After ICE agents killed a 37-year-old woman in Minneapolis, residents reacted in many ways.
Some protested in the streets. Some delivered food and supplies to immigrants, who are afraid to venture outside.
Josh Resnik went to a Somali restaurant.
The 1988 Staples High School graduate has spent over 3 decades in the Twin Cities, working in the food industry. He knows that the gesture was small.
But it meant an enormous amount to the owner. Her business has suffered as Somali customers fear going out.
Resnik and his son Eli — a high school senior — headed to lunch as a protest unfolded nearby. The owner — in the US for more than 30 years — waved to the protesters. Some later stopped in for a meal.
Somali restaurant owner waves to protestors outside.
Josh and his son also visited a Mexican restaurant. Those owners now keep their doors locked, so ICE agents won’t enter. But diners can knock, and be let in.
Those are 2 small examples of the personal toll the events of the past month have taken on ordinary citizens.
Resnik lives in south Minneapolis, 2 miles from many of the protests.
Daily life, he says, is “weirdly normal for a lot of us. There’s a heavy dose of white privilege.”
But neither he nor anyone else can escape what’s going on.
“There’s an amazing sense of community,” Josh says. ‘People have really come together. They’re not afraid to stand up and speak out. In the darkness it’s very powerful for people to say, ‘This is not who we are.'”
Protestors (left) and ICE agents (right) in Minneapolis.
Immediately after the shooting, schools were closed. When classes resumed, ICE agents chased someone onto a high school campus. A few students and teachers were pepper sprayed.
Remote learning has been offered to students who don’t feel comfortable going to class.
A friend told Josh that one of his Hispanic employees has been pulled over 8 times, because of his dark skin.
It’s not only immigrants. The Black employee of another friend was detained. “This is like 1960s Mississippi,” Josh says.
Between the George Floyd protests in 2020, and this, “We’ve been through a lot here,” Josh notes. “People are shaken.”
Josh believes that President Trump has targeted the city and state.
“He wants violence, to prove the need for ICE. They say ‘if you follow orders, there won’t be a problem.’ But this is so purposefully provocative. The agents arrived here in force, with minimal training.”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz have urged protestors to be peaceful. “Don’t fall into ICE’s trap,” they say.
Throughout the Twin Cities, people like Josh Resnik continue to do whatever they can, in ways large and small.
On Saturday, Josh and some friends gathered to watch a football game.
Instead of wings, they ate takeout from a Somali restaurant.
Helping Somali immigrants, one meal at a time. (Photos/Josh Resnik)
(Our “06880” tagline is “Where Westport meets the world.” If you appreciate stories like this — or any others on this blog — please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
