Weekend Reformer: Researching Operation Metro Surge

Good morning, Reformers. 

This week I joined dozens of researchers at the University of Minnesota for a convening on the impact of the Department of Homeland Security’s actions in Minnesota. 

The meeting brought together academics, attorneys, activists and journalists to share updates on research into Operation Metro Surge. Members of the Minnesota Truth Council, convened by Gov. Tim Walz to document what happened during the surge of thousands of immigration agents to the state, were in attendance. 

I presented some of the findings from my ongoing analysis of habeas corpus petitions, or wrongful detention lawsuits. I found at least 273 immigrants who were detained despite holding a valid work permit, and at least 75 people arrested by immigration authorities despite having been granted deportation protections offered to crime victims.

More on the detained crime victims and work permit holders here. 

A couple of takeaways: 

Mutual aid groups distributed more than $21 million in rental assistance to immigrant families in need during and after Operation Metro Surge, according to Yusra Murad, a Ph.D candidate at the U who worked with Keep Minnesota Housed to raise and distribute money during the operation. (Like many other researchers at the convening, Murad emphasized that the number is a conservative estimate.) 

A group of criminologists and sociologists led by Hamline University’s Ryan Larson used data from iceout.org — crowdsourced reports of immigration agents’ activities — to map immigration enforcement in the Twin Cities throughout the operation, then compared it to demographic information to determine what factors predicted immigration enforcement activities. The researchers found that immigration agents’ activity was not correlated with the percentage of foreign-born or noncitizens in an area — but the frequency of ICE activity did increase based on the share of non-White and Hispanic people living in a neighborhood. 

The researchers interpreted this to mean that the operation wasn’t about immigration enforcement, but instead about “racialized social control” — a sociological term referring to the use of law enforcement as a tool to reinforce racial hierarchies. 

I couldn’t attend every session, but North Star Policy Action, which hosted the gathering, plans to release a synthesis from the convening soon. 

Michelle Griffith profiled Ben Golnik, an advisor to GOP gubernatorial candidate Lisa Demuth. He was the Capitol’s most prominent Republican operative for a five-year stretch about a decade ago until he decamped for lobbying, including for Big Pharma and the nicotine industry.

And, a super PAC backing Demuth’s campaign for Minnesota governor received a $10 million cash infusion in recent weeks, cutting into Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s longtime financial advantage in the race.

Human rights organization Amnesty International called for the abolition of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in a new report alleging human rights abuses in the Trump administration’s immigration operations. (Disclosure: Amnesty International interviewed me as part of their research for the report.)

The union representing about 150 Allina hospital doctors announced a tentative agreement on a first labor contract covering wages and benefits following a four-day strike last week, believed to be the first by private-sector hospital doctors in U.S. history, Max Nesterak reports. 

Reformer fall intern Maya Betti earned her first byline covering former Gov. Mark Dayton’s book tour stop in Northfield, where he weighed in on the difficult choices that the next governor will confront.  

Brian Martucci wrote about a recent forum on artificial intelligence featuring Attorney General Keith Ellison, which underscored the low-boil anxiety of Minnesotans about this unsettling technological change — and myriad policy questions emerging from it.

The Reformer’s Tom Emmer correspondent, Chad Maschke, checks in on the majority whip, who recently dismissed a proposed Senate investigation of Donald Trump, Jr. after ProPublica reported his wedding was paid for by a Russian oligarch. 

A mathematics instructor at Minneapolis College who teaches courses at correctional facilities argues that prisons should be constructive: “Strong communities are built when people are given opportunities to participate, contribute and accept responsibility for one another,” Kurt Grunzke writes.

Sue Abderholden, former executive director of NAMI Minnesota, urges parents to watch for signs of depression and anxiety in their children, and evaluates the state of mental healthcare in schools. 

Housing justice advocates Forrester Pack and Lucid Thomas argue that Minneapolis needs a stronger fee on property owners who allow rental units to be vacant for months while the city faces a housing shortage.

Larry Baker, a retired research professor from the University of Minnesota's Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering,  urges Minnesotans to pay attention to the wildfire smoke and heat they have experienced in recent years, ask themselves what’s causing it and act accordingly.   

That’s all from me. Have a great weekend!

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