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70+ MN Kids Detained During Federal Immigration Assault
At the 1976 Democratic National Convention, Hubert Humphrey issued the following proclamation: "The ultimate moral test of any government is the way it treats three groups of its citizens. First, those in the dawn of life—our children. Second, those in shadows of life—our needy, our sick, our handicapped. Third, those in the twilight of life—our elderly." Safe to say the federal government flunked that morality test as Operation Metro Surge rained violence and terror down on Minnesota's immigrant communities for 10 straight weeks.
The Department of Homeland Security certainty didn't spare the children, as Sahan Journal reporters Becky Z. Dernbach and Cynthia Tu discovered in their recent analysis of court records and federal deportation data: DHS detained at least 70 local kids between December 1 and March 10. Over 20 of those poor children were held for 20+ days, while teens were shipped off to Michigan-based Christian youth shelters. More than 30 spent time inside the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas, where conditions are reportedly horrendous. Many were held locally inside the also horrendous Whipple Federal Building. Sahan determined that almost half of the detained kids are no longer in the country.
“This is a systemic violent act, to be detaining children, that has long-term consequences,” says Kira Kelley, a Minneapolis lawyer who's representing two of the impacted families. “It’s massively detrimental to the well-being of these families and our whole communities.”
The kids who made it back home are returning with emotional scars.
“The older they are, it’s easier to pinpoint their trauma because they can talk,” says Kevin Centeno, who works at Valley View Elementary School in Columbia Heights. “But the younger they are, the behaviors show the trauma: kicking, yelling, screaming, especially for our younger ones who were detained.”
In a statement that included a glaring typo, a DHS spokesperson defended the agency's insane cruelty toward children.
Report: Cops (Still) Bad
A new report from the Minneapolis city auditor dropped this week, and it says what we’ve mostly known all along: The MPD bungled investigations into the death of Allison Lussier and the shooting of Davis Moturi. Per the report, “Reporting practices varied widely, including incomplete witness statements, missing victim forms, inconsistent injury documentation and the inconsistent use of police report workflow flags for bias weapons or repeat conduct.”
MPR goes into depth here about how the police responded to both incidents. Lussier was an Indigenous woman whose death in 2024 was ruled a drug overdose without taking into account her repeated reports of domestic violence. Moturi, a Black man, had reported threats from a white neighbor for a year before the man shot him; he spoke to RacketCast about his experience last May.
All this comes to light just as MPD Chief Brian O’Hara’s appointment comes before the City Council for renewal. It has been reported that he's even lost the support of more conservative council members. There’s only one answer: We must once more complain about the activist City Council and increase the MPD’s budget.
Another Failure of the Woke Pope: Basilica Block Party Dead for Good
The Basilica Block Party has had an uncertain stretch of years. The festival was sidelined by Covid in 2020, then returned in 2021 only to be canceled again in 2022 and 2023, one of many disappearing fests that prompted Racket's Jay Boller to ask...
BBP did return in 2024, with headliners Goo Goo Dolls and Counting Crows—but then last year, it was off again. It turns out 2024 will be the festival's final year, according to an update published on the block party website.
"For over 25 years, the Basilica Block Party brought together an extraordinary spirit of music and community in the Twin Cities," the message reads. "We are deeply grateful for the fans, the artists, and the support shown for our beloved Basilica."
Walz Does Kimmel
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is being attacked from left these days (right now, by us, at this very moment) for his cowardly reluctance to tax the rich. He's also being attacked from the right by the knuckle-draggers at Alpha News, who are prepping an absurd-looking new documentary on him titled—we shit you not—Minnesota Mao. But nobody can deny the guv addressed mainstream America last night on Jimmy Kimmel Live, a high-profile guest spot that afforded him the opportunity to attack our fascist, brain-rotted president while championing the greatest state in the union. Nothing wrong with that.
