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My name is Chris Pohlad. I write as an individual whose family is deeply rooted in Minneapolis. I write as a husband, father, son and business leader. And last, I write as a believer in the idea of America.
In the past three weeks, I have witnessed the worst of my country and the best of my state playing out on the streets of Minneapolis and beyond.
Like so many, I’ve watched in disbelief as actions by the Trump administration brought fear and chaos to our streets. The shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti at the hands of federal agents were the most acute and well-documented violence of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement surge, but less profiled terror is taking place, too. Random racial profiling and aggressive tactics, including individuals ripped from vehicles and kids taken from schools, left families sheltering in place for weeks and small businesses shuttering.
To match the brazen assault, false information and inflammatory rhetoric followed from the Trump administration. They called their victims “assassins” and “domestic terrorists,” asking us not to believe our own eyes. Ironically, the administration brought the real terror by sending thousands of insufficiently trained, masked individuals to our state. They did this under the false pretense of capturing “the worst of the worst” among immigrants in a state where the undocumented population sits at roughly 1.5% — less than half the national average.
The Trump administration set out to make an example of Minnesota. But with courage, compassion, restraint and decency, Minnesota has set an example for the rest of the country.
Even in the face of aggressive tactics and intimidation, the people of Minnesota decided to make action the antidote to despair. The examples are numerous: people and nonprofits organizing food banks for families too frightened to leave their homes, driving neighbors to their places of work and worship, and escorting children safely to and from school while ICE vehicles circle the buildings. Small businesses set aside day-to-day operations to collect supplies and be community gathering places. Parents and volunteers formed neighborhood networks, tracking license plates, sharing sightings and watching over one another. And on Jan. 23, people marched 50,000 deep with windchills of negative 20 degrees — a very Minnesotan thing to do — to say “enough is enough.”
