Second-year University of Minnesota student Monica Montejo works a full-time job Monday through Friday to support her family. She wakes up at 5 a.m. on Monday, goes to work for eight hours, takes a shower when she gets home, eats and then tries to work on school. After, she goes to bed at 8 p.m. to wake up early, and the cycle repeats.

But some nights, when she looks at her bills for rent, car insurance, phone service and college expenses, the stress distracts her from her school work. One year ago, circumstances were different.

Nov. 20 marked the one-year anniversary of the day that changed everything for the Montejo family. Gregorio Montejo, Monica Montejo’s dad and the family’s primary breadwinner, was arrested for his second incident of driving under the influence.

He lived in the U.S. undocumented for 30 years and has two daughters and two sons. The family quickly organized the money to post bail for his release, but U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) held him in custody. Nine months later, he was deported to Mexico after being detained at Sherburne County Jail, without a chance to say goodbye to his family.

After months of battling Gregorio’s case with ICE and working with community organizations and lawyers, the Montejo children’s lives have changed without their father. Monica Montejo is now a full-time student while working full time. Emma Montejo, the youngest, had stayed with relatives during these months but now lives at college out of state. Jesús Montejo, their brother, works two jobs to support his family.

“Everything feels like it was taken away. It feels like I don’t have that option to be a normal college student because I have to be responsible; I have to be that full-grown adult,” Monica Montejo said. She is 19 years old.

One November evening

While driving home from work, Jesús Montejo was the first to find out his dad had been arrested. Less than 10 minutes into the drive, he saw his dad’s 2017 Nissan Altima car pulled over next to a police car.

“I got chills, and my heart just sank,” Jesús Montejo said. “I immediately pulled a U-ey just to make sure it was him, and it was him.”

He parked, got out of the car and waited until a police officer approached him to ask him what was happening. He made phone calls right away, including to his mom and his sister Monica Montejo. Immediately, they thought he was joking, he said.

The next 24 hours were frantic for the family. Monica and Jesús Montejo made phone calls to state troopers, police officers and county officials asking for information to locate and get in contact with their dad. Four days after his arrest, they were able to have a phone call with Gregorio Montejo, said Emma Montejo.

The family experienced something similar with Gregorio’s oldest son, Junior Montejo, who was deported to Mexico by ICE in 2017; the process of getting access to resources and visiting him was easier, Monica Montejo said.

During the pandemic, it was more difficult for the family to endure the ICE court proceedings, communicate with lawyers and visit Gregorio Montejo, according to Monica Montejo.

Gregorio Montejo said that for the first two weeks in Sherburne County Jail, he felt extremely sick, because he was not given his medication for high blood pressure. The conditions in the jail were terrible, especially when the pandemic hit, he said.

Many detainees feared the spread of COVID-19 since they were still being gathered in large groups, Gregorio Montejo said, adding that he never met with doctors to address his health issues, only nurses.

In the eighth episode of a podcast series called “American Refugee,” Gregorio Montejo speaks of his experience in Sherburne County jail, the largest Minnesota county jail housing ICE detainees. He described being held in solitary confinement for weeks and the fight from his lawyers, volunteers and family for his release.

The Minnesota Interfaith Coalition on Immigration (ICOM) helped the Montejo family by writing letters to politicians and community leaders pleading for them to call and stop ICE from deporting Gregorio Montejo.

“Our volunteers in the [Accompanying Immigrants in Detention] program do as much as we possibly can to support the family, financially, spiritually,” said Daniel Romero, a minister at Lyndale United Church of Christ and ICOM consultant.

Days before Gregorio Montejo’s deportation, volunteers were able to urge Sen. Tina Smith, Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Rep. Ilhan Omar to call ICE while Gregorio was in Sherburne County Jail to try and stop his deportation. Volunteers had been working adamantly since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic to get Gregorio Montejo released from Sherburne County Jail because his health issues put him at greater risk of contracting the virus, said Stephanie Tice, a University graduate student and ICOM volunteer coordinator.

