Quick Valentine's Note
Hello CRAGgys,
Just a short note today. Get out and enjoy the sun, love your neighbors, friends, and family.
Minneapolis Update
This morning a friend sent this first-hand report of the current situation in Minneapolis.
I live near downtown Minneapolis in a prosperous (mostly white) neighborhood. ICE vehicles roam around, stopping at our local gas station, threatening our local restaurants. Helicopters and drones are overhead every day. Less than 5 blocks from my house, people have been stopped, grabbed, disappeared.
My neighbors and I organized groups to buy groceries for locked-in families, those hiding from ICE and without access to income. I get a list and buy what they asked for, always basic groceries like beans, rice, onions, green peppers. I add extras: avocados, mangos, cookies, flowers. We all do, and the mothers let us know that they are so very grateful. We are collecting for rents, too.
The children are locked in, having birthdays (we send gifts), and doing what they might for school on-line. We send toys to distract, to amuse, to teach. We hope that we are helping.
Around the city, signs have appeared on telephone poles: “Our Neighbor Was Kidnapped Here.”
The “Surge” is supposed to be over. It is not. ICE have moved to a new building, in a quiet suburb. They are wearing civilian clothes now, but their vehicles are known. We have gone to protests, and are leaving for another one as soon as I stop writing.
My friend recommends the local group Foothold to donate for rent assistance. It was co-founded by Terry Walsh of the band Belfast Cowboys.
A few weeks ago another friends shared this note:
My sister in Mpls said that the immigrant family my parents' church sponsors was waiting for documentation. But he was picked up, held and sent back to Venezuela. His wife and daughter are still in Mpls and the church is raising money to help them get back to Venezuela to be together. She attended church yesterday and the choir sang protest songs. Enough is enough.
ICE is detaining hundreds of people with valid work permits, asylum cases, and pending status who have the legal right to be in the U.S.
Andrew Hazzard
Information is slowly trickling out about some of these victims. For example, Luis Muñoz Pinto, an engineering student who fled Venezuela after being beaten by the police during a protest, had a pending asylum case when he was wrongfully accused of being a gang member and illegally sent to the notorious El Salvador prison. After being released to Bogota, a U.S. judge says he must now be allowed to return and clear his name in court.
A woman in Minnesota who has followed all requirements for her asylum case for years, was abruptly told to appear at a check-in with her teen-aged sons. She was then detained for 7 hours and finally released with a ankle monitor. Some 150 legal refugees from Minnesota were sent to horrible detention centers in Texas. After a judge ordered the refugees to be released and returned home, some were left out on the streets in Texas without ID. Seamus Culleton has been held for 5 months in the El Paso detention facility under abysmal conditions, despite having a valid work permit and no criminal record.
And in this chaos, cruelty, lies, obfuscation, and incompetence, we know that only a few stories have been told.
How to help
Minnesota donation hub:
Hats and Crafts against ICE
The Guardian reports that anti-ICE hats are leading a wave of "rage knitting" inspired by historical Norwegian anti-Nazi headgear. Patterns from Ravelry.
Local Needs
- Boersma Farm suffered a catastrophic collapse of their greenhouses under the huge snowload. The very best 🥕🥕🥕's! Fundraiser: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-boersma-farm-rebuild-after-greenhouse-collapse
- Housing Aid (ongoing)
AWAVE and Keweenaw Indivisible are working with the Salvation Army to provide housing assistance. The Western UP does not have a homeless shelter. Please donate.
Local orgs are raising money to help our neighbors with housing-related issues such as utility bills and emergency shelter this winter. Please contribute if you are able! One-hundred percent of the proceeds will remain local and go towards supporting those experiencing housing insecurity or at risk of homelessness.
When and Where to Speak UP
Check the calendar for details.
Here's the list view of Elected Official Meetings: https://calendar.online/electedofficialmeetings.
If you want company, I will go with you. Drop me a line.
Last Monday I spoke off the cuff at the Hancock Township meeting in response to the Principles of Township Governance Excellence from the Michigan Townships Association, which was endorsed and signed by the board.
Has your township signed this? Do you think other levels of government are following these principles?
Some public body meets somewhere every single week; take 30 minutes to show up and express your opinion. (Sample statements.) And let me know if you go and what you learn.
Houghton County Jail Committees
The 2026 jail project needs public input! You can show up and just observe one of the committees, or speak up! Details and schedules.
Why and how to attend local meetings
Events
- February 22, Know Your Rights Training, at Michigan Tech, KATO leading.
- Mark your calendar: NO KINGS 3.0, March 28, 2026
Emma's February Community Calendar
Sarah Green
Organizational Meetings
Details are on the CALENDAR. (Organizers: Please send updates when times, dates, locations change!) These groups are all very welcoming. Drop by a meeting to connect with friendly faces. Any level of engagement contributes to making our world better.
Houghton/Hancock
- Yoopers for Ukraine 🇺🇦 Rally at the bridge Sundays at 3 pm.
- Keweenaw Indivisible meets 3rd Tuesdays, 6-8 pm (work groups at 6, general membership at 7) at the KUUF. (Join KI). [Note meeting has been shifted to accommodate the HoCo Commission, which meets on the 2nd Tuesdays.]
- Houghton County Dems meet every 1st Wednesday, 7 pm at the Super 8.
- 4th Wednesdays AWAVE, 6 pm. Gathering at KUU Fellowship Houghton.
- 3rd Sundays, 7-8:45 pm, Keweenaw Against the Oligarchy Monthly Action Committee (KATO). Please register at the link to help with the headcount.
Baraga
- Baraga County Democrats, 3rd Tuesdays at 6 pm, L'Anse Township Hall
Marquette
- Every Tuesday evening at 7pm, Yoopers Unite, a gathering of local pro-democracy groups, at LoveMarq Church, 728 W. Kaye Ave, Marquette.
- Visibility Brigade Demonstrations take place regularly in Marquette and Ishpeming. Click here for information and to register through Mobilize.
- Saturday Morning Demonstrations at the Post Office in Marquette: Members of Citizens for Peace and Justice, Lake Superior Region Indivisible, Yoopers Unite, area community members, friends and neighbors gather for a peaceful demonstration at the Marquette Post Office every Saturday from 11:30 am - 12:30 pm.
- Subscribe for free to the Lake Superior Region Indivisible newsletter here. Contact LSRI at lsrindivisible@gmail.com
Michigan
- Statewide Indivisible Michigan (SWIM). This page lists various virtual events for statewide connections.
Leaving MAGA resource
- Leaving maga resources by former MAGA folks that might help people speaking with friends and relatives.
Spring is coming!
Thanks for all your support and all your efforts to promote and expand freedom, justice and democracy!
Stay safe,
Sarah
This FAQ page answers common questions about CRAG.