The Daily — "On the Front Line of Minnesota’s Fight With ICE"

Date: January 21, 2026
Host: Rachel Abrams (The New York Times)
Key Contributors: Michael Simon Johnson, Anna Foley, Charles Homans

Episode Overview

This episode takes listeners to the heart of Minneapolis, where a sweeping and aggressive federal immigration enforcement crackdown by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) has sparked both public protests and a surge of grassroots resistance. The Daily’s reporters go on the ground to chronicle how residents, community businesses, and networks of activists are mobilizing in real time, offering mutual aid to neighbors, and forming civilian patrols to track and disrupt ICE activity. The show also explores the broader significance of Minneapolis as a “ground zero” in national immigration policy’s contested frontier.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Outsize Presence of ICE in Minneapolis

• Context: Minneapolis, a relatively small and liberal city with a significant refugee and immigrant population, is now at the center of a federal crackdown, with a large and visible contingent of agents on the ground.
• Reporter Charles Homans notes the difference from larger immigrant hubs:

  “The number of federal agents that have been sent here is really quite huge ... people…really felt like they can’t leave their homes at all.” (01:46)

• Tension has prompted coordinated community efforts, as many feel unsafe venturing out.

2. Local Businesses as Hubs of Mutual Aid

• Visit to Smitten Kitten: An adult store repurposed as a supply and support center for those affected:

  • Donations of diapers, formula, and basic needs are distributed alongside its regular business.
  • Ann, a staff member, describes the urgency:

    “We just expanded it and, like, imploded ourselves with mutual aid, basically… The volume and the urgency that we have been meeting people with. They will be bringing their papers into the store. … There's no time to notice that there's a dildo on the wall because, like, your family is being torn apart.” (04:38)

  • The store has seen over a thousand people pass through for aid in days.

• Broader Significance:

  • This mutual aid network is both an act of survival and sly resistance, making it harder for ICE to track residents.
  • The episode connects radicalization and solidarity among marginalized workers to rapid grassroots mobilization.

3. Vigil, Grief, and Everyday Defiance

• After ICE killed Minneapolis resident Renee Goode, public mourning sites emerge:
  • Residents describe an atmosphere of fear, hyper-vigilance, and deep sadness, but also a strong impulse to protect and support one another.
  • Quote from a local woman:

    “You have mixed emotions because you have just this heartbroken feeling for the family … but then you have this hyper vigilance, and you're watching every vehicle that has tinted windows...” (08:20)

  • Community members are actively offering rides and care to vulnerable neighbors.

4. Immigrants’ Day-to-Day Reality

• Interview with "M", a DACA recipient:
  • She details the shift from tip-offs about ICE presence to active avoidance (altered commutes, stopping grocery trips).
  • Turning point: The killing of Renee Goode galvanizes her from fear to activism.

    “The fear became, like, resentment and became anger … everybody’s taking a risk, you might as well also take a risk for your community.” (12:44)

  • “M” begins reporting ICE sightings through activist Signal threads, contributing to community safety net efforts.

5. Civilian Patrols & The Cat-and-Mouse with ICE

• Patrol Tactics:

  • Activists (like Patty and Mitch) drive through neighborhoods, blowing whistles when ICE is spotted, and relaying real-time info via encrypted chats.

    “Every time we see ICE… that’s been probably almost every time that we’ve been out patrolling.” (15:20)

  • License plates are checked and cross-referenced against known ICE vehicles in a highly decentralized manner.

• Tension, Detention, and Ambiguity:

  • The activists themselves are often at risk—Patty recounts a recent detention incident:

    "How are we getting arrested right now? We didn’t do anything wrong … How am I in handcuffs? How am I in the back of this unmarked car?" (21:03)

  • Despite the lack of charges, intimidation tactics are seen as deliberate attempts to instill fear and disrupt activism.

• Endurance despite Difficulty:

  • The community response is fearful, but the pressure from ICE confirms to activists their efforts are impactful:

    “The point of the arrests and the detentions is to instill fear and is to deter people from doing this important work.” — Patty (22:38)

Analysis: Why Minneapolis? Historical and Political Context

• Motivations for Targeting Minneapolis:

  • Official explanation: A local fraud scandal with connections to the Somali community.
  • Reporter Charles Homans suggests deeper political motives:

    “If you're the Trump administration and you're looking to just arrest a lot of undocumented immigrants, Minneapolis is an odd choice … Minnesota is the state of Tim Walz, the vice presidential candidate in 2024, who Trump does seem to truly hate, and vice versa. It's also a very liberal city in a state that Trump has not ever won.” (25:56)

  • Political and cultural symbolism weighs heavily on the choice of target.

• Legacy of Protest:

  • The city’s experience after George Floyd’s murder in 2020 has left a long shadow, but also created strong community bonds and ad-hoc structures that are now repurposed for supporting those targeted by ICE.
  • "You really see the long shadow of 2020 in Minneapolis ... a lot of the same relationships and organizing ideas ... are being used now in updated and evolved ways ..." — Charles Homans (27:26)

• How Far Will People Go?

  • The crackdown has swept up people beyond those accused in fraud, including U.S. citizens—fostering a sense of embattlement among residents.
  • People are asking themselves:

    “Am I going to need to start hiding people in ... my house? ... This is an important moment in history that’s unfolding.” (33:19)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Ann from Smitten Kitten, on solidarity:

  “Sex workers and marginalized groups of people like that will radicalize you. I really learned in the strip club that everyone agrees with the revolution, we just don’t all have the same language to talk about it.” (05:23)

• Patty, on the ambiguity and fear of civilian patrols:

  “There's a bit of a paranoia and a hypervigilance that everybody in the city has. Just looking at basically any vehicle with suspicion…” (17:15)

• Charles Homans, on the changing nature of activism:

  “...The shooting of Renee Goode changed that ... I've heard this from both people who are involved in the activism here, and also ... immigrants who are targets of these raids. They recognize that something really shifted with the shooting.” (30:23)

Important Timestamps & Segments

• [01:37–03:17]: On-the-ground context in the Lynn Lake area; unique mix of communities and ICE impact.
• [03:17–06:57]: Inside Smitten Kitten; mutual aid and the pressures of community support under ICE scrutiny.
• [07:57–10:17]: Community mourning and vigilance following Renee Goode’s death.
• [11:05–14:06]: Interview with “M”; immigrant experience of fear and transformation into activism.
• [14:41–24:06]: Ridealong with civilian patrols; tactics and risks of “gumming up the works” against ICE.
• [25:56–33:19]: Conversation with Charles Homans about political motives, protest legacy, and future possibilities in Minneapolis.

Takeaways

• The ICE crackdown in Minneapolis has catalyzed a rapid, loosely-coordinated, and deeply communal resistance, built on lessons from both recent protest history and the city’s unique social fabric.
• The city’s transformation of everything from sex shops to neighborhood watch routines into engines of solidarity demonstrates the uniquely American forms of localized resistance.
• The volatility and scope of the crackdown—and the community’s willingness to go beyond “acceptable” forms of activism—heighten the sense that an important chapter in U.S. social history is being written on the city’s streets right now.