The deportation crisis in our community has continued to rapidly escalate. There have been hundreds deported to Southeast Asia this year alone. Since January 2025, MN8’s caseload has increased by 600%. The MN8 Deportation Defense & Relief Fund aims to support Southeast Asians currently under threat of detention and deportation. These funds will provide direct and tangible relief to families in crisis. Funds to impacted individuals and their families can be used for commissary (for phone calls, video calls, and items needed in detention), care packages, and culturally relevant food.
In the midst of this crisis, we must remember that there ARE actions that we can take to defend our community. Our communities have always turned to each other to create ecosystems of mutual aid and care as a way to protect each other. By continuing this legacy of solidarity and compassion, we can build the resilience our communities need to not only survive, but to thrive. At this moment, we need to lean on each other as the first step to community care. We are calling on community to lend a hand by participating in our Southeast Asian anti-deportation efforts.
Buy Bold Art & Donate to the Fundraiser
[Coming Soon] Learn More About Who Your Donation Supports
Art is Revolution, Meet the Artists
Art has always been a powerful channel for connection, resistance, and transformation. We hope supporters can proudly wear liberating messaging and challenge anti-immigrant narratives. Please note that a portion of all funds raised will go towards MN8’s fight for immigrant justice.
If you would like to support us monetarily, please visit minnesota8.org/donate/ to donate.
We encourage you to read the stories of those most impacted. Stories can often help us understand different perspectives. In a world where most headlines about immigrants and refugees are negative and misleading, we all deserve the truth. We all deserve real stories, ones that center our shared humanity, connection, and compassion. Read the short stories of Southeast Asian individuals who are impacted:
Megan Do, Shut Down I.C.E.
I am a high school visual artist and community storyteller from Eagan, Minnesota. Besides organizing art therapy workshops and creating art for dementia elderly, I also work at the intersection of culture and resistance. My art draws on heritage roots and the struggles of immigrant communities to speak out against injustice. I use bold imagery and cultural symbolism to honor those who seek safety and dignity. I believe art can be both a space and a tool for change that pushes us toward collective liberation.
Hongfa Norasingh, Ice In My Drinks, Not On Our Streets
Hongfa Norasingh is a first-generation Southeast Asian American creative born to immigrant parents from Laos. She is a Twin Cities based digital graphic designer and illustrator who thrives on fantastical and visual storytelling. Since childhood, Hongfa’s self-expression continuously develops and focuses on the invocation of joy, adventure, and the spark of imagination for the what ifs and what can be.
Mai, Families Are Our Lifelines
Mai is a self taught first generation Cambodian American artist. Many of her inspirations come from her daily life and experiences from her family. Through her art she aims to bring joy, connection and collective story telling for others to share.
Shouazong Hang, Abolish I.C.E.
Shouazong Hang has dedicated her career to empowering educators and communities through training, storytelling, and cultural advocacy. Creating art has been a passion and hobby throughout her life and she continues to practice and learn her craft through freelance work. To connect, feel free to follow her on Instagram at @shouazong.hang or @sfh.art. She is also happy to connect on LinkedIn!
Chenda Hing, We Protect Each Other.
Chenda (jen-DAH, they/she) embraces their Cambodian identity, ancestry, and pride. They grew up in Frogtown, Minnesota hearing stories of displacement from their family and living through the diaspora of the second generation. At a young age, she connected her identities as a queer, Cambodian, fem individual to build justice-centered values through different forms of storytelling. She strives to strengthen radical, political Asian-American spaces through the values of centering community, embodying resistance, and practicing solidarity. The voices of marginalized people continue to grow this daydreamer’s worldview as storytelling is a core organizing belief for them.
Historical Context for This Fundraiser
Previously, MN8 has used GoFundMe to create fundraisers for each impacted individual; however, with the influx of cases, we are pivoting our strategy to support the community more broadly and efficiently. This fund will also allow us to protect the identities of those most vulnerable. We offer support with GoFundMe logistics and storytelling directly to impacted individuals and families in addition to this fund; we do not intend to replace or take away from their agency.
Please consider our guiding principles for mutual aid:
- We approach mutual aid as revolution and resistance, not charity or saviorism.
- We will nurture, invest, and take care of one another, leaning towards community to build hope, resilience, and stability in times of crisis.
- We will reduce the harm of the state by not allowing families to carry the burden of the consequences on their own.
- We understand our limitations as a non-profit and encourage people to also give directly to families.
