JANUARY 19, 2026 – At noon today when I pulled up to my usual spot by the neighborhood entrance into “Little Switzerland,” the car thermometer showed an outside temperature of 4F. My anger temp, however, was still running high. It had skyrocketed during the top of the hour newscast while I was assembling myself for an extreme-cold-weather ski outing. My thoughts then boiled over when I heard Secretary Noem repeat her stale balderdash: that in the conduct of Trump’s War of Retribution against Minnesota, ICE is arresting “the worst of the worst . . . [criminal aliens who are] killing Americans, hurting children and reigning terror.”
The hour I spent alone on St. Moritz—to the chorus of timber wolves from their chase in nearby Como Zoo—did little to cool my jets, despite the wicked windchill every time I “summited.”
The dishonest script of Secretary Noem, replaying in my head, oozed with irony, following as it had, the wrenching story of a recent ICE arrest in Morristown, New Jersey. The arrestee was a young father who’d inadvisably exited the house to get some food for his six-year-old daughter (the mom being at work). Despite desperate pleas by the father, ICE agents left the young girl to fend for herself. Neighbors later found her crying up and down the sidewalk, “Where’s papi? Where’s my papi? Her mother later told a reporter that the daughter had been traumatized; that she—a six-year old child, for the love of God!—can’t sleep, won’t eat, and asks a multitude of unanswerable questions driven by fear. Add Renée Good’s murder to the mix, and decent folk must ask the obvious, “And who, exactly, Madame Secretary, is ‘killing Americans, hurting children and reigning terror’?”
The Regime insists on telling us that ICE raids are all about “making us safe” from the rogues’ gallery of immigrant criminals. This high-octane propaganda is sold to FoxNews fans and rightwing radio/podcast followers, but what they are in fact buying is a pig in a poke. The worst of it is that the poke (sack) is so full of holes, a one-eyed casual inspection reveals that the “pig” is a mangy rat.
First, let’s parse Noem’s full and overtly politicized statement published on the DHS website. It reads:
“We have arrested over 10,000 illegal aliens who were killing Americans, hurting children and reigning terror in Minneapolis because Tim Walz and Jacob Frey refuse to protect their own people and instead protect criminals,” said Secretary Kristi Noem. “In the last 6 weeks, our brave DHS law enforcement have arrested 3,000 criminal illegal aliens including vicious murders [sic], rapists, child pedophiles, and incredibly dangerous individuals. A huge victory for public safety.”
Is the number 10,000 or is it 3,000? Or is it 10,000 over the past year; 3,000 over the past six weeks? Are “child pedophiles” a special subset of “pedophiles”? What’s the difference between “incredibly dangerous people” and “dangerous people”? In any event, whether the number is 3,000, 10,000 and the “catch” includes a high number of “incredibly dangerous individuals,” the stated justification behind aggressive ICE tactics ignores extensive research that shows the serious crime rate among immigrants to be a third to half what it is for birthright citizens. And by the way, as a practical and factual matter, the current “reign of terror” is not by the hands of “criminal illegal aliens” or “radical leftist” protesters but by the ambush and bully tactics of armed, masked, unidentifiable ICE officers, agents of the United States Government, driving in caravans of unmarked trucks and SUVs with out-of-state license plates.
The “Rogues’ Gallery” argument begs the further question, “Doesn’t the criminal justice system—the one that operates within the Constitution—already deal with the ‘worst of the worst’?” The implication of the Regime’s stance is that inexplicably, prior to Trump II, heinous crimes committed by “illegal aliens” were ignored by all law enforcement agencies (including DHS under Trump I). And when Noem identifies arrestees as “murderers, rapists, [etc.],” is she referring to convicted felons, convicts who’ve escaped prison, or mere suspects? Despite the “worst of the worst” always having been on the loose, we’ve never seen the ICE approach to law enforcement using ill-trained thugs wearing masks, hiding identification, and ignoring standard operating procedures within applicable law—in a siege-like fashion across a large metropolitan area.