While celebrating Emma Montejo’s high school graduation, the family found out that ICE would deport Gregorio Montejo.

“Unfortunately, in the end, it didn’t really work in our favor. But I guess that’s the hardest part about everything,” Jesús Montejo said.

On July 29, ICE deported Gregorio Montejo to Mexico and gave his family short notice, Monica Montejo said. Due to COVID-19, the family could only visit the ICE detention center on certain days. Though the Montejo family was allowed to prepare and give Gregorio Montejo a bag with his belongings, the family could not deliver the bag in time.

Gregorio Montejo arrived at the U.S. and Mexico border at night and stayed in an ICE detention center until the next day. He said he brought nothing with him to Mexico but was able to get on a plane to meet Junior Montejo in Cancún, Mexico, and stayed with him for a month. He moved in with his sister and started searching for a new job.

“I try to take care of myself and look forward, and maybe later everything will be okay. But right now, I’m very worried,” said Gregorio Montejo. “I think every day about my daughters and my wife, what they’re doing today and eating today. Hopefully the law will change in the U.S. and I have the opportunity to come back.”

In a national context

ICOM volunteers still keep in touch with the family. Tice said her relationship with the family has grown stronger with time.

“It’s a friendship that was built through trying times. That friendship is not going to go away just because Gregorio was deported,” Tice said.

Lisa Temich, an immigration attorney at Kim Hunter Law who worked on the Montejo case, said in her opinion, the reason why Gregorio Montejo was denied ending his deportation was because of his two DUIs.

According to Temich, the decision was likely influenced by a 2019 court decision where U.S. Attorney General William Barr ruled that two or more DUI convictions disqualify an immigrant from having “good moral character.” As a result, the judge who denied Gregorio Montejo’s application to stay in the U.S. was likely under pressure to stop providing bond for people with two DUIs, Temich said.

After the judge’s ruling, the Kim Hunter Law legal team went to the Board of Immigration Appeals, the highest administrative agency in immigration law, to retry the case. Temich said the team argued that Gregorio Montejo was a volunteer in the community and the breadwinner of his family. His boss spoke highly of him, and he advocated for his good moral character. The legal team also argued that he suffered family trauma that contributed to his DUIs.

Gregorio Montejo had begun drinking to cope with a series of traumatic events, including the deportation of his son Junior Montejo.

Though the Board of Immigration Appeals seemed to recognize the hardship of the case by not dismissing it outright, Temich said, “In my opinion, they just kind of locked him up, threw away the key and deported him.”

Adapting to a new reality

Monica Montejo said being in a position to support her family in the past year has been difficult for her and her brother. Being a full-time student while working full time takes a toll on her mental health, she added.

“It feels like you’re the one that has to be strong for everybody else, or else it feels like everything is just going to crumble,” Monica Montejo said.

Emma Montejo is a first-year student at the University of Tampa in Florida studying international business management and prelaw. She attends mostly online classes and pays the additional expense of housing. Next fall, she plans to transfer to the University of Minnesota.

“Not only would I be gaining much more opportunities, but I will also not have to worry so much about the cost of where I’m going to school,” Emma Montejo said.

As the oldest sibling living at home, Jesús Montejo has been taking care of his family since his brother was deported.

“I’m not really a father figure, and I’m not my dad, but I try to be that shoulder they can lean on at home, and I guess that’s the hardest part because I don’t really know how to do that as well as my dad did,” Jesús Montejo said.

This month, the family received news from Gregorio Montejo that he found a job at a winery that he is excited about. Gregorio Montejo said it was difficult to find a job because of his age, 59 years old, and places are more likely to hire young people.

“I think every night and I think in every way what I need to get back with my family. I tried finding a job, but hopefully starting January next year, I can continue working,” Gregorio Montejo said.

