The U.S. government caused a human rights crisis in Minnesota. Now what?

Human Rights Watch and leaders from The Advocates for Human Rights, the National Lawyers Guild of Minnesota and Unidos MN gathered on June 18 in Minneapolis to discuss findings from the organization's 180-page report, "A Manufactured Crisis: Minnesota Communities Terrorized by the Federal Government."

A new report from Human Rights Watch details how Operation Metro Surge created a human rights crisis here in the Twin Cities and across the state that disrupted nearly every aspect of life for thousands of residents.

The violent invasion resulted in killings, racial profiling, excessive force, detentions and widespread fear that kept many people from work, school and medical appointments.

"We've worked to investigate the far-reaching and widespread human rights violations and consequences of Operation Metro Surge, the unprecedented deployment of 4,000 federal immigration officers across the Twin Cities and surrounding areas between December and early March," said Ida Sawyer, Crisis and Conflict director for Human Rights Watch.

Human Rights Watch interviewed more than 130 people for report, including immigrants, educators, health care providers, attorneys, current and former officials, and community advocates. The report captures how many Minnesotans faced harassment, surveillance, violence and arrests, when protesting and working to protect their neighbors from federal agents.

"The federal government sent hordes of masked, armed agents to grab people off the street, whisk them away in shackles, and abuse those who sought to bear witness," said Reagan Williams, a crisis and conflict researcher with Human Rights Watch.

Recommendations for accountability, reform and repair

Beyond the findings, the Human Rights Watch report calls for accountability, compensation and structural reforms aimed at ensuring that what happened in Minnesota cannot happen again.

“Minnesotans mobilized to protest, to document abuse, and to provide critical aid to one another. National-level action is needed to ensure accountability, end ongoing abuses, remedy the harm, and prevent another crisis of this scale,” said Williams.

According to Human Rights Watch, moving forward at the federal level means three things: Investigating what happened during Operation Metro Surge, strengthening safeguards to prevent similar abuses and providing meaningful remedies for those whose lives were disrupted by the operation.

The report also outlines steps state and local leaders can take regardless of what happens in Washington. Among the recommendations:

• Support and adequately fund Minnesota's council examining the impacts of Operation Metro Surge.

• Expand culturally responsive mental health services for affected families.

• Provide additional tutoring and educational support for students whose learning was disrupted.

• Investigate surveillance tools used by federal agencies.

• Prevent the expansion of immigration detention facilities in Minnesota.

• Prohibit agreements that allow local law enforcement agencies to assist ICE with immigration enforcement.

Human Rights Watch also urged local prosecutors to continue investigating possible violations of state law by federal agents and avoid prosecuting people who were peacefully observing or protesting federal actions.

“There is no amount of press coverage that could ever fully document the scale of the ripple effect of trauma that this has on the city of Minneapolis,” one resident said. “And when these cameras go away, we're still going to be here grieving and traumatized.”