The Council on LGBTQIA2S+ Minnesotans works for the implementation of economic, social, legal, and political equality for Minnesota’s community of people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, gender expansive, queer, intersex, asexual, and/or two-spirit.
The Council on LGBTQIA2S+ Minnesotans Calls to End ICE Occupation and Stabilize Communities
Dear community,
January has been an unbearably heavy month for Minnesota. Federal agents with ICE and CBP have been occupying our state and unleashing violence on its residents, particularly Minnesota’s rich and diverse community of immigrants and refugees. The racial profiling by ICE has harmed Black, Brown, Latine, Hmong, Somali, Southeast Asian, and Indigenous neighbors as people try to go to work, bring their kids to school, or pick up groceries. Many are staying home, sacrificing income for safety. Thousands have lost their jobs, shuttered businesses, or face eviction. Children have been kidnapped, abandoned, detained, gassed, and used as bait—atrocities that violate our most basic obligations to protect children.
We are especially disturbed by reports that Native people have been targeted and detained, illuminating racial biases and making it impossible to justify the ICE occupation as legitimate immigration enforcement. Our Council also grieves and honors the lives taken by acts of ICE violence and occupation and are heartbroken for families left behind. In January alone, Minnesota lost three residents: Victor Manuel Díaz, who died in custody after being detained by ICE in Coon Rapids, and Renee Good and Alex Pretti, shot at point-blank range by ICE agents while legally observing. And these are just the people killed in Minnesota this year. Across the U.S., more people have been killed by ICE or in detention in 2026.
Even amid this violence, Minnesota communities are rising to care for one another. People are safeguarding children, keeping food shelves stocked, funding rent and business relief, and providing fast legal support to observers, protestors, and detainees. Attorney General Keith Ellison is defending constitutional rights and seeking justice for Renee Good and Alex Pretti, and Governor Tim Walz continues to uphold Minnesota’s commitment to immigrants, refugees, and the ability of everyone to live, work, and play without fear.
Advancing LGBTQIA2S+ equity in Minnesota requires community stability, safety, and access to opportunity, conditions that ICE presence and enforcement actively undermine. LGBTQIA2S+ immigrants, refugees, and people of color are disproportionately impacted by family separation, housing instability, lost income, and disrupted access to healthcare. These impacts deepen existing racial inequities across the state.
Because of our commitment to equity and our mandate to represent Minnesota’s LGBTQIA2S+ community, the Council continues to call on leaders to end the ICE occupation and to invest in stabilizing communities through measures such as eviction protections, emergency housing support, wage replacement, and direct economic relief for impacted workers, families, and small businesses. The Council also seeks accountability and justice for individuals and families who have been harmed or killed by ICE, CBP, or as a result of immigration enforcement tactics and detention.
We need your help elevating these calls – We are asking you to take urgent action today by emailing Governor Walz and calling on him to:
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Act immediately – rent is due next week for many Minnesotans, and delays will cause real harm
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Enact and fund an eviction moratorium to prevent displacement
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Provide emergency housing support for renters and families at risk
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Ensure wage replacement for workers facing lost income
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Deliver direct economic relief to impacted workers, families, and small businesses
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And if you have a personal story, share it to show real impact
You can also copy and paste the following email:
The federal operations in Minnesota have resulted in heightened fear, violence, displacement, and disruptions to work and income. I urge you to immediately invest in stabilizing communities through an eviction moratorium, emergency housing support, wage replacement, and direct economic relief for impacted workers, families, and small businesses.
Rent is due next week for many Minnesotans. Delaying action will cause real and preventable harm. Please act now.
We know this news is heavy, and the ongoing violence and disruption is traumatizing and retraumatizing. It’s okay to take space to care for yourself, to step back when you need to (and can), and to seek support from friends, family, or trusted organizations. We also know that here in Minnesota, especially in queer and trans communities, we take care of each other. Continue to check on neighbors, share resources, support mutual aid efforts, and show up for one another. Together, we will resist and persist, using the full suite of tools available—from frontline community support to legal advocacy—to protect our communities, demand justice, and defend the rights and dignity of all people, regardless of immigration status.
Get Involved
Thank you to the many community organizations that are creating and sharing resources to assist folks. Here is a list compiled from several partner orgs:
Stand With Minnesota has an extensive directory of places to donate from all across the state, put together by Minneapolis residents. There are rent relief funds, mutual aid networks, food donation funds from the metro and Greater Minnesota, and many more. There are also links to orgs providing mental health support, resources for survivors of domestic violence, and legal services.
Outfront MN is offering Street Medic 101 Virtual Training on Saturday, Jan. 31st from 11am - 1pm. This is a virtual event, which is part of an ongoing training series to support each other in feeling empowered to take action and learn how to organize safely, sustainably, and effectively. More information and registration here.
Hennepin County Crisis Mobile Response: Cope responds 24/7 to anyone in Hennepin County who needs an urgent response—individuals of any age, families or communities. Cope has bi-lingual and bi-cultural staff available for face-to-face, phone, and video visits and uses interpreters when needed. Call 612-596-1223 or visit https://www.hennepin.us/cope.
Virtual Resource Center from the City of Minneapolis for community members to find partner resources for food, housing, domestic violence resources, and mental health support. Download a resource flyer to post or share with your networks.
Reporting ICE:
This confidential form from Gender Justice allows people to submit reports of gender-based violence from federal immigration officials. These reports are being collected for the purpose of evaluating unlawful conduct by government officials which includes targeting people based on their sex, sexual orientation, and/or gender identity and committing acts of gender-based or sexual violence and harassment. The form is also available in Spanish. Read more and submit a report here.
This Federal Action Reporting Form from MN Attorney General Keith Ellison is to help assess and address the impacts of federal actions on Minnesotans. The form is to report: violations of constitutional rights (racial profiling, excessive force, retaliation against protestors, observers, and media), business closures, reduced healthcare access, reduced education access, other issues impacting public safety and civil liberties, federal funding cuts, federal grant terminations, terms and conditions tied to federal program participation, and other administrative actions by Federal agencies. The information you provide may be used by the AGO to support its current lawsuit challenging the DHS surge, as well as future actions to enforce the law. This form is also available in Spanish, Hmong, and Somali. Read more and submit a report here.
Additional resources:
MN Attorney General - Know Your Rights With ICE (PDF)
Immigrant Defense Project - Home Raid Booklet (PDF)
ACLU - Know Your Rights
Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota
Immigrant Defense Network
Federal Activity Hotline
MNQT 2025 Annual Report
The 2025 Annual Report from the Council on LGBTQIA2S+ Minnesotans is now available to view on our website. We look forward to sharing the work accomplished in the past year as well as a high-level, preliminary demographic snapshot of the data gathered from our Community Needs Survey. We want to express our deep gratitude to the organizations and individuals who partnered with us to promote the survey; your contributions helped make this the largest state-run LGBTQIA2S+ needs assessment in history. Read the report now.
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The Minnesota legislative session is set to begin on February 17, 2026. This marks a policy year when lawmakers will focus primarily on shaping policy rather than the two-year state budget. Additionally, the Legislature will welcome two new members of the House of Representatives following the January 27 Special Elections: Representative-Elect Shelley Buck of 47A and Representative-Elect Meg Luger-Nikolai of 64A. The special elections did not change the balance of the House from last session, which will continue to be a 67-67 tie.
Also of note: A new weapons screening at the Minnesota Capitol will be in place by the start of legislative session as a result of an executive order issued by Governor Tim Walz. His decision follows recommendations from a legislative advisory committee on Capitol security, which endorsed implementing screening measures earlier in January.
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