The family’s biggest concern now is paying the bills and managing finances. The family has a GoFundMe fundraiser open to raise money for school fees, legal fees, rent and groceries.

“It’s really hard to slow down and process everything,” Monica Montejo said. “We haven’t been able to slow down, and that’s what sucks the most.”

Second-year University of Minnesota student Monica Montejo works a full-time job Monday through Friday to support her family. She wakes up at 5 a.m. on Monday, goes to work for eight hours, takes a shower when she gets home, eats and then tries to work on school. After, she goes to bed at 8 p.m. to wake up early, and the cycle repeats.

But some nights, when she looks at her bills for rent, car insurance, phone service and college expenses, the stress distracts her from her school work. One year ago, circumstances were different.

Nov. 20 marked the one-year anniversary of the day that changed everything for the Montejo family. Gregorio Montejo, Monica Montejo’s dad and the family’s primary breadwinner, was arrested for his second incident of driving under the influence.

He lived in the U.S. undocumented for 30 years and has two daughters and two sons. The family quickly organized the money to post bail for his release, but U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) held him in custody. Nine months later, he was deported to Mexico after being detained at Sherburne County Jail, without a chance to say goodbye to his family.

After months of battling Gregorio’s case with ICE and working with community organizations and lawyers, the Montejo children’s lives have changed without their father. Monica Montejo is now a full-time student while working full time. Emma Montejo, the youngest, had stayed with relatives during these months but now lives at college out of state. Jesús Montejo, their brother, works two jobs to support his family.

“Everything feels like it was taken away. It feels like I don’t have that option to be a normal college student because I have to be responsible; I have to be that full-grown adult,” Monica Montejo said. She is 19 years old.

One November evening

While driving home from work, Jesús Montejo was the first to find out his dad had been arrested. Less than 10 minutes into the drive, he saw his dad’s 2017 Nissan Altima car pulled over next to a police car.

“I got chills, and my heart just sank,” Jesús Montejo said. “I immediately pulled a U-ey just to make sure it was him, and it was him.”

He parked, got out of the car and waited until a police officer approached him to ask him what was happening. He made phone calls right away, including to his mom and his sister Monica Montejo. Immediately, they thought he was joking, he said.

The next 24 hours were frantic for the family. Monica and Jesús Montejo made phone calls to state troopers, police officers and county officials asking for information to locate and get in contact with their dad. Four days after his arrest, they were able to have a phone call with Gregorio Montejo, said Emma Montejo.

The family experienced something similar with Gregorio’s oldest son, Junior Montejo, who was deported to Mexico by ICE in 2017; the process of getting access to resources and visiting him was easier, Monica Montejo said.

During the pandemic, it was more difficult for the family to endure the ICE court proceedings, communicate with lawyers and visit Gregorio Montejo, according to Monica Montejo.

Gregorio Montejo said that for the first two weeks in Sherburne County Jail, he felt extremely sick, because he was not given his medication for high blood pressure. The conditions in the jail were terrible, especially when the pandemic hit, he said.

Many detainees feared the spread of COVID-19 since they were still being gathered in large groups, Gregorio Montejo said, adding that he never met with doctors to address his health issues, only nurses.

In the eighth episode of a podcast series called “American Refugee,” Gregorio Montejo speaks of his experience in Sherburne County jail, the largest Minnesota county jail housing ICE detainees. He described being held in solitary confinement for weeks and the fight from his lawyers, volunteers and family for his release.

The Minnesota Interfaith Coalition on Immigration (ICOM) helped the Montejo family by writing letters to politicians and community leaders pleading for them to call and stop ICE from deporting Gregorio Montejo.

“Our volunteers in the [Accompanying Immigrants in Detention] program do as much as we possibly can to support the family, financially, spiritually,” said Daniel Romero, a minister at Lyndale United Church of Christ and ICOM consultant.

