Strib Columnist: Abolish ICE? Think Bigger!

Welcome back to The Flyover, your daily digest of important, overlooked, and/or interesting Minnesota news stories.

Dump the DHS

“If you can remember a world before Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, you can remember a world without the Department of Homeland Security,” David M. Perry writes in the Star Tribune today. Yes, that Star Tribune.

Perry, a U of M history prof as well as a regular Strib columnist (and a good Bluesky follow, if that’s what you’re into), makes the case that getting rid of ICE is “inadequate” to protect our rights, just lopping one head off the hydra, you might say. Instead, let’s stab the monster right in its gut. (Is that how you kill a hydra? You'd have to ask 10-year-old me. That annoying little nerd would know.) 

Of course, some of us are even old enough to remember arguing that reorganizing federal agencies into a single bureaucratic security behemoth was a bad idea to begin with. Let’s start with that name, which as Perry points out, sounds almost deliberately dystopian. 

Yet in the post-9/11 moment, cogent arguments that such an entity would lead to all sorts of abuses were brushed away. Now that there have been all sorts of abuses, what’s the argument for persisting along this path?

As Perry puts it, “DHS was created in a very specific moment in history not that long ago, so we have models for how to structure federal immigration oversight that don’t rely on an unaccountable masked secret police force running rampant in our streets.” 

What About That Eviction Moratorium? 

As the unpropertied class (including myself) prepares to pay February's rent, it’s a good time to remember the many Minnesotans right now who can’t. Fear of federal abduction has driven many people indoors, keeping them away from work and placing them in financial peril. Although both the Minneapolis and St. Paul City Councils have passed resolutions calling for a statewide eviction moratorium, Gov. Tim Walz has not yet responded.   

Yes, I know I just covered this, but now we’ve got numbers, and they’re bad. As Cari Spencer reports for MPR News, staffers with Greater Twin Cities United Way's 211 hotline say their Spanish language line saw a 1,646% spike last month, with more than 1,000 callers one day. According to HOME line, there have been 1,100 eviction filings served in Minnesota this month. 

So, what’s the holdup? State Sen. Lindsey Port (DFL-Burnsville), who agrees in principle with the moratorium, says there are “practical challenges.” During the pandemic, for instance, the state was able to employ federal emergency funds.

Hey Folks, Are You Ready to Caucus?

You might be preoccupied with… other things right now, but there’s an election this fall and, Minnesota being Minnesota, that means it’s time to caucus. This year’s caucuses for the DFL and the other party will be held on February 3. Can I get three cheers for caucusing? Two? A firm nod of the head? Tiny one?

Obviously fear of ICE abductions casts a shadow over this year’s proceedings—it’s very easy to say “Ugh, I just don’t feel like debating with a bunch of strangers tonight” in early February even when your city isn’t under occupation.

Though many have pushed the DFL for a virtual caucus option, the caucuses remain IRL, with some adjustments. “The DFL has developed guidance, training, and resources for local leaders to support fair, secure caucus participation for all—including printable materials, legal support, and step-by-step ICE response planning,” the party’s caucus info page tells us. Non-attendees can submit forms prior to the caucus and a certain number of them will be chosen as delegates.

And Finally, Some Fluff!

Hey, how about a good old-fashioned celebrity sighting like we used to do before the war? Not anywhere near the Twin Cities, of course, unless you count Anderson Cooper broadcasting from a balcony on Lyndale Avenue. Hmm, I guess maybe that should count. But that’s not what I’m talking about here!

What I’m talking about is Michael Horse, best known as Deputy Hawk from Twin Peaks, dining at the always excellent Northern Waters Smokehouse in Duluth. According to this post, Horse also studies mushroom identification with Minnesota ‘shroom expert Ariel Bonkoski. 

I guess I should end this blurb on a somewhat Lynchian note. OK, how about this Hawk quote, for everyone fighting against ICE right now: "You're on the path. You don't need to know where it leads. Just follow.”