Reflecting on the immigration enforcement surge and what comes next

This past Saturday marked five months since Renee Good was shot and killed on Jan. 7 in Minneapolis by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent. The federal officer was one of about 4,000 immigration and border enforcement agents sent to Minnesota during the immigration crackdown the White House called “Operation Metro Surge.” The focus was to deport — in the words of President Donald Trump — the “really bad criminals.” By the time the surge wound down weeks later, several thousand people had been detained. Many were deported. Most had no criminal record. Many more immigrants stopped going to school and work, and hid at home for weeks. In response, thousands of Minnesotans organized to support people in hiding, document ICE activity and protest the immigration raids. MPR News host Angela Davis talks with the leaders of two organizations on the front lines about their experiences during the federal enforcement surge, what immigration enforcement looks like now and what comes next. Guests: Francisco Segovia is a founder and executive director of Comunidades Organizando el Poder y la Acción Latina (COPAL), which was started in 2018 to organize grassroots support to improve the lives of Latino families in Minnesota. In 2024, COPAL launched the Immigrant Defense Network, a coalition of more than 100 immigrant, labor, legal, faith and community organizations to respond quickly to immigration enforcement actions in Minnesota. Michelle Garnett McKenzie is the executive director of The Advocates for Human Rights, a nonprofit that provides free legal services to immigrants, documents human rights abuses and advocates for human rights. She joined the organization in 1999 as an attorney representing asylum seekers and detained immigrants. She also serves on the steering committee of the Immigrant Defense Network. Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify or RSS. Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.