The NewsWorthy – Special Edition: On the Ground in Minneapolis – Enforcement & Resistance

Date: January 24, 2026
Host: Erica Mandy
Featured Guests:

• Nicole Badara, Minneapolis-based sociologist and anti-violence expert
• Matthew Silverman, National President, Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association

Episode Overview

This special edition explores the tense atmosphere in Minneapolis following a controversial ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) crackdown, featuring both on-the-ground accounts from affected communities and the federal law enforcement perspective. Erica Mandy seeks to provide an in-depth, two-sided understanding of the current situation in the Twin Cities, shedding light on both enforcement actions and community resistance, especially after the killing of Renee Goode and multiple high-profile confrontations between ICE and residents.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Life on the Ground in Minneapolis

Guest: Nicole Badara (01:28–15:01)

Community Atmosphere and ICE Raids (01:44–05:46)

• Description of Neighborhood Anxiety:
  “If you don't know what to look for, you could think that it's just a little too quiet outside ... ICE had just left. Everyone was distraught ... People were starting to check on each other, figure out what needed to happen next.” — Nicole Badara (01:44)
• Aftermath of ICE Actions:
  Residents compare the absence of a neighbor after an ICE raid to the shock of someone taken away by ambulance, but “when ICE takes your neighbor, there’s no guarantee they’re coming back, even if they have every legal right to be there.” (02:45)
• Impact on Schools:
  “You can tell that a lot of students are missing from school, and also that there are a lot of parents who are spending time around the school during pickup and drop-off because they’re not sure of what could potentially happen. ICE has sent tear gas to pick up and drop-off at schools in the past couple of weeks.” (03:20)

Specific Incidents at Schools (03:48–05:46)

• Roosevelt High Incident:
  ICE operation coincided with the day Renee Goode was killed. Tear gas was used on high schoolers during confusion at school dismissal, with “physical altercations of ICE agents attacking high school students who are children.” (04:14)
• Wider School Closures:
  In response, “all of the schools in the Twin Cities closed for the rest of the week after Renee Goode was killed,” and rolling closures or lockdowns continue due to ICE presence. (05:08)
• Safe Spaces No Longer Safe:
  “Places like schools, hospitals, food banks … there’s really a sense that none of these places are off limits to ICE.” (05:33)

Forms and Effectiveness of Resistance (05:46–09:42)

• Redefining ‘Protest’:
  “In the view of the federal government, anybody who is opposed to what ICE is doing... is a protester. So someone who... helps their neighbor who can't safely go to the grocery store... are now being seen as protesters.” (05:59)
• Mutual Aid:
  Community members support each other with basic needs like groceries, childcare, and laundry as acts of subtle resistance (06:13).
• ICE Watch:
  “ICE Watch is just the act of observing law enforcement ... General citizens will come and record what they're seeing ... The goal is to deescalate violence.” (07:00)
• Impact of ICE Watch:
  “When ICE agents know they're being watched, they think twice ... You’ve probably seen a lot of videos of ICE agents changing their mind in the middle of a raid, leaving without detaining anyone ... That's actually proof that this external pressure from ICE Watch is working.” (08:07)

Questions about Legal Rights and Participation (09:42–10:54)

• On Legal Protections:
  Court orders have held ICE is violating people’s First and Fourth Amendment rights, but “if legal rights on paper don’t fully protect people in the moment, what tools or frameworks do residents have?” (09:42)
• Inclusive Participation:
  “There is a place for everyone to participate at whatever that comfort level is. For people who don't feel comfortable engaging in ICE Watch, things like mutual aid is a great way to participate.” (10:06)
• Scale of Involvement:
  “From my own block, from my own community, it's a huge number, bigger than anyone outside of Minnesota can even begin to conceptualize.” (10:38)

Tipping Points and National Implications (11:02–13:30)

• Legitimacy of Governance:
  Drawing on Max Weber, “Violence is always an illegitimate form of domination, and that makes it weak and unstable.... When countries start resorting to violence to control people, leadership tends to fall apart very quickly.” (11:09)
• Public Opinion and ICE’s Future:
  “We're definitely seeing a shift in public opinion ... lots of support for the abolition of ICE. And for people who think that sounds radical ... ICE has only existed since 2003.” (12:17)

Advice for National Audience and Final Takeaway (13:30–15:01)

• How Outsiders Can Support:
  “Anyone who can donate to a mutual aid fund would be doing a huge help. There is a website called Stand With Minnesota that ... helps get resources to the people who need them.” (13:40)
• Value of Dissent:
  “Dissent is a good thing, that it is part of freedom of speech ... when you see protesters, your reaction should not be fear, your reaction should be some hope.” (14:21)

2. The Federal Officers’ Perspective

Guest: Matthew Silverman (16:44–30:13)

Officer Safety, Doxing, and Accountability (16:53–18:57)

• Targeting and Mental Health:
  “Law enforcement officers ... are being targeted. They're being doxed. Their family members, their home addresses are being put on social media ... It is creating a lot of undue stress, mental health and wellness issues for our already stressed law enforcement officers.” (16:53)
• Wearing Masks:
  “I am not a proponent of masks ... However, I completely understand why they're wearing their masks because of the doxing that's going on.” (17:45)
• Desire for Accountability:
  “We need to be held accountable just like everybody else ... What we don’t need is our addresses and family members and people following our kids home from school.” (17:50)

Investigations of Use of Force & Trust in Process (18:57–20:43)

