Minnesota, MN - The Immigrant Defense Network (IDN), a statewide network of more than 100 organizations, is announcing the first five city stops of its Brave of Us 30+ City Tour. Beginning today, Tuesday, January 6, IDN will host Constitutional Observer trainings to equip community members with tools to document and respond to federal enforcement activity, support impacted neighbors, and defend basic constitutional rights.

January 7, 2026

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — The Immigrant Defense Network (IDN) condemns in the strongest possible terms the killing of a Minnesotan today by federal agents in Minneapolis. This violent act is the direct result of weeks of escalating federal enforcement actions that have terrorized immigrant communities and those who stand with them.

July 8, 2026

Minneapolis, MN — COPAL mourns the killing of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and extends our deepest condolences to his family, loved ones, and community as they carry the weight of this profound loss.

March 10, 2026

The People’s Hearing on Immigration Enforcement draws on the longstanding civil rights tradition of public fact finding and record building that has historically informed federal oversight and accountability efforts.The purpose of the hearing is to document and preserve on-the-record testimony regarding the impact of federal immigration enforcement on constitutional protections, civil rights, and community safety. The forum will examine enforcement practices including use of force, deaths involving federal officers, deaths in custody, warrantless stops, and impacts on lawful protest and civic participation. There will also be an opportunity for members of the public to sign up for the public input portion of the hearing.

July 14th, 2026

MINNEAPOLIS, July 14, 2026 — The Immigrant Defense Network is deeply saddened by the killing of Joan Sebastián Guerrero during an ICE enforcement operation in Biddeford, Maine, today, and by the killing of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer during an immigration enforcement operation in Houston, Texas, just days earlier. These back-to-back tragedies underscore the urgent need for transparency, accountability, and a thorough review of immigration enforcement practices that impact the safety and well-being of immigrant communities. We extend our heartfelt condolences to their families, loved ones, and the communities now carrying the weight of these devastating losses.

May 27, 2026

MINNEAPOLIS — The Immigrant Defense Network condemns today’s shooting at the Eid prayer gathering in Shakopee in the strongest possible terms. Our hearts are with the individual harmed, their loved ones, and every Muslim family and community member now carrying fear during what should have been a sacred and joyful day of worship and celebration.

April 6, 2026 

Minneapolis, MN — The operations may have slowed. The consequences have not. Immigrant families across Minnesota continue to face the lasting impacts of recent federal immigration enforcement operations, revealing an ongoing economic and social crisis that remains largely invisible to the public but deeply felt across the state. 

February 27, 2026 

Minneapolis, MN — Comunidades Organizando el Poder y la Acción Latina (COPAL) and the Immigrant Defense Network (IDN) have raised more than $1.5 million in emergency relief to support immigrant families impacted by federal immigration enforcement operations across Minnesota and the Upper Midwest. To date, over $700,000 has been directly distributed to families and trusted community organizations delivering frontline relief, with additional funds actively being distributed as urgent requests for assistance continue to be processed. 

The training program in Rochester was part of the IDN’s Brave of Us Tour, a 30-city campaign to expand the organization’s reach across the Midwest. According to the IDN’s network manager, Edwin Torres Desantiago, the need to expand the network’s training efforts was apparent.

The Immigrant Defense Network helped band together more than 100 organizations to assist struggling families and defend immigrants’ constitutional rights. In January, the network registered an average of 2,000 volunteers per week to train as constitutional observers. A constitutional observer is a trained community member who observes and documents federal law enforcement activity to help ensure constitutional rights are followed.

MANKATO, Minn. (KEYC) - The Immigrant Defense Network was in Mankato to educate citizens on their constitutional rights and provide safe observer training. Their goal is to have every day Americans become Constitutional Observers, and prepare them to interact with federal agents while advocating for civil rights and due process. Established last year, the Immigrant Defense Network (IDN) is a network of over 90 immigrant, labor, legal, faith, and community organizations. Their objectives are protecting the constitutional rights of immigrant communities by giving people the tools to organize, engage in the political process, and defend human and civil rights .

About a half hour away in the suburb of Minnetonka, people in heavy winter coats file into a church. They pick up bright-yellow vests and signs with messages like, stand with immigrant families, and ICE off my property, get a warrant.

The group leading the training, the Immigrant Defense Network, was founded in Minnesota a year ago, in an effort to address the sweeping and aggressive deportation plans announced by President Donald Trump when he took office for his second term. The training was one of 30 being sponsored by IDN as part of its "Brave of Us" tour across the Upper Midwest "to strengthen community readiness, solidarity and response."

Rural Minnesota resident Nick Olson hopes the skills he teaches as part of Minnesota’s Immigrant Defense Network will help the public stay safe if or when U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement — or ICE — agents begin operations in their communities. He taught a constitutional observer class to a couple dozen participants last Thursday night in downtown Decorah. “I want…

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - The Immigrant Defense Network kicked off a series of constitutional observer trainings in St. Paul to help document the crackdown on undocumented immigrants.

IDN’s North Mankato stop is among 30 constitutional observer trainings the organization plans to host throughout the state. In partnership with COPAL Minnesota, Tuesday’s event armed attendees with a variety of tools.