A college classmate who lives in Minneapolis and has been in the state legislature recently shared an account of Immigration and Customs Enforcement policing in Willmar, Minnesota, a town of 21,000 in the center of the state. It is not a happy story.
The essential problem is that, if ICE confined itself to arresting undocumented criminals, it would not have much to do. Undocumented people do not want to come to the attention of the authorities by committing a crime. In fact, a 2020 study of Texas by the Justice Department found that the felony rate for undocumented people was less than half the rate for citizens – 400 a year for every 100,000 who are undocumented as opposed to 1,100 for citizens. President Donald J. Trumps’s debate claims to the contrary are simply untrue.
That being the case, ICE has had to turn to sifting through the population of people who look Hispanic, or Middle Eastern or African to find people who might be undocumented or whose documentation has been recently revoked by President Trump.
That is a very troubling process. Willmar is a farm town with a large turkey processing plant and a need for agricultural labor. Think Scott County, Mississippi with its poultry plants. To attract workers it has recruited immigrants from Mexico, Somalia and even Myanmar. Its population is approximately 17% minority. It is a small town and so not a place someone would come to hide.
The following is a report from Alissa Gambrel, a human resources director in Willmar. I have edited it slightly to shorten it and conform it to my conversation with her:
“By this time, we've all heard a hundred stories about what's happening in Minnesota. I'm going to share mine anyway. …This is not an account as reported by cable news or social media. This is what I've witnessed, what trusted friends and colleagues have witnessed, and what local law enforcement has reported.
“Before I tell you what is happening, let me tell you what is definitely NOT happening. ICE did not arrive with a list of violent criminals that they were looking to round up (there are very, very few violent criminals in Willmar anyway). They have not coordinated any of their actions with local law enforcement or provided law enforcement with names or information about anyone who has been detained, which is generally supposed to happen through shared data bases.
“Here's what IS happening. ICE agents have frequented places that young Somali residents are known to work, such as Walmart. Did you know that every business in America is required to verify the work status of anyone that they employ? Using a social security number, two forms of ID, and a federal database, we have to confirm that each employee is in the US legally AND has authorization to work. So unless a business is paying someone under the table and not reporting the wages as a business expense (which I can assure you a corporation as large as Walmart is not), then the very fact that someone HAS a job indicates their legal status in the US.
“When ICE agents see a black person in Willmar, they've been asking them whether they are Somali. Not whether they are a citizen, are here legally, have ID, or a criminal record. Whether they are Somali.
“When ICE agents decide that someone looks like a valid target, they are pulling them from cars, streets, or buildings and stuffing them into vehicles. They are driving away from the scene and then, if the person is very lucky, asking about ID. If that person is able to produce valid proof of citizenship and is lucky enough to be released, ICE agents are dropping them at the side of the road to walk back to wherever they were taken from. Not sure if you've noticed, but it's been a little chilly lately – well below zero -- for snatching people out of vehicles and dropping them off miles away to walk back. If they're lucky. Others are only released days later. Some never are.
“I mentioned that ICE is not updating databases with the names of people who have been detained or where they are being held. So when the local police department receives a call that someone didn't come home from work or school, they have no idea whether they should send out all available resources to search for a missing person or whether that person has been detained by ICE. They can't answer questions from residents about where their loved one is being held or what is happening to them. They don't have any information. Because ICE isn't in town to arrest a list of criminals. They are in town to terrorize a community.
“Willmar is not a liberal community. It consistently votes Republican, insists on lower taxes, and has its fair share of racial tension. And you will be hard-pressed to find any group in Willmar that thinks the events of the past two weeks have been good for our community or have made anyone safer. We held our regular City Council meeting on Tuesday. People desperate to find a way to protect their community spilled out of the room into the hallway. Most of them were white residents who could put their heads down and live their lives in no danger. But they recognize that their neighbors need their help and their community needs their voices.
“They are not ok with ICE agents showing up at our schools. They are not ok with ICE agents targeting Somali business owners who have revitalized a dying downtown. They are not ok with how this country is treating refugees that were invited here to pursue life, liberty, and happiness. They are not ok. None of this is ok.”
Luther Munford is a Northsider.
