Thousands of "radical activists" descend on Lake Street, Minneapolis, protesting ICE, Saturday 12/20

[progree]

making "excuses for criminals" every step of the way

Anti-ICE protesters crowd Lake Street as 'Operation Metro Surge' continues, Star Tribune, 12/20/25

. . . Thousands descended on East Lake Street on Saturday to march against ongoing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in Minnesota.

. . . Since Dec. 1, federal officials say “Operation Metro Surge” has arrested more than 400 people.

. . . Minnesota Republican Party Chair Alex Plechash decried the “radical activists” marching Saturday and said people want “safety, accountability and the rule of law, not excuses for criminals.”

. . . Cutting winds flipped banners upside down along East Lake Street as protesters shielded their faces with signs during Saturday’s frigid march. (( it was about zero degrees F windchill thanks to wind over 20 mph not counting gusts -progree))

. . . Dennis Dyce, 75, marched Saturday for immigrant neighbors who may be afraid of protesting in public.

. . . “This was an area that was completely desolate in the ’90s, and it has been brought back by the hard work of immigrant communities — both the Latino community and the Somali community,” Hussein said, urging residents to support immigrant businesses after the march.

The article also has a summary of recent ICE activities in Minneapolis

[Mister Ed]

1. I know that neighborhood well, having lived there, and yes, immigrants revitalized it in the 90's.

The neighborood was in sharp decline until an influx of Latino immigrants brought about a renaissance in the 90's. Suddenly, there was a vibrant economy on Lake Street again, with a bustling mercado and music in the air at night...

[progree]

3. Unfortunately, businesses there are hurting severely. I was thinking of taking a tour on the new Metro B line

Last edited Sun Dec 21, 2025, 12:46 AM - Edit history (1)

Bus Rapid Transit which goes up and down Lake Street about every 10-12 minutes, and go stop along the way to eat and shop, and see what's changed since the early 2000's when I walked the street a couple times a month from about Hennepin to Chicago or Cedar, and sometimes beyond for exercise and guilty eating. (More interesting than walking around the lakes).
https://www.metrotransit.org/route/bline

I wonder reading these articles if I'll find much open . . .

Twin Cities Latino, Somali businesses struggling amid ICE's Operation Metro Surge: "What did we do?", 12/12/25
https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/twin-cities-latino-somali-businesses-struggling-ice-operation-metro-surge/

At Plaza Mexico on Lake Street, the tables are empty and certain stalls are closed. There are businesses with the lights off because employees were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in just the past few weeks.

. . . The Colonial owner said he's preparing to deliver groceries to people afraid to leave their homes. Ramiro Hernandez, the owner of Bymore Supermercado in St. Paul, Minnesota, is doing the same, free of charge.

Trump's immigration policies are hurting Minneapolis small businesses, owners say, 12/16/25
https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/trump-immigration-minneapolis-small-business-impact/

... Business owners, like those on Lake Street, are having to shut their doors due to lack of foot traffic.

. . . At Dios Habla Hoy Church in Minneapolis, the pastor says they have over 5,000 families waiting for food who are too scared to leave home due to Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests.

. . . Daniel Hernandez, owner of Colonial Market, said they're currently only selling 10% to 15% of what they normally do. There are 12 businesses inside the market, all of which are closed — and all employed by people here in the country legally, Hernandez said.

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2025/12/20/thousands-attend-antiice-protest-in-minneapolis
Emilia Gonzalez Avalos, executive director of Unidos MN, said business is down 80 percent for many of the shops in the area as immigrant customers — and owners — fear leaving their homes.

===========================================

I remember when Sears closed its catalog operation in 1990 and closed its store there in 1994, and it sat empty for a decade before being redeveloped into the Midtown Exchange housing the Midtown Global Market, opening in 2006.

[Mister Ed]

4. This confirms in stark detail what a dinner companion told me last night.

He said that the normally-bustling Lake Street is now a ghost town.

I wonder how much tax revenue is lost as the formally thriving business are shuttered?

[AllaN01Bear]

2. now i am labeled "radical activist" slap . another label that i wear proudly.:)