A holy day on ICE
ICE agents are deployed in Minnesota as part of Operation Metro Surge. It is the Trump administration’s largest-ever immigration-enforcement operation, involving up to 2,000 federal agents.
Endalkachew Chala in Minneapolis
Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Christians around the world celebrated Timket, or Epiphany, on Monday 19 January. Families usually gather for a day of joy, faith, renewal, and community. In the United States, however, immigration law enforcers knocked the wind out of the holiday in Minneapolis and St Paul in Minnesota, where many people who immigrated from the Horn of Africa live.
Community members monitored the activities of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents through WhatsApp groups before deciding whether to leave the house. Some worshippers concluded it was too unpredictable and decided it was safer to stay at home.
Members of the Ethiopian, Eritrean, and Somali communities worried that they might be stopped while driving or walking, regardless of their legal status. One Eritrean Orthodox Church member said the heavy enforcement presence reminded him of life under Eritrea’s authoritarian system.
ICE agents are deployed in Minnesota as part of Operation Metro Surge. It is the Trump administration’s largest-ever immigration-enforcement operation, involving up to 2,000 federal agents.
The administration has publicly targeted the 80,000 people of Somali origin in the state, but the crackdown is affecting all immigrant communities. It has been compounded by the suspension of immigrant visas to the US, a policy that has disproportionately affected African countries – 39 in total, which face either total or partial visa restrictions.
On that cold Timket morning, one Ethiopian Orthodox Church member dressed up as if she were going to attend the services. She folded her shawl, gathered her prayer book, and stood by the window watching the street. After a while, she put everything back.
“God understands,” she said quietly. “But it still hurts.”