Tag Archives: it could happen here

How to Help: Twin Cities Residents

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Last edited January 30, 2026

This is a post for people in Minnesota. I’m going to do a separate post for the non-Minnesotans when I’m done with this one. (If you’re in a hurry you can go to Stand With Minnesota and find somewhere to donate some money.) Note: the ICE occupation is happening all over the state, and there are ICEwatch groups all over the state, but I don’t have a ton of information about resources outside the metro.

Hi! Hello! What a year the first half of January has been! If you’re already doing stuff, I’m not telling you to do different stuff, but I also know there are people who are having a hard time figuring out where to jump in, and there are people who are doing stuff who want to do more stuff. This is hopefully going to be a living document for people who are looking for ways to defend our neighbors.

My personal motto in this (and many other things) is a Jewish saying from the Pirkei Avot that goes, “You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to give up on it.” We are not in this alone. We are each picking up a tiny piece of the work and doing it, and like the people who jumped on and weighed down that carnival ride that almost tipped, we build power by working together.

There are a lot of ways to help right now, and I’m going to try to split them into useful categories and give you links to more information.

MUTUAL AID

Right now, a lot of groups out there are supporting the people who need to stay at home to keep themselves safe. (This includes undocumented immigrants but given that ICE has been abducting fully legal documented folks with work permits, and also kicking in doors to abduct citizens in their underwear, it is not just undocumented immigrants.)

Food:

If you have items to donate, there is also a spreadsheet of mutual aid asks and dropoff locations here. (Includes lots of places looking for whistles if you’re making whistles.)

Translation/Interpreting:

If you speak a second language, Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid has need of translators to help with intake interviews. Their volunteer page is here: https://mylegalaid.org/take-action/volunteer/volunteer-opportunities/ but does not list this need (you can e-mail them at probono@mylegalaid.org and let them know what languages you speak.) (I’m going to hazard a guess that basically any language spoken by immigrants to Minnesota is helpful.)

Laundry:

You can help with laundry services: pick up and drop off of clothes, wash/fold, or both. The form to volunteer is here.

Pets:

Some people have been forced to leave pets behind when detained, though, and local animal person Dallas is coordinating fostering for cats. (DM her on Facebook if you can help.)

The North Minneapolis Pet Resource Center (a program under the umbrella of My Pit Bull is Family) is providing pet-related mutual aid such as transportation for pets and vet care for people who can’t leave their homes, assistance for families who’ve had a person taken, and care for pets that have been left behind. They are also a hub for human food and other necessities as well as pet food. If this is something you’d like to help with, reach out to mutualaid@mypitbullisfamily.org or text (763) 273-0710.

Someone has now set up a group specifically to support vulnerable people with pets, and to help pets that were left behind when their humans were detained or deported, as well as to support people : ICE Hurts Animals Too. They are seeking fosters, drivers, veterinary volunteers, and donations of money, pet food, and other supplies. More info here.

Unmet Needs

Among the things I have not yet heard about: I don’t know if there’s a dog-walking mutual aid group, if there are any medical folks willing to make house calls, if anyone is organizing in-home volunteer tutors for the kids doing at-home learning for now, and if anyone is organizing snow shoveling or, given the number of people abducted at gas stations, gas-tank filling services. I will add those if I hear of any.

If you are at an organization that needs volunteers and you’d like to be added to this document, please send me an e-mail. (If your need is short-term or urgent, though, probably better to post to Bluesky and ask for a signal-boost.)

Personal Assistance

One way to address things like this: if you know a family where some or all of the people are unable to leave their house, ask what they need. You can volunteer directly to help your neighbors, and people you know through other communities (church, school, fandom, whatever.)

COMMUNITY DEFENSE

Community Defense is the stuff a lot of news articles are referring to as “protesting.” It is the work of watching for ICE, warning people if you see ICE, taking video if you see ICE abducting someone, and trying to get the name and any other personal information of abductees and passing names and video along to Monarca (612-441-2881).

At the most basic level: carry a whistle and know what to do if you see ICE. (If you see ICE, make some noise! Blow your whistle, honk your car horn!) You can get a whistle for free at many area stores, and keep your eyes out as you go about your daily business.

If you’d like to get more deeply involved in community defense, here’s how.

