ICE out of Minnesota

January 23, 2026

Dear Editor:

Faith leaders in the Twin Cities metro area were amongst the first to call for a day of prayer and fasting today (Jan. 23); a day to pause and pray for peace and humanity to be restored in the Twin Cities. It was picked up by union leaders as a day for a general strike with partners such as MN Indivisible Alliance and the MN League of Women Voters adding on as non-partisan partners. There are now dozens and dozens of partners and an outpouring of support for this day of accountability for ICE. To make the world notice — we want ICE out of Minnesota.

Why the concern? Because the truth is that ICE is regularly using violence and inhumanity in its supposed apprehension of dangerous criminals. What is clearly not about safety has wrecked chaos, fear and tragedy across the Twin Cities. Today, Minneapolis is a city under siege. Heartbreaking images flood our screens of old men taken from their home in their underwear, four- and five- year-old toddlers detained, and observers and protesters maced in the face, beaten and threatened. Images that are real, and should horrify any American with any degree of empathy or integrity.

The United States of America has had the rule of law as its line in the sand, the gold standard of our behavior as a nation. As a nation, we have fought for human rights all over the world. We have stood by constitutional protections and due process for all.

But, not today, not under Trump and the rule of ICE. Today other nations are worried about human rights violations here. Other countries protest on our behalf as they see the violent apprehension of individuals, a great many of whom turn out to be legal residents or U.S. citizens, apprehended only because of the color of their skin.

How has this happened? For starters, ICE has recruited thousands of recruits rapidly with huge promises of monetary gain and lurid appeals. It cannot possibly have had time for proper vetting or thorough training of all of those new recruits. Individuals hungry to fulfill presidential revenge policies have now received almost unchecked power, to include breaking down doors and entering your home without appropriate cause or a proper, signed warrant. Minneapolis residents have watched in horror as their co-workers, employees and neighbors have been wrenched out of workplaces and homes, with little or no appearance of due process.

How has Minnesota responded? We have done what we always have done — we have immediately reached out to help our neighbors. We have bought whistles; organized neighborhood watch groups, honked our horns, and are using the weapons of our Minnesota culture —kindness and the sharing of everything we have — to help our neighbors. This is not about protecting dangerous criminals. We simply want our neighbors and fellow residents of our beautiful state to be treated with dignity and humanity and granted their constitutional rights to due process.

Clearly, today’s ICE is not about safety. Instead, President Trump is using the Department of Homeland Security as his personal Gestapo to violently drag people out of their cars and homes without humanity, as evidenced by the lack of medical care allowed Renee Good as she lay dying. In horrified disbelief, we see evidence of brutality every day through the pictures taken by brave reporters who sadly must risk their lives to publish the truth.

What is being created under the Trump administration will take decades or even generations to correct. The hate generated by the language of this administration has poisoned our families, friendships and our communities. It has deliberately turned us against each other and created an ‘other’ to fear. This administration is destroying sacred institutions such as the rule of law, and threatens our most basic rights.

As the daughter of a WWII veteran whose father served in Europe in the Army Air Corps, I never thought I would experience what my father saw the Nazis do, and in my own state.

This is not ok. This is not the America of our dreams or of our values. Say it today and say it in November— this is not the America we want. This is not the America we voted for – ICE OUT of Minnesota.

Oh, and what about the Epstein files? What happened to those?

Sincerely,

Lyn Dockter-Pinnick

Moorhead