When HwaJeong Kim called for help on Rose Avenue, her neighbors came, and the memory of their response stayed with her long after the confrontation ended. From organizing grocery support that preserved families' choices to making 15 phone calls of thanks, the St. Paul organizer shares how grief, gratitude, and hope became inseparable.

When Operation Metro Surge changed the question from how young people could shape their schools to whether they could safely attend them, Jose Perez helped create space for them to organize. A son, neighbor, and youth organizer from St. Paul's East Side, he shares the fear his family faced, the collective response he witnessed, and his conviction that everyone has a gift to give and a part to play.

At COPAL's Worker Center, Brenda Gutierrez-Rosas watched a busy office fall silent as families became afraid to leave home. Her story follows the calls for help that continued, the neighbors who helped keep families housed, and a daughter's conviction that it is now her generation's turn to show up.

En una línea de ayuda de COPAL, Laura Barrera escuchó los golpes en una puerta y a un hombre decir “señorita, me van a llevar”, antes de que la llamada se cortara. Esta migrante colombiana comparte el miedo que también sintió, el apoyo que encontró al salir a marchar y por qué sigue usando su voz para acompañar a su comunidad.

Silvia Ibañez-Brown creció marcada por las historias de golpe militar, tortura y exilio que atravesaron a su familia en Chile; décadas después, como maestra de arte en Minneapolis, reconoció ecos de esa historia cuando el miedo llegó a las aulas y a las familias inmigrantes. Su historia revela una resistencia hecha de escuelas santuario, cientos de cajas de comida, abrazos a niños aterrados y una comunidad que aprendió a caminar con los ojos abiertos y el corazón abierto.

As COPAL’s Communications Director, Wendy Zuniga spent Operation Metro Surge making sure immigrant families had accurate information, trusted resources, and somewhere safe to turn. But the crisis became painfully personal when she had to explain deportation and racial profiling to her six-year-old son—and reassure him that when she left home to help others, she would come back.

As a youth organizer in South Minneapolis, Vivi Sieger watched Operation Metro Surge force children and young people to make impossible choices about school, work, safety, and the survival of their families. Through rapid response calls, rent assistance, food support, and one unforgettable encounter with a woman fighting simply for the right to leave safely, Vivi witnessed both the cruelty of the moment and the extraordinary power of community in the face of it.

When fear descended on immigrant neighborhoods, Mary Ann Lajeralde Quiroz answered with something she had learned from generations of matriarchs: whatever you have in abundance—time, food, money, trust, love—you share. From standing between ICE agents and a neighborhood business to building rapid-response networks, sanctuary spaces, and care for families, Mary Ann’s story shows how a community turned what she calls a “lab experiment of fear” into a practice of collective courage.

When Carolina Ortiz saw armed men outside her home on a security camera, her mother was inside, and she was too far away to reach her quickly. While helping COPAL's team answer families calling for support, she was carrying her own fears and drawing strength from her parents and a community that reminded her she was not alone.

Muneer Karcher-Ramos grew up knowing the fear of immigration checkpoints; decades later, he watched his own six-year-old daughter learn to fear whistles, sirens, and unfamiliar cars while his Somali family was directly targeted during Operation Metro Surge. His story is about what occupation leaves behind in children, families, and even our bodies—and the power of a community that chooses to remember, resist, and build something more durable from what it endured.

When Miguel Ixtlilco learned that immigration agents were outside his home as his mother returned from surgery, he left work, raced back, and confronted the moment with little more than a whistle—only to discover that his entire neighborhood was ready to stand beside him. His story is about a family carrying the physical and emotional toll of fear, an immigrant community learning to protect itself without violence, and the realization that, even in one of Minnesota’s darkest moments, they were not alone.

Cuando detuvieron al padre de una familia cercana, Andrés Cid Duran y sus hijos ayudaron a llevar a las niñas de esa familia a la escuela. Con la cámara en la calle y el miedo también en casa, este cineasta chileno documentó la respuesta de sus vecinos y encontró en esa unión una razón para seguir registrando sus historias.

Mara Solis’ story is about what educators do when fear enters the lives of children. As a fourth grade teacher in St. Paul Public Schools, Mara saw Operation Metro Surge disrupt the everyday routines families rely on — school buses, parent pickup, work, court, rent, groceries, recess. Her story shows how teachers became organizers, protectors, communicators, and community defenders.

Jeremy Lorenzo’s story is about someone who moved from political awakening into disciplined community action. He did not begin with a tight-knit community in Minnesota, but through Indivisible, IDN, constitutional observer trainings, rapid response, and mutual aid, he found one. His story shows how people become organizers when they decide they have time, skills, and responsibility to give.

Jason Ortiz-Crespin’s story is about protection as instinct. As a special education teacher, grandson of Mexican immigrants, constitutional observer, organizer, and community safety volunteer, Jason moved from shock and fear into fierce defense of children, schools, elders, and neighbors. His story carries one of the clearest emotional arcs: “I didn’t know what to do” becomes “you are not going to harm one of these kids.”

Mark Goldberg’s story is about organized community defense in motion. As a Jewish community member, synagogue board member, safety and security volunteer, and IDN organizer/responder, Mark witnessed the fear Operation Metro Surge created across families, businesses, and neighborhoods — and chose to confront it through rapid response, documentation, protection, and solidarity.

Peter Brown is a longtime South Minneapolis resident, former legal aid attorney, Quaker, neighbor, and trained constitutional observer. His story shows how ordinary tools — a whistle, a notebook, a phone, and moral clarity — became part of a larger community defense strategy during Operation Metro Surge.