  1. Get trained. The training you want is called legal observer training, constitutional observer training, Upstander training, or ICEWatch training. It is offered by Monarca, by the DFL, and by many other groups. You will learn important information like what to report if you see ICE (“SALUTE: Size [of the group], Action [what they’re doing], Location [where they are and where they’re headed], Uniforms [what they’re wearing], Time [when you saw them], and Equipment/weapons [what they’re carrying].”) Also, how to tell a real warrant (signed by a judge!) from the “warrants” ICE usually has. Also, what to do if you get arrested even though observing ICE is legal. (Say, “I am invoking my fifth amendment right to remain silent. I will not answer any questions without a lawyer present.” and then STOP TALKING.) You can find out some of what’s covered in the training by reading this manual.
  2. Get on Signal. The organizing for this is all happening on Signal. If you don’t have Signal, download it and sign up. If you’re on Signal but use your legal name, change it. (“But you just said it’s legal to be a constitutional observer!” Yes! But ICE is harassing people who are doing this; make it harder for them to harass you. Also, it’s the norm in these communities and people will helpfully remind you not to use your legal name, over and over. Just use your made-up name.)
  3. Find your local Signal group. In Minneapolis, there used to be intake through Defend the 612. They now recommend the following: “Directly ask your long-time local neighbors how to get connected to your local Rapid Response groups and to do block-level ICE Watch in your neighborhood and on your streets.” Outside of Minneapolis, especially if you’re in a suburb, here’s my recommendation: talk to your neighbors, especially anyone who has anti-ICE signage; go volunteer places that are doing support work (like, churches and food shelves that are doing deliveries) (they’re not going to send you to make deliveries to vulnerable people unless they know you, but they’ll get to know you if you show up and pack food); talk to people in networks where you already know the people; go to a neighborhood protest and talk to the people there. Talk to your friends directly (maybe start by saying, “hey, if you want to chat on signal, my signal name is….”) and ask if they can help you get involved.

Once you’re in: there is generally a daily Signal voice call for people who are actively engaged in community defense, including mobile patrol, stationary observation, dispatch, and notetaking.

  • You can read a best-practices document explaining the nitty gritty here.
  • You can read a narrative discussion of how it works here.
  • You can read a journalist’s description of mobile patrol here and another one here.

If mobile patrol sounds too scary but you want to be involved in community defense, notetaking / license plate checking is always needed. This is also a great option for people who are homebound. If you always wanted to be Ned from the MCU, the “guy in the chair,” dispatch could be the perfect job for you.

One final note about this: if you will be doing something like picking up laundry from the homes of vulnerable neighbors, do not also do mobile patrol, because ICE is absolutely recording license plate numbers and sometimes following people home. You don’t want to accidentally lead them to a person they would like to abduct. Pick a lane. (Also avoid that job if you share a household with a vulnerable person.)

ETA: I completely forgot to note that a lot of schools are organizing community defense within their PTA. I don’t know a ton about this because my kids are grown, but if you have kids at a school, check on what’s happening there.

PROTEST

There has been an ongoing presence at the Whipple Building (the local Federal Building, near Fort Snelling.)

There are also many, many smaller protests. There’s a Reddit forum for this and another list on 50501.

SUPPLIES

Lots of people with 3D printers are using them to make whistles! Here’s more info on doing that. Lots of people with regular 2D printers have been printing up zines to go with the whistles: you can find printables at that same site.

If you’re part of a community defense or mutual aid group that has some identifiable need that can fulfilled with an Amazon wish list, you can DM mostlybree.kitrocha.com on Bluesky or contact emidly.08 on Signal; they can signal-boost your wish list.

FUNDRAISING

Anyone can fundraise and there are a gazillion ways to do it. But the basics, if you’ve never done it before: pick a group or cause (Stand With Minnesota has loads) and ask people to donate to it. Ideally, you’re asking people who are currently outside Minnesota, or at least outside the metro area. If you have money of your own, you can offer to match donations. You can offer something of nominal value to anyone who donates over a certain amount (if you do some craft you enjoy and have a box full of crocheted pot holders, this can be a terrific use for them). If you have a higher capacity your can organize an event. Ideally, have people donate directly to the group you’re supporting, rather than sending money to you to pass along.

There is a Crochet & Donation drive being hosted by the Textile Center on February 1st.

PROFESSIONAL SKILLS

If you are a lawyer licensed in Minnesota and want to help out, there is work specifically for you and there is a lot of need for it. Start here.

BUSINESS OWNERS

Here is information on becoming a Fourth Amendment Workplace. Signage is available from the City of Minneapolis. Alternate printables here. (There are a lot of versions around.)

