Although the media has largely turned its focus away from Minnesota (you know, with the illegal war in Iran and everything), it’s imperative to understand that ICE and DHS are continuing their operations in the state.
Annastacia Belladonna-Carrera, Executive Director of Common Cause Minnesota, joins Jen to give an update on how Minnesotans are attempting to rebuild after a surge of ICE violence earlier this year.
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Annastacia Belladonna-Carrera is the executive director for Common Cause Minnesota. Annastacia leads Common Cause Minnesota’s work in identifying and developing equity-based, strategic grassroots alliances to achieve collective democracy-based outcomes for Minnesotans.
The following transcript has been edited for formatting purposes
Jen Rubin
Hi, this is Jen Rubin, Editor-in-Chief of The Contrarian. I am delighted to welcome back the Head of Common Cause of Minnesota, Annastacia Belladonna-Carrera. Welcome!
Annastacia Belladonna-Carrera
Hi, Jen! Nice to meet you, thank you so much for reaching out again.
Jen Rubin
Oh, it is absolutely our pleasure. With the impression that many people have is that ICE has disappeared from Minnesota, and these pernicious raids and detentions are no longer going on. Is that accurate?
Annastacia Belladonna-Carrera
I will say that based on my engagement with the folks that are still very much involved in dealing with the aftermath of Operation Metro Surge, and the current version of Operation Metro Minnesota, or—let me just back up. Operation Minnesota, really. is very much still on the ground. In fact, as I had mentioned earlier, and I apologize, I was on a call with some elected officials, even now, that are trying to address the aftermath of what happened to impacted communities here in our state, and just our state in general, in various bills and policies that they’re trying to move in our state capitol to try to address what is continuing to happen here in Minnesota.
Jen Rubin
What is still going on? Are the raids still happening in places other than Minneapolis? Are they smaller scale, but the same kind of detentions of non-violent criminals?
Annastacia Belladonna-Carrera
Yes, I’m gonna answer that, and I’m again gonna, sort of couch my response in the following, because, there is a significant infrastructure difference when you’re looking at the needs and the dynamics of Greater Minnesota as compared to the metro area, things like being able to, in the moment, rapid response, right, mobilize folks. around whatever is happening is very different. So, I will say that, as I’m continuing to have this conversation with you about what does the Operation Minnesota, as I’m mentioning it, right, really mean for us. I just want to make sure that we have that sort of in the context, right? So yes, we have seen operations that very much look very… I mean, they haven’t changed as far as how they go about rolling things out, right? It’s not like now they’re coming forward with the appropriate legal documentation to be able to enter someone’s home. It’s not like now they are coming forward and focusing on what they call the worst of the worst, right? That’s not the case.
It’s not like suddenly now, after the fact, right? Even with DHS leadership change, it’s not like, you know, the original agenda for the administration has changed. What has changed is the geography, right? So, we looked at an operation that kicked off, in its most horrific times during January and February, right, of this year, but actually, we had presence in our state in, you know, in late fall, early winter of 2025, right? And so, we had an infrastructure that was already in place, as we discussed last time, through the George Floyd uprisings, right? That was, once again reinvigorated and sort of adapted and changed to respond to the needs in real time. That was not something that was able to be just cookie-cut approached in different areas.
We have amazing partners out there, like COPAL’s Immigrant Defense Network that is over 100 grassroots organizations and so forth that are still responding to the needs that are happening in Greater Minnesota, right? But it’s looking different. The MO is still the same, right? Those things are still coming into us. We still have groups that are at the Bloomington Whipple Building, having to deal with it. As you may have heard, we still needed to litigate. There’s an amazing group that had to go and litigate to make sure that people were in the Whipple Building had access to faith. and their practices, right? And something like, we just had Palm Sunday, and then we had, right, we had various activities for those that are Christian, and there are other faiths as well.
There are other religions that are being practiced, or that have individuals at the Whipple Building, so the fight is not over. We still have no accountability around Renee, her murder, or Alex’s murder, right?
We still have, in fact, I’m in the middle of finishing work that we had started, which is rebuilding a statewide legal network that is in place to triage the legal needs of people that are being taken, because people are still being taken, right? The media may not be all over it. And they may now be in various pockets of Greater Minnesota, which makes it not as easily… you know, you can’t just get a group of News Corps to go and cover a thing, right? Because now you have all these different pockets of things. But the need is still there.
Jen Rubin
Got it. In the aftermath of the murders, you made a full court press to get people to send information, send films, send video, to either you or to local prosecutors. How successful was that effort?
