Minnesota mosque celebrates community solidarity amid ice surge
In Minneapolis' Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, a sense of community solidarity shone through at the Dar Al-Hijrah Mosque on Friday, as hundreds gathered for an Iftar meal breaking the daily fast of Ramadan.
Among them was Laura Kubick, a non-Muslim resident who has become a regular observer outside the mosque, keeping watch and documenting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity in the area.
Neighborhood rallies around dar al-hijrah
When ICE launched its Operation Metro Surge in the Twin Cities metro, targeting Somalis in particular, community leaders organized around Kubick and her fellow observers. The mosque aimed to provide food and thanks to these everyday heroes, many total strangers before the surge began.
Imam Sharif Mohamed praised the magnitude of people saying, 'No, this is not happening on our own watch and in our neighborhood.' The mosque was packed with people of all faiths, eagerly awaiting the meal.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Department of Public Safety Commissioner Bob Jacobsen attended, giving remarks. Frey highlighted the city's resilience, saying, 'Everybody did all they could, and Minneapolis as a whole showed up in a beautiful way.'
Kubick, now living in St. Paul, noted that she hadn't had much reason to visit Cedar-Riverside since college, but signed up with the Immigrant Defense Network to help cover the mosque. She was happy to be there for the community.
While the overwhelming majority of Somalis in Minnesota are U.S. citizens, they reported heavily targeted ICE activity at the beginning of the surge. President Trump drew attention to Somalis in November, blaming the community for individual fraud charges.
Community leaders say some residents are still afraid to go about their daily lives, with concerns around learning loss for students and paying rent in some neighborhoods. Jacobsen, from the state's standpoint, saw the observer network as a symbol of resilience.
He noted that from recent conversations with federal officials, the bulk of agents now in the state are focused on fraud, though he was unclear on the details of those investigations.