Minneapolis businesses and residents continued their resistance to the massive federal immigration enforcement operation Tuesday, with community members chasing ICE agents from restaurants and protesters maintaining overnight vigils outside hotels where agents are believed to be staying.
Wrecktangle Pizza in Minneapolis’ LynLake neighborhood became a focal point of resistance Monday when employees and community members chased off federal agents who tried to enter the restaurant. Surveillance video shows several men exiting an SUV before the crowd drove them away. Video appears to show agents deploying chemical agents before being forced to leave, with the crowd kicking the chemicals back at them.
The restaurant launched a “buy a pizza give a pizza to a family in need” campaign in response to increased ICE presence, raising $83,000 in donations and distributing 600 pizzas, non-perishables and toiletries to vulnerable families. Co-owner Breana Evans said nearly every local restaurant has been negatively impacted by ICE presence.
“We have staff, coworkers who are directly affected and scared to come to work,” Evans said. “It’s not fair for our friends to be scared to provide for their families.”
Protesters maintained an overnight demonstration Tuesday outside the Graduate by Hilton hotel near the University of Minnesota campus, where immigration agents are believed to be staying. The crowd grew to nearly 1,000 people, with law enforcement officers inside the hotel seen putting on helmets as tensions rose.
Earlier protests outside downtown Minneapolis hotels featured demonstrators banging pots and pans, playing musical instruments and shining lights on windows to prevent agents from sleeping. On Friday night, about 1,000 protesters gathered outside the Canopy by Hilton, with police eventually declaring an unlawful assembly and making at least 29 arrests after some property damage was reported.
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Federal agents have repeatedly deployed chemical weapons against protesters and community members. On Monday, residents protesting in the Twin Cities reported agents firing tear gas, pepper spray and other chemical agents. In one incident captured on video, an immigration officer rolled down his window and sprayed a protester point-blank in the face with a chemical agent.
At multiple locations around East 34th Street and Park Avenue in Minneapolis’ Powderhorn neighborhood Tuesday morning, federal immigration agents detained three people and deployed chemical agents at observers. At least two of those arrested were observers and not targets of enforcement operations, according to reports.
Agents fired pepper balls at observers’ feet and threw canisters of tear gas before leaving the scene. Eyewitness Moses Wolf said there was no singular precipitating event leading to the deployment of tear gas. “It appeared to be a tactic by ICE agents to exit the scene,” Wolf said.
Dozens of businesses across the Twin Cities have closed or reduced hours due to safety concerns. Restaurants including Vive Tropico, El Sazon, Casa Deli, and Boca Chica have closed until further notice. Minneapolis Public Schools canceled classes districtwide for two days last week “out of an abundance of caution.”
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Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Sunday she plans to send more agents to Minnesota this week. ICE has posted on social media about arrests of people accused of sex crimes who they allege are in the country illegally.
Minnesota officials sued the federal government Monday to stop the deployment of thousands of immigration agents to the state. The lawsuit alleges a range of constitutional violations.
As many as 2,000 federal agents are currently present in Minnesota, with an additional 1,000 set to be deployed, according to reports.