Annastacia Belladonna-Carrera
Jen, thank you so much for bringing that up. So that is still underway, and that is because the litigation in Minnesota around making sure that individuals’ constitutional and due process rights are protected are in fact still the case. That is not gonna, you know, like, go away just because, you know, they may have moved some of these things to a different space, or maybe that their more egregious forms of it and attention have moved on to another state, right? That continues to go. So the AG’s office is still actively collecting that information. There’s still an active investigation.
The, county attorney for Hennepin County which is a county where Minneapolis is located, also announced that she is very much still looking to prosecute anyone that has been connected to the murders of Renee and Alex in the field, right? And also, ACLU Minnesota continues its litigation efforts, so all of those things continue to be very much collected.
As a matter of fact, Governor Walz just announced a peace, a peace council of some sort to start really organizing, right, and really being able to pull together that documentation, and the current debate is whether or not that body should have subpoena powers, because as we’ve seen, when you ask people nicely, right, to share something with you, they’re not willing to do that very much, right? And so, right now, the conversation with impacted communities and the governor’s office is, you know, is this really going to be a body that is going to be able to have the autonomy to hold power accountable? Or is this just you know, as some people are concerned, is this just sort of like a pit bull that’s chained to a fence with no teeth, right? And it’s really more optics than anything else.
But you know, Jen, The original question to me. About what is that impact, right? What is… what is the aftermath. The last set of numbers that I saw coming out of some of the policy work at our Capitol is something about an estimated $203 million in economic and social impact in specific areas, and that’s just Minneapolis. We’re not talking about other pockets in the state. And so, these different—from my best recollection, these different areas include things like, the intense need for food, still. The intense need for housing, because remember, there, you know, there were moratoriums that were being moved, trying to give some people some breathing room between paychecks, right, that went back. And none of those have been successful. So, people are still under, you know, eviction, active eviction, which makes housing an issue. And more importantly, also, is the mental health support.
Like, the aftermath mental health support, and the small business, support that is in place. And one thing I really want to stress in that, I’m sure you have more questions, so I’ll leave it at that, but I think something I really do want to highlight for folks, because the narratives that we’ve seen around disinformation, misinformation, and outright just lies and propaganda is that, you know, why should we have tax monies go to help people that are unauthorized and are undocumented here in the state of Minnesota? Let me just clarify. that none of the programs and support that are being discussed, debated, and lobbied for at our Capitol is going to families that allegedly are, because, of course, a false narrative is that they’re trying to abuse the system, and that is such a lie.
It’s such a blatant lie. The majority of the people, the vast majority of the people, and there’s a report that’s being pulled together, so I don’t want to irresponsibly throw numbers out there, but I will share that with you, Jen, so you can share it with the public, but there, you know, the far… far majority of people that, were impacted in the ways that I’ve just mentioned. are, you know, citizens, people with legal residence, people with a permission to be here, people that had the authority to work, but might not have been a citizen, right, that were terrorized, because again. Operation Metro Surge was not about going after the worst of the worst.
Let me just highlight that again. Our Hennepin County leaders, our Ramsey County leaders, all of our local police officers and, like, at all levels of local law enforcement have always cooperated with handing over individuals that are coming out of Minnesota prisons or jails, right? And communicate that to DHS. We’ve had the Commissioner come out and speak to that. I don’t care what lies and propaganda are out there. I’m just speaking you truth to power.
Please, I encourage you, go to the Department of Corrections, you will see all of this. documented objectively, right? We’ve always cooperated. That was just a terror campaign. It was a campaign for the optics of the people. that they wanted to win brownie points with, right? And so these individuals that were subject to a lot of what you saw are U.S. citizens and people, as I mentioned to you, that had every right in the state of Minnesota.
And when you are terrorized to go out because nobody’s respecting passports, nobody’s respecting local laws, nobody’s respecting immigration laws that require you to have certain legal documentation signed by a court before you start kicking someone’s door down. Yeah, I’m gonna be afraid to go to work, too. And so, I think that what we’re doing in Minnesota should be You know, another moment for other states that are suffering this right now, to start proactively thinking of what you can do with your local legislators, with your city councils, with your county commissioners, right? To create ordinances and laws that are meant to hold power accountable and protect U.S. citizens and other people that are here with the authority.
Jen Rubin
Absolutely, and to your point, Annastacia, we’ve reported on it. It should get more coverage that a study from the University of California at San Diego has documented huge percentages of people in both Minneapolis and St. Paul. Who have been assaulted, have been exposed to tear gas, kept their children home. did not go to work, did not seek medical treatment because of the fear that was out this. We’re talking 10, 20, 30% of the population.
