Spotlight on Our Minneapolis Partners
Tens of thousands of community members in Minnesota showed up in subzero temperatures last Friday to join the Ice Out! Day of Truth and Freedom. Image Credit: Lorice Shaull CC by 4.0 via Flickr
January was an exceptionally heavy month.
We saw our communities in Minnesota terrorized by ICE occupation, with our neighbors experiencing the emotional, education, and economic impacts of being too afraid to leave their homes right now for fear of being kidnapped.
We continue to stand with our relatives, partners, and loved ones who have been grieving this separation and intimidation of families, and who have been grieving the tragic murders of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Jeffrey Pretti at the hands of ICE agents. We wholeheartedly condemn this terror that ICE has brought with them.
But we have also been heartened by the daily reminders of our collective power. The networks of community care and mutual aid that have been built up around us are breathtaking--a powerful organizing ecosystem capable of transforming these conditions and leading us towards enduring, systemic change. Our communities hold the solutions to the biggest issues we are facing today.
We've said it before and we'll say it again: there is no environmental justice without immigrant justice.
Immigrant communities, activists and organizations across the Midwest have a long history of fighting against the environmental conditions that impact us all. From calling for watershed environmental regulations, to civil rights protections, and transformative community placemaking, immigrants have been and will always be at the core of building healthier and just futures in the Midwest.
Our January newsletter focused on our partner orgs who are doing incredible on-the-ground work in Minneapolis and throughout the state, along with major initiatives of theirs to know about. We are encouraging everyone to please donate, follow, and volunteer with them as they are able to.
COPAL (Comunidades Organizando el Poder y la Accion Latina) is at the forefront of organizing on the ground throughout the state of Minnesota. Co-leading the Immigrant Defense Network (IDN), COPAL's swift organizing has meant they are able to support immigrant families with direct services, legal help, and mutual aid, while also leading statewide advocacy efforts like the Ice Out! Day of Truth and Freedom on January 23rd.
The Brave of Us Tour, hosted by the IDN, is a 30-city tour throughout the Midwest to train Constitutional Observers and grow a regional network committed to defending dignity, safety, and justice for all. Find out how you can get involved in your city.
Native-led partner orgs in the Twin Cities like Little Earth Residents Association, Wakan Tipi Awanyankapi, and Dream of Wild Health have been responding to the uptick of ICE's racial profiling of Native community members in the cities, supporting mutual aid efforts through food access, safety and security coordination.
For other ways to get involved and a list of more Minnesota-based organizations who are on the frontlines protecting immigrant rights right now, read our full statement here.
