A planned in-person community meeting moved online Jan. 17 as more than 300 people joined a Zoom call following city facility closures amid reports of Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity.
The event, originally scheduled for the Fridley Community Center, was sponsored by United Front and focused on connecting volunteers with organizations providing support to communities affected by immigration enforcement.
Several elected officials attended, including Rep. Erin Koegel, Anoka County Commissioners Mandy Meisner and Mike Gamache, State Sen. Mary Kuenesh, Columbia Heights Mayor Amada Marquez Simula and New Brighton City Council Member Grahame Allen.
The event was hosted by Fridley resident John Rehlander, United Front’s co-chair. Rehlander said the meeting was intended to connect people who want to help with organizations already providing services.
“We’ve had a lot of people who say that they want to help, given the moment we’re in right now,” Rehlander said. “But they weren’t exactly sure how. And the point of this event is to connect volunteers to make them aware of the organizations that are providing services to the communities that are being targeted right now.”
Rehlander said United Front is committed to peaceful and nonviolent action and is not working with groups that do not acknowledge that approach.
He also said it was important to recognize what he described as the seriousness of the moment.
“I shouldn’t be here,” Rehlander said. “…We want to make sure that people are aware that this is all being done because we are seeing an unjust occupation of our state at the moment. And we’re not just seeing it here, and we’re not just seeing it in the metro, we’re seeing it over and across the entire state.”
Rehlander said immigration enforcement officials have said their presence in Minnesota is focused on addressing fraud.
“Well, you’re not seeing any fraud agents in the streets, and the fraud folks aren’t shooting people,” Rehlander said.
Rehlander said ICE is not conducting targeted enforcement efforts and alleged that constitutional protections are not being followed. He said there have been detentions of U.S. citizens, kidnappings of children at bus stops and other actions that he said make it necessary to resist and provide shelter and support for affected communities.
United Front describes itself as a “one stop shop” intended to connect people with organizations that need volunteers and resources, as well as to help connect residents with services. Rehlander said the group aims to direct people to experts and established organizations rather than operate services directly.
“We want to make sure that Minnesota is able to return to a state of sanity at some point,” Rehlander said. “Again, we are looking to get you in touch with the organizations that are doing the good work, to provide connections to the resources that they need…we’ve got a lot of good organizations standing out.”
The virtual meeting lasted nearly two and a half hours. Discussion topics included how to safely observe and record immigration enforcement activity, as well as resources available to residents. A link was also shared for training on how to use Signal group chats to communicate about ICE activity.
Several current and former elected officials also spoke during the event about witnessing ICE activity in their communities.
Attendees shared a list of immigrant-run food vendors in and near Anoka County, including Eastside Food Co-op, La Loma Bonita Supermercado, Mike’s Discount Foods, Supermercado Latino, Marisol Express, El Paraíso Market, Holy Land, Trébol Express, Dong Yang, Peace Market, Cuernavaca Market, Pooja Grocers, Seoul Foods in Fridley, and Hilltop Grocery & Meat Market.
Rehlander also shared a list of businesses and organizations accepting donations for families and community members in need, including Avant Garden, Wrecktangle Pizza, Mi CASA, Parents for Good, Dios Habla Hoy Church, Isuroon Halal Food Shelf and Pow Wow Grounds.
Organizations identified as providing advocacy or support related to immigration enforcement included the ACLU, ISAIAH, Unidos MN, the Monarca Rapid Response Line, the AFL-CIO and the Immigrant Defense Network.
At the close of the event, Rehlander thanked attendees for participating.
“It helps to have a community out there that’s looking out for each other,” Rehlander said. “Largely, the folks in this room are not the ones that are being the most targeted. But it’s important to get in touch with the groups that are gonna be able to help some folks, to be there for each other, and make sure that we’re taking care of each other.”