The Public Life of a Public Librarian

ICE

Minnesota attorney general’s evidence portal draws nearly 1,500 submissions in first month
The portal launched Jan. 15 to gather evidence that could be used to hold federal immigration agents accountable for constitutional violations during Operation Metro Surge.
by Cleo Krejci
https://www.minnpost.com/state-government/2026/02/minnesota-attorney-generals-evidence-portal-draws-nearly-1500-submissions-in-first-month/

What’s it like to be trapped inside, hiding from ICE? “MPR News collected stories from several people under those circumstances across the state. They recorded voice memos or spoke to a reporter over three days between Jan. 24 and Feb. 4, sharing what their day was like.” As one person put it, “The most difficult part of this whole situation; it’s feeling like we’re nothing. It’s feeling like we’re unwanted.” Via MinnPost
https://www.minnpost.com/glean/2026/02/minnesota-prosecutors-worry-they-could-lack-the-staff-to-charge-serious-offenders/

Two polls conducted by NBC News Decision Desk are showing how immigration operations in Minnesota have led to a more polarized population. “After federal officers killed two U.S. citizens last month, self-identified Republicans in the state expressed stronger support for Trump’s immigration agenda than Republicans nationwide, while Minnesota Democrats and independents pulled more strongly the other way than their national counterparts.” Via MinnPost
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/poll-immigration-operations-minnesota-leave-polarized-populace-rcna258341 ( Read more... )

ICE

Why an ICE plan to turn warehouses in Shakopee and Woodbury into detention centers has failed in Minnesota — and other states
The $38 billion initiative faces hurdles as communities and local politicians oppose it on humanitarian and logistical grounds.
by Ana Radelat
https://www.minnpost.com/national/washington/2026/02/why-an-ice-plan-to-turn-warehouses-in-shakopee-and-woodbury-into-detention-centers-has-failed-in-minnesota-and-other-states/

There’s “no mystery” in how Renee Good and Alex Pretti died, according to Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty. At a Wednesday news conference she added that “a trove of investigative materials remains available to state law enforcement,” and “prosecutors are in ‘good shape’ as they consider what would be an unprecedented decision to file state charges against federal agents without the help of the federal government,” the Minnesota Star Tribune reports.
https://www.minnpost.com/glean/2026/02/fbi-formally-refuses-to-share-evidence-in-alex-pretti-shooting-with-minnesota-bca/

Minneapolis police are investigating after the memorial for Renee Good was doused in gasoline and set ablaze around 9 p.m. Tuesday evening, the Minnesota Star Tribune reports. “A fence was charred, and several items in the memorial were damaged, but the memorial site at 34th Street and Portland Avenue wasn’t burned down. No one was injured, Minneapolis police said.”
https://www.startribune.com/renee-good-memorial-site-doused-in-gasoline/601584109

White House grants ICE power to detain refugees for aggressive ‘rescreening’
A new DHS memo details plan to allow federal immigration officers to detain legal refugees in the US indefinitely
Richard Luscombe
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/19/trump-administration-memo-ice-dhs-refugees-screening ( Read more... )