Several Minnesotans, including some affected by the ICE surge, are attending President Donald Trump’s State of the Union Address on Tuesday night as guests of congressional legislators.
To draw attention to ICE’s actions that “have devastated Minnesotans’ safety and economic security,” Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar is bringing four people to the State of the Union Address, according to a news release.
Among her Minnesota guests are Aliya Rahman, Mary Granlund, Mubashir Hussen and Gerardo Orozco Guzman, four Minnesotans whose experiences with federal immigration enforcement have become central in immigration policies.
Omar framed her guest selections as emblematic of the consequences of Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota.
Aliya Rahman
Aliya Rahman is a Bangladeshi-American software engineer from South Minneapolis.
Rahman, a disabled person, spoke before Congress about her experience during detention after being arrested during an ICE operation while driving to a doctor’s appointment.
The incident drew traction after a video footage showed officers forcibly removing her from her vehicle. Rahman allegedly stopped ICE vehicles during a protest, and in the widely shared video, federal authorities were seen smashing her car window and dragging her out while she screamed.
Rahman has been active with a number of charitable and advocacy organizations, such as Code for Progress, Equality Ohio, an LGBT advocacy group, and the Center for Community Change. She has also expressed support for pro-Palestine and Black Lives Matter causes on social media.
Mary Granlund
Mary Granlund serves as the chair of the Columbia Heights Public School Board. Her district made national headlines when 5-year-old Liam Ramos, a child in her community, and his father were detained by ICE agents outside Ramos’s school.
Along with others in the district, she has taken action to safeguard children in her community.
Mubashir Hussen
Mubashir Hussen is a 20-year-old U.S. citizen of Somali descent from Minnesota. Hussen was detained by ICE agents despite repeatedly asserting that he was a citizen and offering his ID.
His case became part of a broader ACLU lawsuit alleging racial profiling and unlawful detention practices.
Gerardo Orozco Guzman
Gerardo Orozco Guzman works with Centro De Trabajadores Unidos en la Lucha, a Minneapolis-based worker centre that has been standing against ICE detentions at local job sites.
Guzman’s father, Eustaquio Orozco Verdusco, was detained in early January under federal immigration operations. Orozco Verdusco was detained by ICE and flown to El Paso, Texas, before being moved to New Mexico.
