Hmong and Southeast Asian Refugees

Minnesota officials, led by Attorney General Keith Ellison, and House Judiciary Democrats are pressing the Justice Department for records and answers after DOJ lawyers reportedly told its Civil Rights Division not to investigate the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti during Operation Metro Surge and state investigators were blocked from evidence access. The lawmakers allege DOJ ordered investigative targeting of Good’s widow and unusually gave ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations lead responsibility in the Pretti case rather than an independent or FBI review—actions that coincided with the Minnesota BCA’s withdrawal from the Good probe and a federal order preserving evidence in Pretti’s case.

St. Paul’s mayor says members of the city’s Hmong community are sheltering indoors and “afraid to leave their homes” amid a recent surge in ICE activity. Reporting from the Twin Cities documents similar behavior — including a Minneapolis asylum‑seeker family who haven’t left their apartment for weeks — and pediatricians say many children are showing stress‑related symptoms, with some injured after exposure to tear gas and other chemical irritants at protests and near schools.