On January 23, 2025, Donald Trump activated the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) nationwide 3 days after his second term started. In a single day, ICE disclosed to have arrested 534 people and had 373 detainers lodged. The Trump Administration’s intent is to arrest aliens, which is defined as a person who is not a naturalized citizen of the country they live in.
A year later, on January 24, 2026, iceinmyarea.com (an anonymous and community-driven website), there have been over 220 reports 220 of ICE activity nationwide, detaining hundreds more. Updates occur in real-time, with reports verified daily to provide detailed information of locations of ICE agents in increasing frequency.
The creators of the tracker have advised people to share their location to a trusted person and gave a reminder that people are not legally obligated to show their documents to prove their citizenship, but this does not stop ICE from forcefully taking victims and kidnapping them in vans, as shown in the photos community members have shared on the forum.
Minnesota has been labelled as a sanctuary jurisdiction (area with many alleged undocumented immigrants) for Criminal Aliens by the Department of Homeland Security. Although ICE started in St. Paul with 2,000 agents, they have rapidly expanded to Minneapolis and other high-traffic areas state-wide. Currently, Minnesota holds the most reports for ICE activity despite having one of the lowest percentages of non-U.S. citizens in comparison to other major cities.
So why Minnesota? A high school student from Minnesota responded to the graph above with a possible explanation: “They target Minneapolis a lot more than the rest, [it] is primarily because of Somalian fraud” he then correlated the amount of crime in certain areas of the city, “and if you look closer into Minneapolis, the denser population with elevated levels of crime also happen to be high density Somalian communities.”
Donald Trump addressed reporters at the White House Briefing on January 20th and specifically blamed Somalis for theft, “Nobody talks about the fact that $19 billion at a minimum is missing in Minnesota, given to a large degree by-by Somalians. They’ve taken it, Somalians.” He then went on to praise ICE’s enforcement: “So, this is what the people are trying to protect, because all ICE wants to do is get them out of our country, bring them to prisons and jails and mental institutions from where they came. That’s all they want to do. They’re patriots.”
The $19 billion theft Trump is referring to is the $250 million fraud scheme called “Feeding Our Future” founded by a white woman named Aimee Bock in 2016. Many Somalis were involved with the scheme and the majority pleaded guilty in conspiring with wiring fraud. This incident has painted Somalis in a bad light and sparked hatred for many Americans. Somalis have often been called fraudsters when referring to Minnesota’s issue with mass fraud.
The Minnesota Governor, Tim Walz, himself denounced the $19 billion accusations and even criticized Trump for his racist claims against Somalis, referring to them as “vile, racist lies, and slander towards our fellow Minnesotans.” He then went on to make a peaceful statement: “I tell all Somali neighbors among neighbors, I tell all our neighbors. You are respected. You are valued.”
The Trump Administration has a long history of attacking racial minorities, and many people are growing concerned. Leticia Felippe, a non-US citizen attending Champaign Central High School, said she didn’t feel safe and, when asked about The Trump Administration’s underlying goal, she stated “[It’s to] get all the immigrants out of the country and bring in fascism into the U.S.”
Felippe isn’t the only one to think this way; an anonymous student from Central spoke out against the Trump Administration’s control on the U.S. government, “I believe the Trump administration is doing this to remove the power from the citizens and consolidate it within the executive branch, giving the MAGA movement endless power over the country so they can turn it into a white Christian nationalist state.”
Since Trump’s inauguration, people have openly criticized and condemned ICE and the Trump’s Administration’s raids against innocent people. It has inspired protests in Minnesota. Even amidst freezing temperatures, Minnesotans continue to protest in high traffic areas—downtown, government offices, and Target center—in support of abolishing ICE in response to the widespread injustice and harm on their communities they’ve caused.
The newest executive order from The Trump Administration, on January 20, ordered The Secretary of Homeland Security—the parent department of ICE and Border Control—to remove aliens and their families from the United States efficiently and effectively by sending them into detention centers. More funding is being funneled to strengthen ICE, so it is not unlikely that ICE’s violence will escalate further.
Renee Good was driving home when she was stopped by ICE Agent Jonathan Ross, who shot her three times and accused her for attempting to run him over despite evidence of Good retreating the area. The tragedy has sparked protests nationwide. Most recently in Minneapolis the Associated Press reported that an ICE officer shot and killed Alex Jeffrey Pretti on January 24 at 9:05am. He was attending a protest in solidarity for Renee Good.
The Immigration and Customs Enforcements have gone beyond their duty of detaining aliens and have shot a man for protesting against them. And soon after, Minnesotans rallied a protest that shut businesses near downtown where the scene of the crime occurred in support of Pretti.
Another student from Central High school—who chose to remain anonymous—shared their thoughts on the tragedy passionately, “their lack of regret highlights just how wicked this whole operation is.” Alluding to the officers saying ‘Boo hoo’ to Pretti and ‘Fucking bitch’ to Renee Good. Both incidents were recorded with some acknowledgement from the officers, emphasizing the apathy they have towards the victims.
“ICE runs on government-endorsed aggression and intimidation, disregarding the very rights of every person on American soil,” the student said. They then added that their actions were “never about removing undocumented criminals in our nation, but about subjugating people of color, those holding opposing political views, and putting an end to the democracy that has held America together ever since 1776.”
Walz called the White House to criticize the Trump Administration’s policies in Minnesota. He activated The Minnesota National Guard by the request of Sheriff Dawanna Witt to aid the local enforcement. She explained it was because of the heavy presence of ICE agents in Minneapolis and St. Paul’s neighborhood has stretched their enforcements thin. With the help of the National Guard, officials brace for continued protests and demonstrations in the upcoming weeks.
The outrage caused a Republican candidate to drop out of the election for governor of Minnesota due to his outrage against the reaction of the Trump Administration and in support of Walz’s pushback against ICE. Now that empty seats in the Minnesota State House of Representatives have been filled with two Democrats on January 27. Now, Democrats hold the majority at the Minnesota House and allow Walz to have more pushback against ICE.
Democrats have increased their criticisms against the Trump Administration, ICE, and their policies. With many Republicans going against officials from the Trump Administration, especially after officials accused Pretti of being a domestic terrorist, there may be less partisanship dividing both parties.
At a press conference on January 24, Walz continued to go against the Trump Administration as he spoke about the fatal shooting. “Will Donald Trump do the right thing?” he questioned. “No I don’t have a lot of confidence Donald Trump will do the right thing. I do have a lot of confidence that the majority of American people will do the right thing.”
