Documents show decrease of ICE agents; local organization helping those detained says works not done
The number of ICE agents in Minnesota is continuing to drop, with new numbers revealed by local federal leadership in recent court filings.
According to a sworn declaration from Sam Olson, the ICE Field Office Director with the St. Paul Field Office, approximately 107 Enforcement and Removal Operations Agents will remain in the Twin Cities metro by Thursday, Feb. 26. Customs and Border Patrol agents are now meant to be gone entirely based on Marty Raybon Sr.'s declaration. Raybon Sr. took on the role of CBP's Lead Field Office Coordinator for Operation Metro Surge on Feb. 3.
These statements were filed as part of the American Civil Liberties Union's ongoing lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security. While the number of field agents directly involved in immigration has dropped to just over 100, there will still be about 300 Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents in Minnesota by March, according to Olson.
These figures are in stark contrast to the more than 4,000 federal agents that were here at the height of the ICE surge. Observers have noted a change of tactics since the announced drawdown, noticing a heavier emphasis in the suburbs of the Twin Cities metro and beyond.
Wednesday, volunteers told WCCO they've noticed little difference when it comes to the number of people being released from ICE custody at the Whipple Federal Building. In fact, they're noticing that many of the people walking free recently are people who were first detained at the very beginning of the surge in December.
"They're looking for warm food, they're looking for their family and they're just looking for comfort," Sarah Haraldson said, "we try to provide that for them."
Haraldson is a volunteer with Haven Watch, a group that is dedicating itself to helping people once they walk out of the Whipple. Haraldson said that the group was started by her friend Natalie Ehret; she and her sons noticed that in many cases, people leaving federal custody didn't have appropriate clothing for the cold. They often didn't have a way to get home or to contact their loved ones.
Haraldson was among the first to sign up, she said, when Ehret got the group organized a little over six weeks ago. For Haraldson, the mission was personal. She adopted her son from Ethiopia 20 years ago. Even though he's an American citizen, she said her family has experienced the disruption and fear that many people of color have reported throughout Operation Metro Surge.
Haraldson said that they've encountered people who hadn't eaten a warm meal since their detainment. She said that while they've seen fewer ICE vehicles coming and going, they continue to see a high volume of people with what she described as legal status being released from their custody each day.
"We still know of kids who are afraid to go to school because they may come home and their mom and dad are gone. It's terrifying for them," Haraldson said, "That hasn't gone down."
