Hispanic Heritage Awards come to Minneapolis in recognition of Operation Metro Surge
Since the event was established by the White House in the 1980s, the Hispanic Heritage Awards have always been held in Washington, D.C.
On Thursday, organizers broke tradition and brought the award ceremony to Minneapolis, MN, in recognition of Operation Metro Surge.
Hispanic Heritage Foundation President and CEO Antonio Tijerino said that he and others were invited to Minnesota in February in the wake of the unprecedented immigration crackdown. Tijerino said that he left inspired by those he met and what he witnessed.
"This is such a great American story that we wanted to tell, of what America is capable of in terms of coming together," Tijerino said.
Tijerino said that he was struck by the collective action and peaceful protests, including some marches which drew tens of thousands of people. During the surge, ICE arrested about 3,800 people - including U.S. citizens - and shot three people, killing two.
According to a CBS News analysis of government numbers obtained by the "Data Deportation Project," about 24% of those arrested were convicted criminals. 13% had pending charges of some kind and 63% were arrested for immigration violations.
The band Los Tigres del Norte, known for advocating for immigrant rights, came to present a Humanitarian Award to Minnesotans. On stage, bandmembers commemorated the protests, the networks that provided groceries and rent payments to those in need, and those who believe they were wrongfully arrested.
Hernán Hernández, the band's bassist and lead vocalist, said that he knows Minneapolis well.
"Everything is completely different. We've been here before three times now, it's different because of what happened," Hernández said, "we are very happy to be here."
Luis Argueta, the Communications Director with Unidos MN, said that his organization was thrilled to see the award ceremony put a spotlight on Minnesotans.
"At the end of the day we had federal agents that came onto our streets and they ended up hurting community, they ended up hurting small businesses," Argueta said.
