I’m Heading to Minnesota to Stand in Interfaith Solidarity

Silence is not an option, and we must continue to do everything in our power to counter fascism

This week I am traveling to Minnesota to stand in interfaith solidarity with our neighbors who are under siege from federal immigration enforcement operations. Operations that have brought ICE agents into communities in ways that are hostile, destabilizing, in total violation of our Constitutional rights, and in some cases like that of Renee Good, deadly. Let’s Address This.

Photograph: Riley Harty/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

Why I’m Going

I am going because I was asked to attend by Minnesota faith leaders whom I love and trust. I am going because peace and justice demand presence. I am going because truth requires bearing witness. I am going in honor of the lives of innocent neighbors — like Renee Good — and because the integrity of entire communities are at stake.

I have spent years writing about how to protect ourselves from fascism, how to resist agencies like ICE that operate with impunity, and how to hold elected officials accountable when they fail to meet their constitutional and moral duties. I have protested extensively in Chicago — frequently confronted and harassed by both local police and federal agents — and I have always returned to this platform to elevate the voices of neighbors whose lives are upended by state violence.

But now, the threat is not abstract. It is on the ground in Minnesota. I am going there not to grandstand, and not to provide platitudes. I am going to listen, to document, and to elevate the stories of real people living through an unfolding crisis that demands recognition and accountability.

My heart is still with Renee Good and her family. As it is with a Black father named Keith Porter, murdered by an ICE fascist just a week before the killing of Renee Good, but whose story sadly did not garner the attention it deserved. In fact, ICE is on record pace for people it is killing in custody, with no end in sight. These murders are not isolated tragedies — they are part of a broader pattern of militarized enforcement that places profit, politics, and power above human life. To counter that, we must see every family accosted by ICE as our own. That is not sentimental abstraction; it is the moral solidarity required to protect communities under threat. It is this shared humanity and empathy that must be the foundation of our resistance to injustice.

No, I Am Not A “Paid Protestor”

One of the most common, and meritless, accusations from the MAGA right is that we oppose ICE fascism because we are “paid to do so.” Let me be clear. This trip is self-funded. Yes, it is made possible because of the support of the ordinary working people who invest in my human rights advocacy, graciously contributing a cup of coffee a month. I am deeply grateful for this community. You make it possible for me to go where others may not, and to say aloud truths that others would prefer remain unspoken.

On the flip side, several sincere and well wishers have asked me: Why go? ICE is hostile. You, as an immigrant and a naturalized citizen, risk being accosted. The reality is this: it would be shameful for me to take the privilege I have—citizenship, education, professional credentials, a platform reaching millions—and then cower at the moment when my voice is needed most. As I’ve proudly said before, I did not become a human rights lawyer to avoid discomfort. I did not study law to echo soothing clichés. I did it to speak truth to power, to elevate the vulnerable, and to challenge systems that harm our neighbors.

The reality is, I’ve always done my best to be present and bear witness in the face of injustice. It’s why I went to Louisiana in 2005 for Hurricane Katrina Relief, supported Hurricane Sandy Relief in 2013, went to Mali to help build schools with Humanity First in 2017, traveled to Palestine in 2022 to meet with human rights activists working to end the Occupation, was a first responder to Turkey after the 2023 Earthquake, and provided legal support to my fellow Americans after the 2024 Lahaina fires in Hawaii as well as the 2025 Pasadena fires in Los Angeles. This is but a snapshot. And as I visit Minnesota this week, here’s what I hope to accomplish.

What I Hope To Accomplish

We must tell our stories with courage, consistency, and community. I hope to spend my time elevating these stories fearlessly. My presence in Minnesota will not magically solve these problems. My purpose instead is to bear witness, to document what is happening in 2026 America, and to make sure people’s stories are heard beyond local headlines.

I will be on the ground this week interviewing neighbors, activists, faith leaders, and those directly impacted by enforcement operations. I will seek to elevate their voices here, in real time, with the depth, context, and humanity this moment demands. Therefore, as I update you from Minnesota in the coming days, I invite you to read, to share, and to stand with those demanding justice, accountability, and dignity for all Americans—regardless of immigration status or background.

Thank you for standing with me. And thank you for standing for justice. Thank you for investing in and support my human rights advocacy. Together, we will confront state violence not with fear, but with solidarity, empathy, and unwavering resolve.