COUNTERING DISINFORMATION

I am absolutely positively not telling you to spend your time on the Internet yelling at trolls. HOWEVER. If you have family and friends out-of-state who might listen to you, there are a couple of things I think it’s worth trying to communicate:

  • The danger is coming from ICE, not from immigrants. The first murder committed in Minneapolis this year was committed by ICE.
  • ICE is not looking for fraud; none of these yahoos would be able to recognize fraud if they tripped over a set of faked books. If this were about fraud, Kristi Noem would have sent accountants.
  • ICE is not looking for criminals. The overwhelming majority of people abducted have been ordinary, hardworking people. There are legal immigrants with work permits who have been abducted and sent to Texas, that the government is now trying to deport. They have snatched US citizens, beaten them, and stolen phones and wedding rings. The undocumented folks they’re snatching are a whole lot of people who have lived here working hard for years. They’ve repeatedly claimed they’re taking hardened criminals, and then the examples they give are stuff like, “this person had a misdemeanor shoplifting arrest in 2006.”
  • Those jackbooted government thugs that Wayne LaPierre claimed to be worried about: they’re here! They’re in Minnesota, right now!

CONTACT ELECTEDS

  • Keep badgering our Senators.
    Amy Klobuchar: email phone
    Tina Smith: email phone (scroll down)
  • Are you represented by a Republican (either in the US House or the MN House/Senate)? Sahan Journal did a roundup of what they’ve all said so you can be as specific as possible when you call up to yell at them. If you’re a Minnesotan in a red legislative district who’d consider challenging your Republican state legislator in November, check out Run For Something for resources.
  • If you’re represented by Betty McCollum her contact info is here. Ilhan Omar has actually been meeting the moment but probably does like hearing from people who appreciate that fact, and her contact info is here.

OTHER STUFF TO DO

Things that just did not fit in any of the other categories.

  • If you have a Ring camera, de-install it. Ring partners with Flock, which gives information to law enforcement (without a warrant), including ICE. I know it’s convenient and I know there are a million reasons people like having them, but it literally makes it easier for ICE to surveil vulnerable community members.
  • If you live in an apartment building, keep the outer door secure. Don’t prop it, don’t open it for people you don’t know, and obviously do not open it for ICE. There are printable signs here. The Defend the 612 website has useful multilingual signs you can print out and post to remind residents why it’s important to keep the doors secure.
  • As you drive through the Cities, bear in mind that there are a lot of angry, impatient, disoriented (because they’re not from here), out-of-control (because they’re not used to driving on snow and ice) ICE agents also driving through the Cities. This means you should drive slowly and carefully and take extra time. Every time you stop for a pedestrian, you’re keeping your community safe, and also if there’s an ICE agent behind you that misses a light, you’re putting just a little bit of sand in their gears.
  • Support immigrant-owned businesses, business that closed for the general strike on the 23rd, and businesses that are posting signs to exclude ICE!

REST AS RESISTANCE

If you’re in the Twin Cities right now, remember that part of your job is to take care of yourself. You need to sleep. You need to eat. You need to take your meds. You need to stay healthy. (Wash your hands, wear a mask, stay home and recover if you feel sick.)

I’m going to suggest a couple of specific things. You probably don’t actually need to be told any of these things; I’m basing them off the dumb stuff I’ve been doing.

  • For the love of all that’s holy, if you’re on Bluesky or Twitter, turn autoplay off on videos. I don’t know why it took me as long as it did to do this, but my sleep significantly improved once I did, because guess what, even if you’re scrolling past the bad ones, just seeing ICE agents aggressively walking towards someone on a street that looks familiar is going to give you an adrenaline spike. You don’t need that happening to you when you pull out your phone on the toilet.
  • Drink extra water and be aware that you may need extra food. Adrenaline will just burn you out. It’s like the original candle that burns at both ends.
  • Action is an antidote to despair. I feel so much better — seriously, so much better — on the days when I do anything. It doesn’t have to be huge. (It does help if it takes me out of the house, because seeing how many people in my community are out there working to protect our neighbors gives me a whole lot of hope.)

I have seen a lot of people linking to my story The Year Without Sunshine, which is a story about networking and mutual aid. I have been thinking a lot about my own story, actually, because it’s a story where the protagonist is not the viewpoint character, Alexis, but the community itself. It is the community that makes the choices that drive the story, the community that experiences the character change, and the community that survives together until the sun comes back.

We’re doing this. We are doing this. And we are going to survive together until the ice melts.