Days before Gregorio Montejo’s deportation, volunteers were able to urge Sen. Tina Smith, Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Rep. Ilhan Omar to call ICE while Gregorio was in Sherburne County Jail to try and stop his deportation. Volunteers had been working adamantly since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic to get Gregorio Montejo released from Sherburne County Jail because his health issues put him at greater risk of contracting the virus, said Stephanie Tice, a University graduate student and ICOM volunteer coordinator.

While celebrating Emma Montejo’s high school graduation, the family found out that ICE would deport Gregorio Montejo.

“Unfortunately, in the end, it didn’t really work in our favor. But I guess that’s the hardest part about everything,” Jesús Montejo said.

On July 29, ICE deported Gregorio Montejo to Mexico and gave his family short notice, Monica Montejo said. Due to COVID-19, the family could only visit the ICE detention center on certain days. Though the Montejo family was allowed to prepare and give Gregorio Montejo a bag with his belongings, the family could not deliver the bag in time.

Gregorio Montejo arrived at the U.S. and Mexico border at night and stayed in an ICE detention center until the next day. He said he brought nothing with him to Mexico but was able to get on a plane to meet Junior Montejo in Cancún, Mexico, and stayed with him for a month. He moved in with his sister and started searching for a new job.

“I try to take care of myself and look forward, and maybe later everything will be okay. But right now, I’m very worried,” said Gregorio Montejo. “I think every day about my daughters and my wife, what they’re doing today and eating today. Hopefully the law will change in the U.S. and I have the opportunity to come back.”

In a national context

ICOM volunteers still keep in touch with the family. Tice said her relationship with the family has grown stronger with time.

“It’s a friendship that was built through trying times. That friendship is not going to go away just because Gregorio was deported,” Tice said.

Lisa Temich, an immigration attorney at Kim Hunter Law who worked on the Montejo case, said in her opinion, the reason why Gregorio Montejo was denied ending his deportation was because of his two DUIs.

According to Temich, the decision was likely influenced by a 2019 court decision where U.S. Attorney General William Barr ruled that two or more DUI convictions disqualify an immigrant from having “good moral character.” As a result, the judge who denied Gregorio Montejo’s application to stay in the U.S. was likely under pressure to stop providing bond for people with two DUIs, Temich said.

After the judge’s ruling, the Kim Hunter Law legal team went to the Board of Immigration Appeals, the highest administrative agency in immigration law, to retry the case. Temich said the team argued that Gregorio Montejo was a volunteer in the community and the breadwinner of his family. His boss spoke highly of him, and he advocated for his good moral character. The legal team also argued that he suffered family trauma that contributed to his DUIs.

Gregorio Montejo had begun drinking to cope with a series of traumatic events, including the deportation of his son Junior Montejo.

Though the Board of Immigration Appeals seemed to recognize the hardship of the case by not dismissing it outright, Temich said, “In my opinion, they just kind of locked him up, threw away the key and deported him.”

Adapting to a new reality

Monica Montejo said being in a position to support her family in the past year has been difficult for her and her brother. Being a full-time student while working full time takes a toll on her mental health, she added.

“It feels like you’re the one that has to be strong for everybody else, or else it feels like everything is just going to crumble,” Monica Montejo said.

Emma Montejo is a first-year student at the University of Tampa in Florida studying international business management and prelaw. She attends mostly online classes and pays the additional expense of housing. Next fall, she plans to transfer to the University of Minnesota.

“Not only would I be gaining much more opportunities, but I will also not have to worry so much about the cost of where I’m going to school,” Emma Montejo said.

As the oldest sibling living at home, Jesús Montejo has been taking care of his family since his brother was deported.

“I’m not really a father figure, and I’m not my dad, but I try to be that shoulder they can lean on at home, and I guess that’s the hardest part because I don’t really know how to do that as well as my dad did,” Jesús Montejo said.

This month, the family received news from Gregorio Montejo that he found a job at a winery that he is excited about. Gregorio Montejo said it was difficult to find a job because of his age, 59 years old, and places are more likely to hire young people.

