Friends,

ICE agents continue to terrorize, abduct, and kill our community members across the U.S. Last week, Dr. Linda Davis, an educator who was on her way to teach her students, was killed by ICE in Georgia. ICE, and not the immigrant man ICE chased erratically, need to be held accountable for Dr. Linda Davis’s murder.

The announcement that Operation Metro Surge has ended is a testament to the Minnesotan people's power to organize and resist fascism. But ICE is very much present in the Twin Cities and the rest of Minnesota. ICE could not take the heat in Minnesota's cold winters, so they have resorted to covert tactics by changing their appearance and hiding their license plates. According to the Hennepin County Attorney, Mary Moriarty, “We hear from community members that ICE continues to terrorize their neighbors. Their tactics may have changed, but the community feels no safer." And as Minnesota 50501 rightly reminds us, ICE continues to lie and cannot be trusted about having "ended" its operations in Minnesota. Just between February 15 and February 21, there were 7 deportation flights with 68 passengers on board.

Like their close friends in the Israeli Occupation Forces, ICE agents are used to lying and abusing their power. Since the announcement of a "ceasefire" by Trump, Israel has violated the ceasefire terms 1,807 times, killing at least 642 Palestinians, injuring 1,643, and only allowing 43% of aid to enter Gaza. Meanwhile, settlers continue to kill, torture, and incarcerate Palestinians in the West bank, as Trump and his ilk plan a military base and a resort in Gaza, while sowing the seeds for a war with Iran at the "Board of Peace." The U.S. has ordered its diplomats to leave Lebanon as Israel bombs and kills the Lebanese people.​

And as they terrorize the world, in their shameless genocidal comradery, Trump and Netanyahu gift each other with what does not belong to them! Trump presenting Netanyahu with a golden key to "this country" is an insult not only to the Indigenous peoples in the Turtle Island and Palestine, whose lands the Zionist and white supremacist settlers casually gift to each other, but to all immigrants in the U.S. who are terrorized and are being deported from their homes. Gifting a key, the symbol of Nakba and the Palestinian right of return, is a reminder that settler colonialism not only seeks to annihilate the Indigenous people with genocide, but it also seeks to destroy and own the Indigenous people's culture.

We cannot stay silent and allow our tax dollars and pensions to fund ICE, IOF, and wars waged in our name! Even as some Minnesotans who have been outraged with ICE's operations in Minnesota are silent about Palestine because they assume that Palestine, Iran, and Lebanon are foreign issues, the ICE violence right here in our backyard is deeply connected to the IOF's genocide in Palestine, not just through training, but also through surveillance technologies used to terrorize people in the U.S. and in Palestine.

ICE spends hundreds of millions of dollars in the Israeli company, Palantir. Palantir is a high-tech surveillance company providing the AI tools used by Israel to generate Palestinian targets. They also work with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to conduct workplace raids and deportations.​

​The state of Minnesota has invested $55 million in workers' pensions in Palantir! Call Walz and the SBI and demand that the MN State Board of Investment divest from Palantir. Join the protest tomorrow (Tuesday, February 25) to demand NO STATE MONEY FOR ICE AND IOF TERROR! (Flyer below)

​Call Walz: 615-201-3400 and SBI: 651-296-3328 and tell them to divest from Palantir!​

Script: "Hello my name is _______and I’m calling to demand that the SBI divest from Palantir. This company provides tools of mass surveillance to ICE as it attacks our communities in Minnesota. Palantir also enables war crimes in Palestine. Our tax money and public employee pension funds should not be invested in companies that violate our privacy and harm vulnerable people."

Palantir is not the only company that we need to divest from. Due to Operation Metro Surge, Minneapolis is now facing a huge debt. Frey spent all of our money on pepper spray, tear gas, and MPD overtime—because instead of protecting our residents from ICE, the MPD reinforced and supported their violent occupation. Last November, City Council voted unanimously on a budget that reflected NO MONEY for a Zencity contract. The next payment of $37,500 is due April 1st. Frey has until March 1st to CUT THE CONTRACT or explain where he will find the money to pay for a useless survey conducted by an Israeli surveillance company.

​Call Frey’s office today 612-673-2100 and tell him to cut the Zen City contract!​

Script: Hello my name is _______and I’m calling to demand the Mayor cut the contract with Zencity by March 1st. City Council removed the budget line item to pay for this contract back in November and we now face a budget crisis in the city due to MPD overspending. We demand not another dime goes to Israeli surveillance company Zencity and instead Frey listen to his constituents about how best to recover from all the harms that ICE and MPD have inflicted on this city.

Last, but not least, we want to share two brilliant articles recently published by our brilliant comrades/relatives:

This beautifully written piece by Sana Wazwaz highlights the connections between the ICE terror in Minnesota and the IOF terror in Palestine. It goes beyond numbers to relay the affective intensities that are often lost in statistics about ICE and IOF targets. Read "Letter From Minnesota: Lessons From Palestine on Surviving Occupation." ​

And read our EJP member, Dr. Muna Hada's article, "How Can We Care for Our neighbors?" published in Jewish Currents. This brilliant piece is a testament to the hard emotional labor and the crucial intervention that healthcare workers provide when ICE terrorizes our communities and abuses immigrants in detention.

Free Palestine! Abolish ICE!