LIVE: Minnesota activist rally at the US Capitol to cut ICE funding

Childcare centers forced into lockdowns

A Minnesota childcare director reported four ICE lockdowns this year after federal vehicles entered her center's parking lot, forcing teachers to protect children from potential abductions while families hid in homes.

Military tactics deployed in residential areas

Speakers described federal agents tear-gassing students, shooting residents in Minneapolis streets, and conducting operations at childcare centers following the January deployment of 3,000 ICE agents to Minnesota.

Targeted harassment of Somali communities

Activists accused the administration of scapegoating Black Somali women through a racist disinformation campaign that froze childcare funds and unleashed ICE to terrorize specific neighborhoods and providers.

ICE operations on sites of genocide

An Indigenous Protector Network leader identified the Whipple Building ICE operations center as historic Fort Snelling, a former Dakota concentration camp and site of genocide, forced removal, and imprisonment.

Rejection of border authority

Indigenous speakers asserted that "these borders crossed us," rejecting federal immigration authority on lands where native peoples migrated freely before colonial borders were imposed over indigenous territories.

Continuum of colonial violence

Rachel Dion Thunder framed current raids as the latest phase of 530 years of colonization, noting that ICE continues historical patterns of stealing children, surveilling communities, and destroying native sovereignty.

Zero funding mandate for ICE

Activists demanded "not one more dollar" for ICE and CBP, calling on Congress to use its power of the purse to completely defund and abolish the agencies rather than debate their funding levels.

Social services diverted to enforcement

Critics argued the administration robbed families of Medicaid and food stamps to fund immigration enforcement during an affordability crisis, stealing resources needed for survival to pay for what they termed a "terror campaign."

Community investment alternative

Protesters urged redirecting ICE billions toward childcare, education, housing, and mutual aid networks, emphasizing that community organizing and neighbor support have proven more effective at keeping families safe than militarized enforcement.