• On the Death of Renee Goode:
  “Nobody hates a bad cop more than a good cop ... we want to have those safeguards in place ... But with this case, all everybody was going off of was one bystander’s point of view.” (19:09)
• Federal vs. Local Investigations:
  “In most cases that I'm aware of ... shootings where federal officers are involved ... are investigated by either the Federal Bureau of Investigation or our own home agency. ... I think that needs to be held on the federal side.” (20:11)

Political Pressures and Agency Mandates (20:43–22:39)

• Political Reactions:
  “There are a lot of statements that were put out there and ... it was just too early in the investigation to come out and say certain things.” (20:58)
• Support for Officers under Current Administration:
  “These officers and agents underneath the previous administration unfortunately did not feel like they were able to go out there and do the jobs that they were hired for... they felt like they were handcuffed and bringing in the new administration, they feel like they're set free.” (21:18)
• On Law-Abiding Immigrants:
  “Do I feel bad for the illegal immigrants ... who have never created problems? 100%, that sucks ... But the bottom line is they should not be in this country.” (22:10)

Viral Videos, Public Perception, and Compliance (22:39–25:49)

• Videos of Aggressive Detainment:
  “If she would have listened to directions from law enforcement officers, she would still be alive today.” (22:54)
• Responsibility to Comply:
  “If you comply with what law enforcement officers are asking you to do ... that's when things are going to start getting escalated. All I'm asking is for citizens ... to please follow that and think about that before they start trying to disobey lawful orders.” (24:34)

ICE Watch and Interference with Enforcement (25:49–26:45)

• Concerns with ICE Watch:
  “I think what we're doing is we're putting people in harm's way ... these ICE agents ... are going after child sex predators, rapists, murderers ... By doing what they're doing towards ICE right now ... you're impeding, unfortunately, law enforcement getting some of the most violent felons off the streets.” (25:55)

Community Policing and Looking Forward (26:45–27:56)

• Community Policing Challenges:
  “If law enforcement loses the support of our communities, we just lost the game. ... But that's because enforcement is up. So sometimes it makes it very hard to do both of those things.” (26:53)

Final Thoughts and Call for Nonviolence (28:09–30:13)

• Addressing Excessive Force:
  "I've seen things that some agents have done that I don't agree with ... bystanders ... yelling and law enforcement officers ... pushing them down to the ground or pepper spraying them, I don't agree with that. So, yes, you have the good and you have the bad.” (28:09)
• Public Stress and Fear of Escalation:
  “Our officers ... are at a stress level right now that they've never been at before ... It's the agitators ... looking for a reason to get out there and just wait. Mark my words, the looting like happened in 2020, we need to make sure it doesn't get to that point ... If you want to change laws ... talk to your congressmen.” (29:27)

Notable Quotes and Moments

• “It really did feel similar to what it would look like in your neighborhood if a beloved neighbor had just been taken away in an ambulance ... But when ICE takes your neighbor, there’s no guarantee that that's going to happen.” – Nicole Badara (02:13)
• “ICE Watch ... surrounds very people [perpetrators] with a disapproving audience. And so they do second guess. They do rethink what their original plan was ... that's actually proof that this external pressure ... is working.” – Nicole Badara (07:30)
• “Violence is always an illegitimate form of domination, and that makes it weak and unstable.” – Nicole Badara, paraphrasing Max Weber (11:09)
• "Nobody hates a bad cop more than a good cop ... If I lost my job or my career due to something like this, I would be devastated." – Matthew Silverman (19:15)
• "If [Renee Goode] would have listened to directions from law enforcement officers, she would still be alive today." – Matthew Silverman (22:54)
• “All I'm asking is for citizens ... to please follow [officer instructions] and think about that before they start trying to disobey lawful orders.” – Matthew Silverman (24:34)
• "If law enforcement loses the support of our communities, we just lost the game." – Matthew Silverman (26:53)
• "Dissent is a good thing, that it is part of freedom of speech. A fundamental part of a free society is that people should be allowed to express those things. It's a sign of a healthy democracy." – Nicole Badara (14:21)

Important Timestamps

| Segment | Time | |----------------------------------------------|-------------| | Nicole Badara: On-the-Ground Perspective | 01:28–15:01 | | Community Impact and School Incidents | 01:44–05:46 | | Resistance, Mutual Aid, ICE Watch | 05:46–09:42 | | Public Opinion, National Implications | 11:02–13:30 | | Final Takeaway – Value of Dissent | 14:21 | | Matthew Silverman: Law Enforcement View | 16:44–30:13 | | Doxing, Accountability, Mask-Wearing | 16:53–18:57 | | Investigations, Use of Force | 18:57–20:43 | | Political Pressures and Mandates | 20:43–22:39 | | Viral Videos, Public Perception | 22:39–25:49 | | ICE Watch, Interference | 25:49–26:45 | | Community Policing, Looking Ahead | 26:45–27:56 | | Final Thoughts and Nonviolent Call | 28:09–30:13 |

Summary Takeaways

• The episode presents two contrasting but deeply felt perspectives on the ICE enforcement surge in Minneapolis: one from the resilient local community experiencing the repercussions, and one from the law enforcement side feeling besieged and under scrutiny.
• On the ground, the disruption to daily life, widespread anxiety, and innovative resistance methods like mutual aid and ICE Watch are changing the city’s social fabric, with potential national reverberations.
• The enforcement community, while acknowledging stress and flaws within their ranks, feels targeted and misunderstood, warning that interference could impede essential legal and criminal operations.
• Both guests, in their own words, invoke the urgency of accountability, lawful conduct, and the need for broader systems change, even as their recommendations and worldviews diverge sharply on what that change should look like and how to achieve it.

For further information, resources mentioned include the Stand With Minnesota website for mutual aid and ongoing national organizing efforts.