I bet there were two thousand people marching along Portland Avenue yesterday, passing by the Renee Good memorial—the woman shot and killed by ICE agents here in Minneapolis.
The volume and unity of all these individuals—and how they communicated—revealed the deep anger and discontent with the President and recent attempts at immigration enforcement.
This is, in part, because illegal immigration has been so normal for so long in the U.S. that even referring to it as “illegal” is no longer politically correct. Over the years, so many employers have accepted it, governments have, schools have—most have. So while the feds may have the law on their side, suddenly enforcing it is such a whiplash-inducing change that it uproots normalcy—and justice in many people’s eyes.
Alongside that, there’s the resistance to President Trump and then the spark that ignited this fury: Renee Good’s death.
Chants from the demonstrators featured expletives. So did the signs.
Standing there, I thought of another uproar in this state just days ago and blocks away…
Watch my new video with footage of yesterday’s protest and an explanation for why this march against ICE, the recent uproar about fraud in Minnesota, and government dysfunction are all related.
1/18/26 - Here’s an abridged version of the video above that is much tighter (and getting more views -
Maybe a mile or two from yesterday’s demonstration were those daycare centers—you know, “Quality Learing Center”—whose illicit funding scandal sparked anger from conservatives. Though less interested in street marches, they’ve since flooded social media with complaints.
I saw this up close in reaction to a post of mine asking about the effect on a community being suddenly without the income they’ve been accustomed to. I thought it was just an interesting question. Conservatives thought I was sympathizing with fraudsters.
They let me have it—17,000 comments’ worth.
The validity of my post aside, it was again the anger uncovered that struck me the most. It also struck Trump, who, in response to the fraud scandal, sent this current surge of ICE officers to the Twin Cities.
This is the thread connecting the two angers.
But it’s a misaligned connection.
Most—perhaps the vast majority—of the people who committed the fraud are not illegal immigrants. So the fraud isn’t being effectively addressed. Meanwhile, the pushback against immigration enforcement has reached its max, with thousands in Minneapolis yesterday calling for no immigration enforcement at all!
Signs reading “No human is illegal”, “All are welcome”, and many more ordering ICE to leave the city reflected these desires.
The respective issue each side is angry about reflects a government unable to effectively manage either problem
But they’re certainly not the first administration to realize this inability. They’re just in office when we’ve hit this fever pitch. The dysfunction is systemic. So while it’s tempting to point out the corruption around fraud and cry fascism about immigration enforcement, we also simply have a system that is growing less compatible with the world today. You could pick the perfect president, and the problems will remain.
I think we need a systems upgrade for this new world we’re in: more local control, more efficient and transparent use of public money.
But until there is some actual restructure, effective local (state) management is vital. It is because things are more decentralized today, and states are going their own way. It is because we’re seeing all this involvement from the feds in response to the local mismanagement of our state, Minnesota.
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Thanks so much.
Have a terrific week ahead.
-Brandon
The frauders should be able to live off the interest.