“I think every night and I think in every way what I need to get back with my family. I tried finding a job, but hopefully starting January next year, I can continue working,” Gregorio Montejo said.

The family’s biggest concern now is paying the bills and managing finances. The family has a GoFundMe fundraiser open to raise money for school fees, legal fees, rent and groceries.

“It’s really hard to slow down and process everything,” Monica Montejo said. “We haven’t been able to slow down, and that’s what sucks the most.”

Cedar-Riverside’s Mixed Blood Theatre is helping one of their employees build a new studio that will use live theater and storytelling to foster community dialogue about health taboos, quality health care and health disparities in East African communities.

The studio, called City of Nations Storytelling Studio, will launch virtually in December. It will tackle reproductive education, mental health and substance abuse by bringing members of East African communities together across gender, generation, ability and religion to share their stories and experiences with these taboos.

The City of Nations Storytelling Studio is a follow-up to a 2017 program called Project 154, which brought together Somali and Oromo community members to share their personal stories about health care and its barriers. Abdurrahman Mahmud, Mixed Blood Theatre’s project coordinator, said it was the conversations from Project 154 that helped him identify the health taboo topics that inspired founding City of Nations Storytelling Studio.

“These were the things that we learned from the community when they came together,” Mahmud said. “And now, through the City of Nations Storytelling Studio, what we want is to expand.”

The major connection between the three taboos are based on intergenerational conflict, Mahmud said. The wave of Somali immigrants who settled in Minnesota in the 1990s after fleeing a civil war and the younger generation of Somalis who were born or raised in the U.S. have clashing viewpoints on health.

Reproductive education, mental health and substance abuse are uncomfortable topics to talk about in Somali families, but not talking about them can gradually affect someone’s willingness to open up about health problems that need to be addressed, he added.

“We’re trying to, through the City of Nations Storytelling Studio, ignite these conversations within families, within faith community, within the youth, within the population, within the community and then help the people feel comfortable to speak up openly about all these three issues,” Mahmud said.

Before he took up the role of project coordinator of Project 154, Mahmud’s professional background was in nursing and public health. He said his job at Mixed Blood Theatre was his first time working in arts and theatre.

“The journey was eye-opening for me, and it was really a great experience. Nowadays, I still — I don’t prefer to call myself an artist,” Mahmud said. “But sometimes when I’m around the community, I tell myself, ‘I’m a storyteller.’”

Jack Reuler, Mixed Blood Theatre’s executive director, founded the theater in 1976 when he was 22 years old. In the ‘90s, he said he saw the surrounding neighborhood change around the organization.

“Instead of becoming an island in Cedar-Riverside, we wanted to remain an anchor,” Reuler said. “So, starting in about 2000, we started trying to have our programming be connected to our neighbors.”

After years of trying to connect with the community, the organization had little success. So in 2017, the theater began to change its programming to focus on oral storytelling and created Project 154, he added.

Somalia is nicknamed “a nation of poets” because of its rich history of oral storytelling. The written Somali language was not formed until the 1970s, but Somali culture, language, traditions and religions have been passed down through generations of oral storytelling.

“When we organize people and bring them together, they’re really good storytellers, especially among the elders,” Mahmud said.

A University alum, Sulekha Ibrahim, plans to participate in the City of Nations Storytelling Studio. She is a public health nurse and founder of Healing Path Wellness Services, a Black-owned mental health clinic located in South Minneapolis.

Ibrahim said, “Storytelling and being able to share their experiences is a great way to connect; it’s a great way for other people to receive information, and it’s even therapeutic.”

This fall, a new University of Minnesota student group called Code the Gap is striving to diversify STEM fields by encouraging participation of historically underrepresented groups in STEM.

Code the Gap has more than 15 volunteer instructors to teach K-12 students skills in computer science to create opportunities to engage with STEM. By the end of November, Code the Gap is hoping to connect with schools in the Twin Cities to start virtual instruction and be registered as an official University student group.

