In the winter of 2025–26, Minnesota became the epicenter of one of the most consequential crises in recent American history—the armed occupation of Minnesota by ICE. The fear. The violence brought by an invasion force in Trump’s attempt to force Minnesota to its knees and to his will.
Three thousand ICE agents were deployed to hunt “violent immigrant criminals” in a state where immigrants accounted for roughly four percent of violent crime—approximately fifty cases per month already being addressed by local law enforcement. The math didn’t work. The prey was statistically nonexistent. So the target changed—from specific criminals to entire communities based on appearance alone. This was not law enforcement. ICE is not a law enforcement entity—it is a federal civil immigration agency operating outside constitutional protections that bind police. What occurred was occupation: raids without warrants, detentions without probable cause, force without accountability.
The surge ignited sustained protest and legal challenges—especially after federal agents fatally shot two U.S. citizens, Renée Good and Alex Pretti, during confrontations that shocked communities and drew national outrage. ICE & Resistance is the visual and narrative record of a winter shaped by federal force and popular defiance—where streets, cameras, and community voices documented a state at odds with its government’s use of power.
Here are the images and stories developed along the way.
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