As Minneapolis finds itself in the middle of the storm gripping the US due to an intensified crackdown by ICE agents, an Indian-origin writer based in the city has voiced her apprehensions and fears.
Writer and community worker Kuhu Singh shared her experience with PTI and said how despite housing a sizeable immigrant population, the political climate in Minneapolis has altered her worldview.
‘Somalis, Hmong people live here’
Singh said the Twin Cities – Minneapolis and St Paul house a large Somali and Hmong population (people who hail from Laos and fled during the Vietnam war). “These people were escaping persecution and had sided with the US,” she shared, saying that apart from these communities, Indian-Americans like her make up the other chunk of the population.
‘Govt wants to knock down all the doors’
Singh remarked that the government’s stern approach with regard to several ICE raids and two fatal shootings in the region was shaped by its disapproval of Minneapolis being a “sanctuary city”. “That is something the current federal government doesn’t like,” she added.
VIDEO | "In Minneapolis, we are being made to feel like we are not part of this country," says Kuhu Singh, Indian-American writer and community worker. pic.twitter.com/FlDObYxnKd
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 26, 2026
“The government wants to knock down on all the doors…on paper the idea is to take down the criminals off the street…criminals who are supposedly getting refuge here but the reality is different,” she further said.
‘Being made to feel like we’re not part of this country’
Singh said the actual picture is far from what is being projected on media. “Citizens are being stopped randomly and harassed…they are being harassed and detained. They’re asking for like, where were you born? Where were your parents born? Do you carry an ID? Do you carry your passport? Basically, within Minneapolis, we are being made to feel like we are not part of the city. We are not part of this country,” she said.
Brown people specifically targeted?
According to Singh, Brown people and people of colour or those who speak with an accent are being specifically targeted.
“People who come from various other backgrounds, who are non-white and non-Christian. I wouldn’t say Christian, but non-white, non-European [may be in danger],” she added.
What is the current situation in Minneapolis?
US federal authorities’ ‘Operation Metro Surge’ sent thousands of armed, masked Department of Homeland Security agents, including ICE and CBP, into Minnesota.
The operation was framed by federal authorities as lawful immigration enforcement, but state and local leaders describe it as a militarised crackdown.
Minneapolis residents have staged protests against ICE, with tensions further compounding due to two fatal encounters of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Jeffery Pretti.