Why Minneapolis Continues to Stand Up Against ICE After Operation Metro Surge — ProPublica
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“We’re just watching out for our neighbors. If that’s a form of protest, so be it.”
“I don’t want to be one of those people that sat. I don’t want to be somebody’s history lesson.”
“We’re retired. We have white privilege. We have to be the ones to stand up.”
“My parents are immigrants, and they moved here for a better life, but also to give us a better life. And we’re going to continue to support as many families as we can, especially kids.”
“It just seems so simple. My neighbors need help. And I would hope that if I was in a situation where I needed help, or if I was as scared as these people are, that somebody would help me.”
“People are still putting themselves out there. And it’s for the sake of humanity, and our community, and showing the rest of the U.S. and the world that this is what it means to be Minnesotan.”
“It was never a question. Once we knew what was happening, that people were being let out in the freezing cold, it wasn’t an option to leave that gate.”
“When they give us their worst, we are giving us our best.”
“Legal immigration, illegal immigration? That’s not my call. That’s not my fight. By the time you’re my neighbor, you’re my neighbor.”
“I need my staff to know that they’re safe. It was crazy networking … but it’s all about feeling safe and vetted.”
“We’re all sort of getting through this together. We don’t have formal leaders in these groups.”
“I think that’s the true identity of Minnesota: peaceful protesting, caring about their neighbors and stepping up to the plate. Not waiting for the government to help.”
“I call [my friends] and I say: ‘Please think positive. This is going away very soon.’ And they say, ‘OK, thank you for staying positive.’ And then I turn off the phone, and I start crying.”
“It’s an unspoken bond, to stick up for what’s right, knowing that something might happen to us in the meantime. … And I truly think that this will continue, this bond.”
