MN unions to employers: Keep ICE out of our workplaces

Members of several health care unions gather outside HCMC for a “unity break” to decry ICE’s presence in their facilities.

As federal immigration raids continue in the Twin Cities, several local unions are stepping up to demand their employers protect both workers and the people they serve.

From health care workers and letter carriers to transit workers and educators, the message has been clear: keep ICE out of our workplaces.

Education Minnesota, the statewide teachers union, today joined two school districts in a lawsuit seeking to block ICE and Border Protection agents from conducting operations on or near public schools, arguing that recent federal actions have disrupted, education, endangered students and driven families away from classrooms.

“Students can’t learn, and educators can’t teach, when there are armed, masked federal agents stationed within view of classroom windows, sometimes for days on end,” Education Minnesota President Monica Byron said. “ICE and Border Patrol need to stay away from our schools so students can go there safely each day to learn without fear, and so that our members can focus on teaching instead of constantly reacting to the shocking and unconstitutional actions of federal agents.”

At Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, hospitality workers, support staff and drivers with Uber and Lyft saw an escalation of immigration activity in early January.

At a press conference with union and faith leaders, airport workers described being stopped by federal agents on their way to work – or even on the job – and asked for documentation that they are in the country legally.

Uber Driver Hamsa Hussein said federal agents at the airport were clearly stopping drivers based on their appearance.

Airport workers, Uber and Lyft drivers and clergy held a press conference at Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport after several union members were detained at the facility last month.

“This is not how things are supposed to be working,” he said. “It’s about intimidation, not safety. No one should be treated like a suspect for showing up to work.”

UNITE HERE Local 17, which represents over 250 food-service workers at the airport, reported that over a dozen of its members had been detained last month – on both sides of MSP’s security checkpoints. Geof Paquette, an internal organizer with Local 17, said anyone working behind the checkpoint must pass a rigorous federal background check.

“All of these workers who were kidnapped had the proper authorization to be working in an airport behind security,” he said. “They’re doing it the right way. They’re doing it the legal way – and they’re still targeted.”

Many hospitality workers, as a result, are simply staying home, Paquette added. He noted that it’s also happening at the airport and in restaurants and hotels, many occupied by ICE agents themselves.

Local 17 is helping the families of members who have been detained track and support their loved ones. The union also is raising funds – over $100,000 to date – to support workers and their families with food, rent and other costs.

Union members working in local hospitals, meanwhile, reported seeing federal agents lurking near their campuses or waiting outside patients’ rooms – with some patients even being shackled to their hospital beds.

Dr. Zach Perez, a first-year resident at Hennepin County Medical Center and a member of the SEIU-affiliated Committee of Interns and Residents, said an alarming number of patients are skipping appointments, not picking up medications and forgoing treatment.

“This is an extremely preventable public health crisis, and it’s created by ICE,” Perez said during a unity break with members of AFSCME, the Minnesota Nurses Association and the Minnesota Newspaper and Communications Guild outside HCMC on Jan. 23.

Perez added a message for business leaders, hospital executives and elected officials: “Work together to rid our community of this disease.”

– Michael Moore, UA editor