Co-Presidents Sree Pemma and Swati Rampalli worked together to start the organization last spring. Rampalli was inspired by the mission of Girls Who Code, an organization she was involved with when she was younger. Girls Who Code is a nonprofit organization dedicated to closing the gender gap in computer science by supporting young girls in their goals in STEM fields.

“As someone who identifies as a woman, I suffered from imposter syndrome in the field, and it’s disheartening to know that groups further underrepresented than me can’t imagine themselves as leaders in STEM fields,” Rampalli, a computer science major, said in an email to the Minnesota Daily. “I think this was definitely the opportunity to start changing that.”

Girls Who Code is on track to closing the gender gap in entry-level tech jobs in 2027, according to its website.

Pemma said in one of her classes of around 110 students, there was only a small number of women.

“I realized that there was a huge gender gap in the computer science field specifically within the STEM bubble of the UMN,” Pemma said. “So I think that’s what really prompted me to join and … do our part in closing the gender gap as well as including underrepresented groups beyond gender.”

Girls Who Code provided funds to Code the Gap, which they plan to use to provide Chromebooks to students without access to a personal computer.

“We also know a lot of families might be struggling financially, so maybe they might not be able to afford the right hardware,” said Sai Tallapragada, one of the curriculum planners for Code the Gap. The organization plans to create accounts for students to gain access to computer programming software through a virtual machine called VOLE, he added.

Tallapragada said one reason why he joined Code the Gap is his mom’s experiences in the computer science field.

“I also hear a lot of things from my mom, like how it’s basically her against a bunch of guys, and a lot of the time she has to prove herself to show her worth,” Tallapragada said.

In a recent study titled “Wonder Women in STEM,” the Center for Talent Innovation found that 82% of STEM women in the study said their contributions were ignored in the workplace or did not receive credit for them.

In addition to virtual instruction, the group also plans to have events like study sessions, hackathons and visits from guest speakers. Reshma Balaji, Code the Gap treasurer, said she is excited to meet and develop meaningful connections with students.

Code the Gap plans to expand to multiple schools in the Twin Cities to reach more students and recruit more volunteer instructors. The group said they will hopefully recruit additional volunteer instructors in the spring.

“It’s a lot less likely to see role models in the computer science field because there’s not that many [women]. So I think this group really deals with that by … watering the roots of the plant so we can have a really big tree later,” Tallapragada said.

University of Minnesota students at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs are continuing to advocate for the school to change its relationship with Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman, who sits on the Dean’s Advisory Council. As a member of the council, Freeman’s role is to help strengthen ties to the community and advise the dean.

Students started a petition last summer calling the Humphrey School to remove Freeman from the Dean’s Advisory Council, among several other requests, and criticizing his handling of George Floyd’s case and other cases of police brutality. Last week, student leaders published a website with the petition, a timeline of the events that followed the killing of George Floyd and a community voices survey to gather responses about racial equity at the Humphrey School.

The petition includes requests to remove Freeman from the council, rename the Orville and Jane Freeman Commons and establish a fund for anti-racism training, hiring and retaining diverse tenured faculty and intersectional race and policy curriculum. Students also asked the school to disclose financial ties to the Freeman family and the Humphrey School.

In September, student leaders had their first meeting with some council members who opposed the removal of Freeman from the Dean’s Advisory Council to discuss future steps. In addition to discussing the requests in the petition, members of the advisory council expressed their views about removing Freeman.

Some members said they felt that removing Freeman from the council was unproductive to achieve the racial justice that student petitioners are seeking.

“I think that’s a really good question to ask ourselves: ‘Who else don’t we like?’ Because I bet you can find some other people that you don’t like too. And eventually, maybe build a table that is only the voices you like,” said Kim Nelson, retired senior vice president of external relations for General Mills, in the meeting. Nelson is the chair of the nominating committee for the council.

