Somali Minnesotans develop rights toolkit as federal immigration raids escalate

Monday December 15, 2025

Federal agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including Homeland Security Investigations officers, stand outside a restaurant during an enforcement operation in Minneapolis, Minnesota. CREDIT: Councilmember Jason Chavez

As ICE raids intensify in Minnesota, Somali families in Minneapolis’ Cedar-Riverside, along Lake Street and in Rochester are quietly drawing up “know your rights” plans—teaching children not to open doors to strangers, memorizing key phone numbers and gathering documents in case a parent is detained.

Since the Dec. 1 launch of “Operation Metro Surge,” U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says it has arrested more than 400 people in the Twin Cities and other cities, focusing on what it calls “criminal illegal aliens.” Somali and Latino community groups say the sweep has spread fear far beyond that target and has even ensnared U.S. citizens.

In the operation’s most visible flashpoint, masked federal agents tackled 20-year-old Somali American citizen Mubashir in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, put him in a chokehold and detained him for about two hours as he shouted that he is a citizen and tried to show a copy of his passport on his phone. He was released without charge. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Police Chief Brian O’Hara condemned the arrest as unconstitutional, while the Department of Homeland Security defended agents, saying they had “reasonable suspicion” and denying racial profiling.

Against that backdrop, neighbors are turning living rooms, workplaces and sidewalks into places of preparation. Below is a practical guide compiled from rights advocates and local legal aid organizations. It is a general guide, not legal advice. Anyone facing arrest, detention or deportation should consult a qualified immigration lawyer or legal aid group in Minnesota.

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Raids and rhetoric heighten fear

Somalis are Minnesota’s largest African diaspora community, concentrated in Minneapolis’ Cedar-Riverside and along Lake Street, as well as in parts of St. Paul and Rochester. Most are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents.

In recent weeks, Somali- and Latino-owned businesses at Karmel Mall, Plaza Mexico and along Lake Street have reported sharp drops in foot traffic. Students at the University of Minnesota and Augsburg now carry passports or IDs to class and track each other’s locations by phone. Protesters have gathered outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building at Fort Snelling, unions have condemned deportation flights out of MSP, and Gov. Tim Walz has asked DHS to review arrests of U.S. citizens, warning that “unlawful practices” will not be tolerated in the state.

The enforcement surge has coincided with an escalation in President Donald Trump’s language about Somalis. In recent weeks he has called Somalis “garbage,” described Somalia as “filthy, dirty, disgusting, ridden with crime” and vowed to “permanently pause” migration from “Third World” and “hellhole” countries. Community leaders say the rhetoric deepens the sense that Somali Minnesotans are being treated as suspect even when they hold U.S. passports.

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At home: what to do when agents knock

Under U.S. law, including in Minnesota, immigration officers generally cannot enter a private home without either consent from an adult resident or a warrant signed by a judge. Rights advocates say many families are never told how those protections work at the door.

Do not open the door

• Do not open the door, even partway. Opening it can be treated as consent to enter.
• Speak through the door or a window.
• Ask officers to identify themselves and state which agency they represent.
• Ask for their names and badge numbers and write them down or record them if it is safe.

Ask to see any warrant without opening the door

If officers say they have a warrant, ask them to slide it under the door or hold it up to a window.

• A valid judicial warrant should be signed by a judge, list your full name and correct address, and specify what places can be searched or who can be arrested.
• ICE also uses “administrative warrants” signed by its own officials. Those documents do not give agents the power to force their way into a private home in Minnesota.

If the paper is not signed by a judge, or the name and address do not match your home, you can say: “I do not consent to a search. Please leave.”

Use your right to remain silent

• You do not have to answer questions about your immigration status, where you were born or how you entered the United States.
• If questioned, repeat: “I am using my right to remain silent and I want to speak to a lawyer.”
• Advocates recommend printing that sentence in English and Somali and keeping it near the door.

Do not sign documents on the spot

• Officers may show forms that waive your right to see a judge or ask you to agree to “voluntary” departure.
• Do not sign anything you do not fully understand. Say: “I will not sign anything until I have spoken to a lawyer.”

