Immigrant Rights Activists in St. Paul Hold a Day of the Dead Rally & Vigil to Honor Lives Lost at the Hands of ICE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date of Publication: 11/04/2026
Contact Information: [email protected]
[St. Paul, MN] — On the evening of Monday, November 2nd, 2026, Minnesota 8 (MN8) and Indigenous Roots (IRoots) held a rally and vigil at East Side Sculpture Park with a crowd of about 50 people. The action marked the Latin American holiday of Día de los Muertos or Day of the Dead, honoring loved ones that have passed and spotlighting the people who have died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody and who were shot and killed by ICE and Border Patrol agents. The rally and vigil were a part of a national week of action hosted by Detention Watch Network calling for ICE out of our communities, redirection of ICE funding, and a shutdown to all ICE detention centers.
“We are honoring the lives that have been lost in detention centers, the lives that have been disappeared by immigration enforcement, the lives lost in the streets; Renee Good and Alex Pretti.” said Chino, an organizer with Indigenous Roots.
Fiscal year 2026 was the deadliest fiscal year in ICE’s history. People are dying at a record-breaking rate. Shockingly, there have been at least 61 deaths in ICE custody since Trump was inaugurated and at least 11 fatal shootings by ICE and Border Patrol agents. ICE’s death toll proves that no one is safe when ICE is present.
“People say ICE left but we know they haven’t. Don’t let this moment bring in fear. Let it empower you to fight even harder and organize even stronger,” said House Representative María Isa Pérez-Vega.
Minnesotans are still waiting for justice and accountability from the atrocities of Operation Metro Surge. With the new federal immigration developments, there may be another moment of brutal immigration enforcement coming soon. Immigrant families are getting hit the hardest with confusing tactics and inhumane treatment of the system.
“Our community members are shipped to different detention centers all over the country, far away from their home state, to put distance between their families and communities. This makes it extremely difficult to coordinate and fight for their release,” said Kevin Huynh, Organizing Manager at Minnesota 8 (MN8). “Detention centers have had an abysmal human rights record since the creation of ICE. The cruel and inhumane facility conditions, fatal medical neglect, and physical abuse continue to escalate to extreme levels of violence. We will not accept these conditions, and we must END THE ICE AGE. ”
Huynh spoke on the pressing issue of the newest detention center. Minnesota has plans to open its first detention center in Appleton, MN. The facility has 1,600 beds, which is roughly 6x the size of an average county jail and has more capacity for people than the city of Appleton has in total. Rally speakers spoke about the potential for more ICE activity and human rights violations to come given the size of the facility. With more ICE presence and space for immigration detention, the increase of human abuse and deaths are likely to follow.
In “Deadly Failures,” a 2024 report by the ACLU, American Oversight, and Physicians for Human Rights, independent medical experts found that 95 percent of deaths in detention were deemed as being preventable or possibly preventable if ICE had provided clinically appropriate medical care. Similarly, Amnesty International listed some of ICE’s countless human rights violations. In their report, they share the atrocities that come with ICE’s work and make the case to abolish ICE.
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Minnesota 8 (MN8) is a nonprofit that fights for Southeast Asian Liberation. We work to return dignity and justice to our people by ending detention and deportation in Southeast Asian communities.
Indigenous Roots Cultural Center (IRoots) is a coalition of artists, culture bearers, business owners, cultural groups and organizations dedicated to building, supporting and cultivating opportunities for and with Brown, Black, Native and Indigenous Peoples through cultural arts and activism.
Detention Watch Network (DWN) is a national coalition building power through collective advocacy, grassroots organizing, and strategic communications to abolish immigration detention in the United States.