As a Minnesotan, Anti-ICE Syracuse Rallies Are Uplifting
January 31, 2026, unpublished letter to the Syracuse Post-Standard
January 12 Clinton Square Vigil
I grew up in a Minnesota suburb about an hour’s drive from Minneapolis-St. Paul. The Twin Cities were a regular stop for my family to go to Twins games, Timberwolves games, and, of course, to stroll the Mall of America.
I’m a recent transplant to Syracuse by way of Binghamton, where I attended graduate school. Although I left Minnesota in 2012 at the age of 24, I have maintained close ties with family and friends.
Their stories about ICE are harrowing. My friend in Minneapolis has been attending protests and lives five miles from where Alex Pretti was murdered, near our well-trodden Cheapo Records. “The shooting this morning is creating a lot of chaos very close to us,” he told me. “It’s just so disheartening.”
About 65 miles northwest, my sister described driving in St. Cloud and seeing ICE; they were in unmarked vehicles, masks and all. My brother-in-law flipped them off for good measure. A friend who works at a hair salon in the suburb I grew up in was approached by ICE. The agent said that “he’s one of the good guys,” before asking if there were any “illegals working at the business.”
A family member was driven off the road by ICE and a friend was detained for eight hours when attending a rally in Minneapolis.
As ICE continues to crack down, being at Syracuse protests has been inspiring. At the National Day of Action on January 30 at Clinton Square, we chanted, “Minnesota makes us proud, general strike shut it down.” One sign read, “I stand with Minnesota.”
The next morning, I saw more Minnesota love in the Post with photos of protestors holding signs that read “Minneapolis” in a heart and “Syracuse Stands with Minneapolis.”
Of course, ICE has made their presence known in Syracuse as agents have taken hospital workers and church parishioners. Some speculate Minneapolis is a testing ground for Trump’s deepening authoritarianism.
True solidarity crosses state and territorial lines; indeed, a speaker for the Onondaga Nation powerfully opened the rally.
As a new resident, I am proud to melt ICE in Salt City, doncha know?
