What can I do?

/0 Comments/in /by

All very best wishes for the ending of 2025 and 2026.  We need to be personally involved in this.

Some ideas follow.  More on photo at end of post;

late August 2008, St. Paul, Mn on the Mississippi River.

Getting in action:

Thursday morning a group of about 25 of us listened to an immigration lawyer talk about the current legal situation in our area and the country.  There was little new information, but at the same time, it was very good to hear someone who is close to the day-to-day issues; and to hear the information as part of a larger group – in our case, concerned senior citizens.

My friend, Carol, had planned to attend but there was some conflict that changed plans.  She asked me to deliver a message to the lawyer, and I share that here with permission.  (NOTE: I had previously shared part of the below and changed or deleted some names.)

“We have friends from Peru.  One of them was once in my ESL class, and became like family.  Then his cousin, Sebastian, followed him here, and we are now friends with him also.  They both graduated from college here, obtained work permits and jobs, and are working toward permanent legal residency.

Yesterday Sebastian called, really distraught.  He said Immigration thugs had pulled a good friend of his over on the road (a man from Venezuela with no criminal record).  The friend has a valid work permit, came here by legal means and requested asylum – his case is pending.  The thugs in their vehicles passed him on the road, saw that he looked Hispanic, then pulled him over and pointed guns at him.  The friend was driving his own car but was delivering packages for Amazon at the time.  They plopped him into some facility in Elk River, where he was able to make a call.  He doesn’t even know what happened to his car.  He said someone just drove it off (along with maybe a dozen undelivered Amazon packages…)

Hearing the distress in Sebastian’s voice and realizing the terror of his friend is very disturbing.  As is his shock that this can actually happen in America.  I’m so ashamed and angry.

Sebastian and other friends of the Venezuelan man were trying to raise money for an attorney to represent him.  They said it wasn’t until they contacted an attorney that they even knew he has a court date on Monday; no one notified the man himself.

*******
update from Tuesday:
Sebastian (the cousin) said that the court date scheduled for Monday was pushed to today (Tuesday), then cancelled.  Through some means, they have learned that the man arrested has been transferred to Texas (I don’t know where) and no one has heard from him since.  He has had NO court appearances.  The cousin again said that his friend has absolutely NO criminal history.

update from today (Wednesday):
 
I just got another message from Sebastian.  He says “finally my friend just contacted us today. He is in Texas, he said that they didn’t give him any food.  He was handcuffed and foot cuffed for more than 24 hours.  There is a UofM professor too over there [presumably also in Texas?? altho’ I don’t see any news reports of a professor from the U being arrested] and he started a protest because they didn’t have the right to make a call since Sunday.  They are torturing them…. they said that they been transported to Texas because the jails from Minnesota are full already and need more space.”
 
*******
This man’s friends looked for an attorney for him when he was first arrested, and came up with a guy in Texas who was supposed to appear remotely when the Venezuelan appeared here in court (which didn’t happen).  He was charging them $3,000 to do that.  Sebastian surely doesn’t have a lot of money – and I’m sure none of his friends do.  Is there someone they could go to for help – either here in MN or in TX??  Their friend deserves his day in court…”

After I returned from the meeting I had another note from her which is pertinent:

 

I just watched the press conference of Minneapolis Mayor Frey and the young Somali man who ICE picked up, even though he kept telling them he’s a citizen.  Frey was impressive – as was the Somali.  They grabbed him when he came out of a building for his lunch break.  He said the restaurant he was heading for was 5 steps away.  They had NO ID, knocked him down in the snow, put him in a chokehold.  Then they hauled him off to ICE headquarters by Fort Snelling, where they fingerprinted him.  Someone finally looked at his passport, then they turned him loose and told him to walk home (to South Mineapolis…)  Mayor Frey was visibly angry.  A class action lawsuit was mentioned.
So I just sent Sebastian’s story to the mayor’s office also.  His friend is a Minneapolis resident.
Mayor Frey addressed any of us who are citizens, asking “Is this OK with you??  If this can happen to this young man, it could happen to you.”

WHAT CAN I DO?  Carol got into action (which she typically does, anyway).  Her action counts for a lot.  Every action makes a big difference.

Back in July I wrote. letter of concern about ICE training in my community.  The letter and photos is here: Woodbury ICE at HERO Center.  It was just a letter, and the city couldn’t accommodate my personal request.  On the other hand, It got immediate attention from the chief of police who met in person with me, not to dismiss, but to dialogue.

THE PHOTOGRAPH:  In August of 2008, the Republican Party had its national convention in St. Paul.  A group of peacemakers (I was among them) organized a Peace Island Conference, and another Peace event took place across the river from downtown St. Paul and Convention Headquarters.   The gatherings were totally peaceful.  But there very existence was viewed as a threat, to the extent that Coast Guard was deployed to protect the river (the photograph), and before the island event, a parade of ominous looking vehicles  drove slowly by.  Nothing happened.  There were other peaceful events involving lots of people.  The emphasis was peace.  There was no need for the authorities, such as they were, to go to war.  All of these were actions.  Actions make a difference.
As bad as 2025 has been, I have a feeling that 2026 will probably be worse in unknown ways.  One of the things to prepare for beginning now is the possibility of tampering with the 2026 elections.  People must be mobilized to be properly registered to vote long before the election, and especially those who didn’t vote at all last time, or voted for candidates who had no chance whatever for success, have to be encouraged to cast their informed ballot.
Absent a great turnout of informed voters, the future of our democracy is at great risk.

POSTNOTE: Heather. Cox Richardson on Alabama, Dec. 12, 2025.