👀 Who watches ICE?

The people watching and following ICE

Minnesota Reformer’s Madison McVan joins today’s show to talk about riding along with ICE observers, who spend their time tracking and alerting neighbors of ICE officers. Observers have told McVan that the more time officers spend trying to shake off observers, the less time they spend abducting people. [Minnesota Reformer / 🎧 City Cast Twin Cities]

• Eyes on the street: McVan reports these networks of ICE observers, also called “commuters,” are highly organized yet decentralized. “ I think there was a narrative that this is an extremely top-down organization … and what I've seen is, in reality, it's just a bunch of isolated group chats in different neighborhoods,” McVan said. “And I wanted to show that in the story.”
• Targeting followers: ICE agents would often pull over and warn observers to stop following them. McVan writes that agents even banged on the door of an observer’s house while she was on patrol. Her wife said to her, “I was very fearful – not for me, but for what could have happened to you.”
• Personal risk: Observers operate at great risk to their own safety. McVan rode along with an observer named Patty O’Keefe, who was later detained and brought to the Whipple Federal Building despite being a U.S. citizen.

Another loss: Victor Manuel Diaz, a Nicaraguan man detained by ICE in Minneapolis earlier this month, died in a Texas federal tent facility Jan. 14. ICE claims the man died by suicide, but his death is under investigation. The ACLU has urged the federal government to shut down the facility, citing reports of "significant abuse” against detainees by officers. [MPR]

“Dual roles”: Social justice activists disrupted Sunday service at Cities Church in St. Paul, after discovering a pastor there is also the acting director of ICE’s field office in St. Paul. David Easterwood, the pastor, was not at service that day. The Department of Justice says it’s investigating the protest for possible criminal violations. [Star Tribune]

Delicious return: After a decade, the groundbreaking Middle Eastern restaurant Saffron is making a comeback. Chef Sameh Wadi has purchased the former Young Joni space in northeast Minneapolis. His iconic fried turmeric cauliflower won’t be on the menu since there’s no fryer, but we can’t wait to see what else Chef Wadi cooks up. [MSP Mag]

Moms on the move: “Mamas of Cedar” is a group of women in Cedar-Riverside who patrol their neighborhood for ICE and help educate neighbors about their rights. “Our mothers are for neighbors … they feel for us,” one person told writer Binta Kanteh. [Sahan Journal]

Grieving school: Renee Good sent her son to a small Minneapolis charter school. That school is now under attack by right-wing commentators seizing on its social justice focus, and has switched to online learning. Sahan Journal reports that Good was a board member. [Sahan Journal]

Give blood: Memorial Blood Centers is urging residents to donate, as blood donations have hit a seasonal shortage. MBC’s vice president of blood operations is worried ICE activity might hamper turnout to blood drives. [Star Tribune]

Tuesday, Jan 20

• 🐦 Winter Birding Walk | The Trailhead at Theodore Wirth
• ⛸️ Winter Warm-Up: Inline Skating and Indoor Running | U.S. Bank Stadium
• 🎸 Iodine with Flicker & Velvet Ghoul | Amsterdam
• 🎶 From Scratch: KG4 🆓 | Indeed Brewing Co
• 📚 Sam Tschida launches Gabby Greene Knows Whodunit 🆓 | Magers & Quinn
• 🐶 Go, Dog. Go! • Ve Perro ¡Ve! A Bilingual Musical | Children's Theatre Company
• 🎺 Paris Nights | Dakota

Wednesday, Jan 21

• 🌿 Music Under Glass Featuring Switchgrass | Como Conservatory
• 👖 GMD Talk: The History of Denim 🆓 | 33 McNeal Hall, 1985 Buford Avenue, St. Paul
• 🧠 Almanac After Hours: Trivia Night with Eric Eskola and Cathy Wurzer 🆓 | 56 Brewing
• 🎤 Kelz Musik Presents: R&B Live (All Black Affair) | Amsterdam
• 🧘 Breathwork + Sound Bath & Sauna 🆓 | Sauna Strong
• 📚 Andrea Leeb presents Such a Pretty Picture 🆓 | Magers & Quinn
• 🎻 Wanderers: An Evening of Klezmer with Psoy Korolenko & Polina Shepherd | The Museum of Russian Art

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• Assistant Attorney General at MN Attorney General's Office | $80k - $174k per year
• Economic Opportunity Program Manager at Springboard for the Arts | $60k per year
• Aquatic Invasive Species Specialist at MN Dept of Natural Resources | $61k - $89k per year
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