In any event, however much Noem wants to tout enforcement efforts to date, the DHS website shows a Rogues’ Gallery of only 13 people with alleged egregious criminality in their backgrounds. Apart from the wide “disconnect” between hype and reality is the observable fact that at the heart of “Operation Metro Surge” is profiling by skin color and surnames. ICE goons aren’t focusing their attention on the “worst of the worst.” They’re going after people who aren’t white, and they do so by lying in wait outside schools, restaurants, business employing non-white workers, gas stations, residences.
Within minutes after returning home, my brain burners were on full blast again: Beth had just received a disturbing text and video from our neighbors across the alley—a great couple perhaps half our age, kind, soft-spoken, industrious, willing to help at the drop of a hat . . . and at risk for falling on the wrong side of ICE profiling. The video—shot just minutes before—showed three guys, two in full black and wearing masks, at the front door. Fearful of ICE, our neighbors didn’t dare respond to the knocks. Eventually the men left—and proceeded to the next house. Finding no one home, they returned to their vehicle and drove off.
Beth immediately called the neighbors who’d alerted us to get more details—the most salient being a description of the vehicle—a white van—and the direction it took upon leaving. As chills shot up my spine and extreme heat fired up my thoughts, Beth gave unqualified assurances. “Be sure to let us know if you need or want anything,” she said. “We can come over right now, if you like . . . Are you sure? Okay, but know that we’re here for you; to do whatever you need.”
Before my hands and feet had a chance to thaw from my ski outing, I told Beth I wanted to follow the vehicle to see if it was in fact part of an ICE operation and perhaps on its way to another attempted raid. Off I went, not knowing exactly what I’d find or what I’d do, other than to take photos and videos and lean on the car horn to alert other people. Soon I could see that I was either too late or chasing a mirage.
As the matter unfolded, Beth learned from other neighbors that a home improvement company had been canvassing the neighborhood for business. We concluded that the men at our neighbor’s door were solicitors, not ICE agents, but given the scare they created, Beth plans to call the company tomorrow to urge their representatives not to run around wearing black masks, for crying out loud.
I returned home from my quixotic chase—just in time, it turned out, to see a message from another neighbor notifying people of an “ICE Out!” demonstration late this afternoon at a busy intersection within walking distance of our neighborhood.
On my way to the appointed site, I walked across the alley to call on our neighbors; to show them my “ICE OUT!” sign and reiterate Beth’s earlier assurances. They invited me in, and around the kitchen counter I heard a recounting of the fright they’d just experienced. This led inevitably to a larger discussion about the state of affairs in our community—and country. Our good neighbors aren’t in a panic, but they are wary. “We carry our passports with us at all times,” they said.
“So do I,” I said. “And this is the first time in my life that I’ve felt a need to do that—just as it’s the first time I would assume that three masked guys at the door were part of a government goon squad.” After re-affirming Beth’s words of support and our readiness to jump to our neighbors’ aid if the need or threat ever arose, I ventured back out into the cold.
I was heartened to see the other three corners of the busy intersection well represented and the one I approached needing added support. For the next hour we waved our signs and flags. Our presence and clear, unified message drew a steady affirmative response from rush hour motorists—all directions. My favorites were the semi-drivers, whose big-rig horns sounded like amplified whole notes played by contrabass tubas amidst a large orchestra playing a mix of rhythms at urgent tempi but all in harmony with the theme of resistance.
As Apollo followed Helios toward the horizon, they pulled (the) Mercury down as well, but we mortals all stood our ground before retiring from our posts. One big reward of the exercise was meeting a Falcon Heights neighbor for the first time. A recent retiree from an interesting career in writing and journalism, he and his wife are in early grandparenthood. We found we had lots in common, starting with our politics, and heartily agreed to continue our spirited conversation—no later than next Monday; same time, same place, same purpose. We’re part of the widespread Resistance here in Minnesota—a resistance that won’t melt until the ICE is out.
Subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.
© 2026 by Eric Nilsson
