The killing of two American citizens in Minneapolis by federal immigration officers has forced the country to look more closely at Immigration and Customs Enforcement. When applying that closer lens, that scrutiny moves beyond individual agents to the system itself. It’s one built through laws, budgets, and a long-standing decision to treat immigration as a criminal problem.

César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández, a law professor at Ohio State University, studies the once less known aspects of the U.S. system: where immigration enforcement operates like criminal policing, and detention functions like punishment even when the government calls it “civil.”

His latest book is “Welcome the Wretched: In Defense of the ‘Criminal Alien.'”

García Hernández joined Robyn Vincent on The Metro to discuss what kind of immigration system is actually being built in the name of Americans, and how we got here.

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Yesterday, President Donald Trump said he is going to “de-escalate a little bit” in Minnesota. But the protests against ICE in that state have continued as federal officers have remained on the ground.

One of the larger demonstrations in Minneapolis occurred last Friday. That’s when businesses closed and thousands of people took to the streets. It was also the day before Alex Pretti was shot and killed by federal agents. 

Interim Executive Director for The Detroit Jews for Justice Lisa Tencer was in Minneapolis on Friday. The Metro‘s Sam Corey spoke with her about why she went, and what she saw.

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What does it feel like when a city has its breath taken away—not just by frigid weather, but by sudden shocking violence that cuts into the lives of neighbors and friends?

In Minneapolis, there is a texture to the streets that doesn’t show up in social media clips. Day after day, in bitter cold, people have come together protesting, marching, and organizing neighborhood watches. Their gatherings have been sparked by a wave of federal immigration enforcement in the city and by two fatal shootings.

On Jan. 7, ICE agent Jonathan Ross fatally shot 37-year-old Renee Good, a Minneapolis resident. The Hennepin County medical examiner ruled her death a homicide. Video evidence has raised serious questions about whether the force used was justified.

Then, on Jan. 24, Border Patrol agents killed 37-year-old Alex Pretti. Federal officials initially claimed Pretti violently resisted and brandished a gun. But video footage, eyewitnesses, and independent reporting refute those claims. The discrepancy between the official account and the evidence has become a flashpoint for protests and calls for accountability.

In recent weeks, journalist Hamilton Nolan has been on the ground in Minneapolis, walking with people in the cold, listening to residents, and trying to make sense of what “resistance” looks like right now. He’s written about what he’s seen and heard in his Substack newsletter How Things Work. 

He joined Robyn Vincent on The Metro to discuss what he saw on the ground and what Detroit can learn from Minneapolis.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.

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