Students leaders said the meeting was frustrating, and questions were still unanswered.

“It was incredibly frustrating to watch. I had to break it up over a couple sessions of watching it just because I got very frustrated with the stonewalling that was happening,” said Njoya Chomilo, a third-year master’s of public policy and MBA student at the Humphrey School.

In response to the petition, Laura Bloomberg, dean of the Humphrey School, sent a letter to the student petitioners in July. In the letter, Bloomberg addressed the requests in the petition and pointed out that Freeman will reach the end of his term on the council by the end of this academic year.

“The updated bylaws now ensure that council members have term limits and that those
term limits are followed,” Bloomberg said in the response letter.

For renaming the Orville and Jane Freeman Commons, the Humphrey School’s Equity and Inclusion Council is assigned to examine questions to determine the Rondo community and the Humphrey School’s history, according to Bloomberg’s response letter.

Bloomberg’s letter also provides three records of financial ties to the Freeman family, which include a fellowship, an endowment fund for the Freeman Faculty Chair and Freeman’s pay rate as he taught one class every other year for more than 15 years.

Some students said that waiting for Freeman’s term to end is not a solution, and efforts for racial justice should be on the legislative side and the Humphrey School.

John Tunheim, a member of the advisory council and chief U.S. district judge, said Freeman had been an important contributor to the success of the Humphrey School, and removing him is not the right approach. If students have issues with the way a prosecutor follows the law, they should bring the issue to the legislature, he added.

During the meeting, a student asked whether Freeman’s presence on the advisory council was helpful to Bloomberg.

“It’s a resounding yes. And it’s yes because there’s a diversity of opinions … I accept and acknowledge and I realize there are consequences with students of this decision,” Bloomberg said in the meeting. “I equally believe there are other consequences of making a different decision.”

Chomilo said he understands the importance of having different opinions on the council.

“But we are not organizing around a difference of opinion,” he said, adding that the student petitioners are organizing to put forth solutions on the petition signed by more than 400 alumni, students, community members and faculty.

The University of Minnesota Immigration History Research Center and a team of researchers at Gustavus Adolphus College developed an online resource to document the impacts of COVID-19 on immigrants and refugees in the U.S.

In an effort to preserve the stories of immigrants and refugees over time, the project, Immigrants in COVID America collects news reports, data and research that record the economic, health and social impacts of COVID-19 on refugee and immigrant communities. In addition to creating a historical record, the project seeks to inform equitable decision-making in response to the pandemic and illustrate the negative consequences of immigration policy.

Over the summer, researchers analyzed relevant articles, podcast episodes and other sources, dating back to Jan. 30, 2020, when the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 an international emergency.

“When I wasn’t searching for toilet paper and making my own face masks out of pillowcases and shoe laces, I automatically started thinking about what needed to be done,” said Erika Lee, director of the Immigration History Research Center. “What could I do to help make a difference?”

During the summer, Lee and Maddalena Marinari, associate professor at Gustavus Adolphus College, discussed ideas for a resource to bring attention to issues affecting immigrants and refugees during the pandemic. As a result, they worked together to form two groups of students to help create the project.

“As historians, we know that oftentimes historical records expunge the voices of marginalized communities,” Marinari said.

Lillie Ortloff, a third-year student at Gustavus Adolphus College and a student researcher on the project, said in an email her research stressed the amount of instability that immigrants and refugees face regularly.

“I’ve always known how nothing is guaranteed for immigrant communities and it can be
hard to find stability – and a pandemic certainly doesn’t make that any easier,” she said in the email. “I think one thing that has definitely been emphasized for me through our research is the amount of adapting that has to be done. Especially by refugees and asylees, who came looking for protection.”

Immigrants in COVID America is also partnering with Sahan Journal to publish stories of immigrants and refugees and their experiences during the pandemic. Sahan Journal is the only nonprofit news organization in Minnesota dedicated to reporting about immigrants and refugees.

