Washington, DC — In the aftermath of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) murder of Renee Good in Minneapolis, MN, the federal agency has significantly increased its activity in the Twin Cities, including rampant racial profiling, blatant disregard for the law, and staggering escalation of violence against protestors and the general public, including door-to-door harassment, workplace raids, and loitering in the parking lots of community spaces, including at ethnic supermarkets, Hmong Village, and Hmong Town.
The escalation includes the recent violent arrest of Chongly Scott Thao, a Hmong US citizen, without presenting a warrant, a request for identification, nor rationale for detention. After ICE agents forcibly broke down his door, Chong was removed from his home in only his underwear in 12 degree weather and taken into an unmarked car for an hour before being released. ICE’s other acts of violence in MN include the kidnapping of a 5-year-old and the teargassing of a family of six, resulting in the hospitalization of an infant. Most recently, ICE agents killed Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse at the Department of Veteran Affairs. Witness videos showed that Pretti was attempting to help a woman who had been pepper sprayed by ICE agents and that he was not holding any weapon.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) and Rep. Ilhan Omar (MN-05) held a hearing in Minnesota featuring remarks from community leaders and state electeds, including St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her. Despite the continued abuse by ICE against Southeast Asian, Asian American, and other immigrant and refugee populations in Minnesota and across the country, the House of Representatives passed a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) appropriations bill on Jan. 22 to increase funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) without any accountability measures. The bill adds over $400 million for detention and $370 million for immigration enforcement, on top of the $45 billion ICE received last year from the reconciliation bill through cuts to healthcare and food assistance. ICE is now the highest funded US law enforcement agency and already operates within a budget that is larger than most of the world’s militaries.
SEARAC and Southeast Asian leaders from Minnesota respond:
ThaoMee Xiong, Executive Director of Center on Asian American Leadership (CAAL), said, “Asian Americans will not accept the ongoing violence and harassment by the federal government. We will do what we’ve always done in the face of oppression, isolation, and mass genocide – we will fight for our freedom and constitutional rights!”
May yer Thao, President/CEO of Hmong American Partnership and Hmong National Development, said, “Unchecked violence and racial profiling against Southeast Asian and other communities in Minnesota demands immediate accountability, and we condemn the decision to further fund and perpetuate this harm while our communities are left unsafe and traumatized.”
Montha Chum, Executive Director of MN8, said, “This moment is what our Hmong, Lao, Cambodian, and Vietnamese communities have been worried about since the beginning of this Administration. Minnesota is under ICE occupation, and Asian Americans are a clear target. Southeast Asians have always been harmed by ICE, and we are not exempt from the horrific violence we’re seeing today. In our state, we are trying to survive our current reality, which are the mass detentions and deportations of our families. In the last few weeks, ICE agents have been terrorizing, harassing, and murdering our community members, including that of Alex Pretti, who was murdered just this weekend by ICE while protecting another person. ICE does not protect anyone. Instead, they place our safety at constant risk. Under no circumstance can we allow for this to continue. More funding for ICE means more families torn apart, abuse from the system, and lives uprooted.”
Quyen Dinh, Executive Director of SEARAC, said, “The actions of this Administration and the unchecked violence of ICE agents have ravaged our communities. Hmong Americans and the broader Southeast Asian American communities are being targeted in door-to-door raids and on the streets; many in our communities are sheltering in-place because they are afraid for their safety. And it is deeply concerning that despite all this death and violence caused by DHS, the House of Representatives have voted to give that agency a blank check to continue terrorizing America. Congress must bring the agency and its violent agents to account; we urge the Senate to reject any appropriations bill that gives even a single dollar to ICE and Customs and Border Protection.”
Action Alert: Protect Southeast Asian Americans from ICE violence
- Click here to urge your Senator to reject any efforts to fund even an additional dollar to the Department of Homeland Security.
- If you need Know Your Rights materials in Cambodian, Hmong, Lao, or Vietnamese, or other Southeast Asian languages, you can visit MN8’s website. Click here for written resources or here for videos.
- You can also support efforts in Minnesota by donating to Hmong American Partnership’s mutual aid efforts or to these other mutual aid fundraisers.
