SAINT PAUL, Minn., Jan. 29, 2026 — Today, state Reps. Erin Byrnes (D-Dearborn), Emily Dievendorf (D-Lansing), Veronica Paiz (D-Harper Woods) and Natalie Price (D-Berkley) joined dozens of state lawmakers from across the country in a Day of Solidarity with their Minnesota colleagues. The lawmakers discussed the impacts of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) actions, including growing national concern about ICE and Customs and Border Patrol’s (CBP) actions and increased violence that has left multiple dead, including the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

“We’ve seen and are appalled by what has happened in Minneapolis over the last few weeks,” Byrnes said. “Let me be crystal clear: federal authorities are not above the law, and this administration’s callous disregard for the rule of law, constitutional rights and human life cannot be allowed to continue. We are here today to stand with our neighbors in Minnesota and are doing everything we can to prevent similar things from happening in Michigan.” 

“Every American should be horrified by the violence we’ve seen used against protestors and everyday people across the country. Minnesotans have been assaulted and detained while demonstrating, but also while trying to get to work, go to school or go to the doctor in and around Minneapolis,” Dievendorf said. “And those are only the things we’ve seen on video; today’s testimony in the Minnesota Senate committee makes clear that countless horrors are occurring when there are no witnesses present. 

“Walking the streets and targeting anyone with brown skin and a pulse is not law enforcement — it is at best racial profiling and at worst a coordinated ethnic cleansing campaign. Violating constitutional rights on a routine basis does not make anyone safer and destabilizes our very democracy. I stand with the people of Minnesota when I say that ICE has no place in our communities, because Minnesotans have every right to freedom and safety. I also stand with Minnesota because if we don’t put a stop to this intentional unraveling of our basic rights by this administration, then any state or city can become Minnesota and Minneapolis.”

The day began with a committee meeting held in the Senate Rules and Administration Select Subcommittee and began with a constitutional analysis of ICE’s actions in Minnesota, followed by a discussion of the impact their actions have had on local residents. 

The federal immigration crackdown has cost dozens of lives with December 2025 being the deadliest month in ICE history and 2025 being the deadliest year in more than two decades for people in ICE custody.

“Law enforcement is supposed to protect communities, but it’s clear that is not what’s happening,” Paiz said. “What ICE has been doing in Minnesota, and across the country, is a brazen display of lawlessness that cannot continue unchecked. Minnesota is not alone in this fight for rights for both U.S. citizens and anyone who calls our country home.  We came here today to stand in solidarity with the full knowledge that though these problems exist in Michigan, and the extent of brutality could easily increase and worsen. It’s critical we stand united in our stance against ICE and CPB’s cruel enforcement methods.”  

“When you have masked agents wandering the streets, profiling and detaining people at random, and using children as bait — that does not create safety; it creates chaos,” Price said. “The whole country has now seen what ICE is capable of and it must end now. We stand in solidarity with Minnesotans who are fighting to protect their communities from this gross federal overreach. ICE is also targeting communities across Michigan, and we are doing everything in our power to prevent what happened here from happening ever again.”

“ICE is terrorizing communities across the country,” Byrnes concluded. “My Democratic colleagues and I in Michigan have introduced legislation to protect our immigrant friends and neighbors as well as every Michigander from federal overreach. ICE is not interested in public safety or the rule of law and that is why now is the time to get ICE out of our communities.”

###