So this is not about, as you say, undocumented people. This is the entire population that was really traumatized that we’re talking about. talk to you about the next, iteration here. We’re coming up on May Day, and Minnesota, once again, led the way in some respects in a day that was declared for no shopping, no work, and instead you had massive gatherings at a time where it was literally freezing, well below freezing. That message is now being taken nationally, and I’m sure Minnesota is going to be a big participant. What advice would you give to other organizers in other places about how to make this work? I am sure there are people who are saying, well I can’t not go to work, but maybe I’ll not shop. Is that good enough? People have lots of questions, and how we motivate people to do something that really does require a sacrifice.
Annastacia Belladonna-Carrera
Yeah, thank you so much for that question, Jen, because I do get people that say, you know, for a variety of different reasons, you know, this is just not a way that I could participate in solidarity with what the movement is about, right? And so, I often remind folks that one of our most powerful ways of showing up in solidarity is through our money. It’s through, you know, it’s also through our time, but there’s so many people that are not able to take a day off work, and we so respect that, right? We want people to be a part of the movement where they’re at. We’re not asking people to put their, you know, their families and their livelihoods on the line, necessarily, at this time. Mind you, I will caveat that there is a time and place for that, too. But what we’re asking people, yeah, what we’re asking people to do is to really remember that your consumerism is one of the most powerful way of amplifying your values, right, and where you stand.
And so, on that day, we’re asking folks exactly what you said, Jen. If you’re not able to take a day off of work in solidarity, then maybe that’s a day that you only shop local. Maybe that’s a day that you make it a point to go into various communities that have been impacted by this. And make it a point to have lunch there, or shop there. Maybe it’s a day that you show up and you turn out at a local church, or a local community center, and say, hey, are you all, you know, how can I volunteer help today, or that weekend, or maybe an hour that day before you go to work, or after work, you know, wherever you’re at, let’s be creative with this, right?
Your kids sitting at the table and, you know, creating a poster that reflects your values and that stands in solidarity with the movement, and maybe you put it on the side of your car window. Maybe that’s how you drive around, or maybe you put it in your home’s front, you know, window or something of that nature, right? So that you show that you’re someone who stands in solidarity with just basic human rights and values, right? That we all have innate value and worth, right? And so, I really invite people, you know, gosh, plant a tree that you call the peace tree.
Right? Get your neighbors involved in it. Say, you know, this is something that came out from our Greater Minnesota organizing and mobilizing that day. Like, there were folks that could not join the downtown Minneapolis day, you know, strike day, and what they did was that they just got together with, like, greeting groups and church groups, or just their neighbors, and they all said, hey, at 1 o’clock at the same time that the rally’s happening in Minneapolis, we’re gonna meet in our corner, in our nearest, closest corner, or at our favorite park, and we’re just gonna stand there and have coffee together, and we’re gonna bring our signs and our kids, and we’re just gonna have a conversation about why it’s so important to show up in solidarity.
Some people knitted that day, you know what I’m saying? And then they donated their scarves to folks that are showing up, yeah, so just… I just really encourage people, think outside of the box, and think about ways that you could really be part of this moment.
Jen Rubin
And there’s a website for May Day, I believe it’s, Mayday Strong, and they can also go to Common Cause opportunities. They’ll give you suggestions, you can come up with your own, and I think what this goes to, again, and it’s… Such a compliment to you, to the Minnesota community, that you have really plowed new ground. The entire country is now learning the lessons of local organizing and local mobilization.
So, kudos to you and all of your folks. We wish you all the best. Minnesota folks has not recovered. We now have documented evidence. They need help, they need support, and I absolutely encourage all of you wherever you are in the country, to turn out on May Day, to do something to show your solidarity with those people who have suffered as much as they have. So, thank you so much, Anastasia. We’ll be back, I’m sure, closer to May Day and in the aftermath. Thank you once again for your time and for all you’re doing.
Annastacia Belladonna-Carrera: Thank you, Jen. I just wanted to end with one note. I always end with a call to action. Y’all know me, right?
Jen Rubin
Yes!
Annastacia Belladonna-Carrera
One of the things that I’d love for you all to do, all of you that are joining us with Jen, please, either on May Day, or before, or after, go to the Common Cause website and sign up to learn more about becoming an Election Protection Champion. Because that is one way that we could really work together to make sure that what we see rolling out now never happens again. I mean, people want action and change now, and that is one way that you could really help change.
Jen Rubin
We would echo that. Thank you again, Anastasia. It was great seeing you again. Take care.
