for people who are unable to work due to their detention. She added that a strong network of organizations and pro bono attorneys has tried to alleviate these challenges, but are struggling to do so with so many cases happening at once.
“This is an unprecedented amount of detentions,” she said. “All of the attorneys we’re working with are working as hard as they can, and we still don’t believe we can really meet this need.”
The human toll
Freddy wasn’t expecting to be detained on the afternoon of Jan. 8 in Brooklyn Center.
He’d just finished up his shift as a landscaper and was waiting to take the bus back home. He held the job legally with a work permit, having received one for both his U-visa and Affirmative Asylum applications when he arrived in the United States from El Salvador in 2020.
Freddy said agents got out of an unmarked car and didn’t identify themselves or present a warrant. He ran to a nearby intersection where he hoped observers would be able to record the incident, before agents pinned him to the ground. He said an agent put a knee on his neck and pepper-sprayed him in the face.
“I told them I had two work permits and that I was legally authorized to work here,” he said. “They told me that didn’t matter.”
Freddy was taken to Whipple and held there for several days in crowded rooms of around 60 people. He said he was fed once a day and forced to sleep next to clogged toilets, at times standing up, because the room was so crowded.
He was then sent to Freeborn County Jail where he was held for nearly a month before being released on Feb. 8 without any of his documents.
“I went to court without them because they were left at [Fort] Snelling,” he said.
Now, released from detention, Freddy is left trying to pick up the pieces. He said that with no job and no work permit to find a new one, his options are running out.
“I lost my job, I have no resources,” he said. “I spent money to keep up with my bills because they were on automatic payments, and now I’m basically at zero.
“I don’t have enough to pay my rent,” he added.
Freddy is currently staying with his cousins while he desperately seeks financial help. He said the ordeal has been affecting his sleep and mental health, and his biggest concern is losing a place to stay.
According to Diana Diaz Madera, a therapist specializing in immigrant mental health, lingering impacts from ICE detentions are common.
“The impact I see from therapy over the years with clients is hypervigilance, post-traumatic stress symptoms, flashbacks, nightmares, anxiety; fear of doing anything, really,” she said.
Diaz Madera also pointed to an effect she calls “grief in the shadows” as a hidden consequence.
“We have lost the ability to even have our kids go to the park and enjoy that,” she said.
It’s a feeling Freddy knows well.
“I look out the window and feel like I’m still being followed,” he said.
Community support
For people like Freddy who have been impacted by ICE, relief has increasingly been found in the community.
Many local organizations have been raising emergency funds to provide relief for families, with the Immigrant Defense Network alone committing to raise $1.5 million in direct family support. Chavez also credited neighborhood mutual aid groups for supporting those impacted by ICE.
“It’s the neighborhood groups, blocks of neighbors that come together in a neighborhood that are tired of seeing their neighbors kidnapped,” Chavez said. “Coming together to be like ‘Ok, how can we help pay the first month of rent for a lot of these families that if they don’t, they might face evictions.’”
Church of the Ascension in north Minneapolis has been working closely with families since ICE agents arrived in Minnesota, and for the past four weeks has used a fund to deliver groceries and provide rent assistance to those who need it.
According to the Rev.Dale Korogi, the emergency fund was used to deliver a week’s worth of groceries to more than 300 households on Saturday. He said $40,000 worth of rent and housing assistance was provided the previous week.
“We’re not a wealthy parish,” Korogi said. “These aren’t funds that are just coming from our folks, there are funds coming from all over the place.”
Several legal organizations including Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota also provide free legal services. Minnesota’s Immigration Legal Services Hub offers several free clinics a week throughout the state for immigration cases, and is composed of lawyers from five local organizations.
Roy credited the strong pro bono network that has emerged from private attorneys playing a significant role in alleviating demand as well.
Now, with news of federal immigration authorities withdrawing from Minnesota, hope is emerging that the strain placed on relief networks will relent soon as people are able to return to work. Korogi believes it will take time, however.
“Whether or not people can get back to work, I suspect that will be slow,” Korogi said. “A lot of people have lost their jobs. A lot of people won’t feel safe.”
For now, families are still relying on community relief networks and loved ones to make ends meet. In Freddy’s case, his family is the last line of support he has left.
“Thank God I have the support of my cousins,” he said.
