Letter to Minnesota's Congressional Delegation

January 27, 2026

Honorable Congressperson: 

We are the Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans, a non-partisan, non-cabinet executive branch agency of state government. As members appointed by the Governor and legislative leaders pursuant to Minn. Stat. § 15.0145, subd. 2, we write to you with a keen sense of urgency. In sharing with you some of the impacts of recent federal immigration enforcement activities on Minnesota’s Asian and Pacific Islander populations, we ask that you to do everything within your power as members of Minnesota’s congressional delegation to de-escalate the crisis at hand. 

Minnesota is home to approximately 365,000 residents of Asian or Pacific Islander heritage. While more than 80 percent of us call the seven-county metro area home, Asian Pacific Minnesotans reside in every one of Minnesota’s 87 counties. Our community consists of a broad range of people: from those who have been here for generations, to those who have arrived more recently seeking freedom and opportunity. Particularly prominent in Minnesota is a large number of Southeast Asians who arrived as vetted refugees. These refugees were invited to resettle in our country and our state because of the bravery and courage they demonstrated as they fought alongside the U.S. as allies during the Vietnam War.

The recent immigration enforcement activities have caused significant negative impacts, as enforcement has swept up many people regardless of their immigration status. Many businesses in our communities have seen their customer base and staff dwindle as residents increasingly stay home out of concern for their safety. The tactics used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers has reopened trauma our refugee communities experienced for decades in their countries of origin. 

We would like to share several specific instances of how Asian Pacific Minnesotans are being impacted:

• A Hmong Vietnamese woman in Saint Paul was detained by ICE on January 8, 2026. A refugee of Christian faith who escaped religious persecution in Vietnam, she and her family resettled in the United States in 2023 via the federal Refugee Admissions Program. She has no criminal history. She is a law-abiding individual who – despite decades of religious persecution in Vietnam – remains deeply committed to her faith and hopeful about the future. She is currently being held in detention in Texas.
• A Karen mother of four young children was arrested by ICE on January 10, 2026 in Saint Paul. She, her husband, and their three older children resettled in this country in 2024 as refugees admitted via the United States Refugee Admissions Program. She has no criminal history. She has a four-month-old child she was breastfeeding until she was taken away by ICE. Across the Karen community, her arrest has triggered traumatic memories of the Myanmar civil wars. 
• Asia Mall, located in Eden Prairie, is a key destination for Asian cuisine, grocery, and entertainment. Opened in 2022, Asia Mall hosts more than 20 small businesses and employs hundreds of Minnesotans. Since the ICE surge, the mall owners estimated a 30-40% drop in revenue relative to this time last year and a 60-70% decrease in staff capacity. If the situation does not change significantly, mall owners say they and the people who depend on the mall for a livelihood will find themselves in devastating economic situations.  

These are just some examples of consequences experienced by our Asian Pacific Minnesotan community during the rapidly developing situation. Countless people in our communities are fearful of leaving their homes – for the grocery store, for school, for work, and even for fire drills. Because of these ICE operations, our community and state are less safe; less secure in our homes, schools, workplaces, and places of worship; and less free in our ability to exercise our rights. 

To be clear: we at the Council acknowledge and understand the legality of ICE’s ability to enforce immigration law. Our concerns lie with the lack of clear messaging or standardized action on the part of federal immigration enforcement. Additionally, the inability of detainees to communicate with family, or for families to locate missing loved ones, shows a lack of purpose, intention, and strategy from these federal officers. The Council is prepared to collaborate with local law enforcement and, to the extend required by law, ICE to ensure the safety of suspects, officers, and protesters. In doing so, we would expect these visitors to our state to demonstrate an equivalent respect of the law, beginning with following due process. 

We cannot emphasize enough that the situation on the ground in our communities is untenable. We call on you to ensure safety and transparency, act as a check on these actions, and reinforce our shared faith in the rule of law and representative democracy that is being shaken by recent actions. As we move ahead to the 250th anniversary of the establishment of the United States of America, we have no higher duty than upholding these American principles.

Sincerely,

Sia Her
Executive Director

CC:

Chair Bryan Thao Worra, Lao-ancestry representative
Representative P. Mueller, House GOP representative
Senator S. Pha, Senate DFL representative
Senator E. Pratt, Senate GOP representative
Yixiu Chen, Vietnamese-ancestry representative
Elizabeth Eckman, Korean-ancestry representative
Shayna Karuman, Malaysian-ancestry representative
Poh Lin Khoo, Chinese-ancestry representative
Eh Tah Khu, Karen-ancestry representative
Pia Puentespina, Filipino-ancestry representative
Karn Tintani, Thai-ancestry representative
Shwetha Vijayakumar, Asian Indian-ancestry representative
Touachongka Vue Xiong, Hmong-ancestry representative
Ajeet Yadav, Nepali-ancestry representative