Document what happens and call for help

• If it is safe, record video or audio, take photos of badges, vehicles and license plates, and note the date, time and what is said and done.
• In Minnesota, call community rapid-response lines if ICE is at a home, workplace or in the neighborhood:

• Unidos MN know-your-rights line: (651) 372-8642
• Rapid-response line: (612) 441-2881

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At work: limits on what ICE can do

Federal agents have targeted workplaces in earlier operations, and advocates expect more job-site visits under Operation Metro Surge.

• ICE can usually enter public areas such as customer dining rooms, shop floors open to the public, lobbies and parking lots.
• ICE cannot enter employee-only spaces without either a warrant signed by a judge or permission from the employer.

Workers and employers can reduce risk by planning ahead:

• Mark staff-only zones clearly with signs such as “Employees only.”
• Decide in advance who is authorized to speak with officers.
• Train staff on how to respond if agents arrive.

If ICE comes to your workplace:

• Do not run; running can be cited as a reason to chase or arrest you.
• Your employer cannot force you to line up so ICE can question you.
• You have the right to remain silent about immigration status, nationality and travel history.
• Do not sign documents from ICE until you have consulted a lawyer.

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On the street or in public: being stopped or detained

Operation Metro Surge has led to encounters on sidewalks, in restaurants and as people observed federal operations. Three basic steps apply.

Ask if you are free to go

• If officers stop you, ask: “Am I under arrest, or am I free to go?”
• If they say you are free to go, walk away slowly and calmly. If detained or arrested, you have the right to know the reason.

Repeat your right to remain silent

• Say: “I am using my right to remain silent and I want to speak to a lawyer.”
• Do not answer questions about country of birth, immigration history or criminal record until you have legal advice.

Ask for a lawyer

• You have the right to talk to a lawyer before questioning.
• If detained, do not sign any documents until you have spoken with a lawyer.
• Ask to call a family member or trusted person who can contact a lawyer, legal aid group or community hotline, and memorize at least one key phone number.

Organizations in Minnesota that provide immigration help include the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid, Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services and the Minnesota Freedom Fund, which in some cases helps post immigration bond. Private immigration attorneys can also be found through the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

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Planning ahead: children, documents and remittances

For many Somali families in Minneapolis, St. Paul and Rochester, a sudden detention disrupts care for children at home and remittances to relatives abroad. Planning can reduce harm.

Choose a backup caregiver

• Decide who will care for your children if you are detained, and talk with that person so they understand your wishes.
• Write a simple letter naming them as a temporary caregiver and keep it with your important papers.
• Where possible, ask a lawyer about formal guardianship options under Minnesota law.
• Make sure schools and child care providers have current contacts and know who may pick up your children.

Gather vital records

• Keep copies of passports, birth certificates and immigration papers; marriage certificates and custody orders; school records and special education plans; medical records and prescriptions; leases, utility bills and basic bank information.
• Store them in a waterproof folder at home; if possible, give copies to a trusted relative or friend.

Prepare a small emergency bag

• Include copies of key documents, essential medicines, a change of clothes, basic hygiene items, some cash and a written list of important phone numbers.
• Tell a trusted person where the bag is kept.

Talk with your children

• Explain that they should not open the door if adults are not home.
• Help them memorize the phone number of a trusted adult.
• Tell them that if they come home and you are not there, they should call that adult or go to a trusted neighbor.

Mosques, youth groups and community centers can help parents have these conversations in Somali and English.

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Larger fight over who the law protects

DHS describes Operation Metro Surge as a focused effort to arrest people with serious criminal convictions or deportation orders. Still, the detention of citizens such as Mubashir and the arrest of people observing ICE operations have raised questions in Minnesota about how federal rules are applied on the ground.

Business owners along Lake Street and at Somali malls say that whether or not they have papers, people are afraid to be seen in public. Students say they feel pressure to constantly prove they belong, even when they were born in Minnesota. Unions, faith leaders and local officials have responded with protests, public letters and proposals to strengthen city rules limiting cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

For families in Cedar-Riverside, Karmel Mall, Rochester and beyond, the question is immediate: what happens the next time there is a knock at the door, and will they be ready? Rights groups say that while no checklist can stop an operation, learning and using basic protections—the right to refuse entry without a judge’s warrant, the right to remain silent and the right to a lawyer—can turn fear into a plan and make it harder for any government to ignore the law it claims to uphold.

By Ali Musa

Axadle Times international–Monitoring.