“I feel like some of these changes are dizzying because there’s so much that’s happening, but it’s different when you can hear a story,” Marinari said. “So, hopefully, it will contribute to re-humanize people who have been dehumanized.”

Currently, a feedback form is available to gather suggestions and ways to improve on the website. The project will be updated throughout the year.

“I hope [readers] take away the sense that this isn’t … a one-sided experience for people in the United States,” said Catherine Lim, a fourth-year student at Gustavus Adolphus College and Immigrants in COVID America researcher. “And I hope [readers] use this resource in a way to expand beyond what the common narrative will be for COVID-19 in America someday.”

As the election draws near, voters in the University of Minnesota area have just a handful of elections to focus on. In recent history, much of Southeast Minneapolis — and the city overall — has voted Democrat.

The Minnesota Daily gathered information from campaign websites for the candidates that will be on the ballot for voters in the University area, besides the many uncontested judge races in lower courts. Incumbents are listed first within each race.

School board at large

Kim Ellison:

After 12 years teaching around the metro area, Kim Ellison was appointed to the Minneapolis Board of Education in 2012 and was reelected in 2016. She co-authored a resolution to end the Board’s contract between Minneapolis Police Department’s school resource officers and Minneapolis Public Schools in response to the police killing of George Floyd. She lives in North Minneapolis where she raised four children. She approved the Comprehensive District Design, a proposal to redraw Minneapolis Public School’s attendance boundaries and relocate magnet schools in effort to distribute resources more equitably.

Michael Dueñes:

Michael Dueñes earned his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in political science, specializing in race and politics, community organizations and organizational institutional politics. He taught Chicano Studies classes at the University of Minnesota. At St. Catherine’s University, he launched the school’s first equity and diversity office. Some of Dueñes’ stated priorities include implementing best practices in equity programming and creating a transparent budget plan.

Associate Justice, Minnesota Supreme Court Seat 4

Paul Thissen

Justice Paul Thissen was born and raised in Bloomington. He worked as a lawyer for 25 years. During that time, he worked as a public defender and advised health care providers through business deals. Additionally, he represented clients for free who could not afford a lawyer, including victims of domestic violence and families of disabled children, according to a column Thissen wrote for the Duluth News Tribune. In April 2018, Thissen was appointed to the Minnesota Supreme Court by Governor Mark Dayton.

Michelle MacDonald:

This year is Michelle MacDonald’s fourth time running for election to the Minnesota Supreme Court. MacDonald founded the Family Innocence nonprofit organization to keep families out of court and resolve issues through alternative means. Since 1987, she has worked as a lawyer with a focus on family law. MacDonald is anti-abortion and a gun rights advocate, according to her website.

Minnesota House of Representatives, District 60B (uncontested)

Mohamud Noor, Democratic-Farmer-Labor:

Rep. Mohamud Noor assumed office representing District 60B early last year. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in computer acience from Metropolitan University. Noor is an advocate for the $15 minimum wage, closing racial equity gaps and more. He is also the executive director of the Confederation of Somali Community of Minnesota. Noor has previously worked with the University’s student government for renter rights and has pushed for cash bail reform.

Minnesota State Senate, District 60

Kari Dziedzic, Democratic-Farmer-Labor:

Sen. Kari Dziedzic is the district’s eight-year incumbent. She is a member of three committees in the Minnesota State Senate, including the Agriculture, Rural Development and Housing Finance Committee; the Judiciary and Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee; and the Taxes Committee.

Mary Holmberg, Republican:

Mary Holmberg is on the ballot as a Republican for State Senate District 60. Her Facebook page does not have any details about her platform or background and does not link to a campaign page.

U.S. House of Representatives, Minnesota District 5

Ilhan Omar, Democratic-Farmer-Labor:

Rep. Ilhan Omar was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018. She is the first Somali American member of Congress, the first woman of color to represent Minnesota in Washington D.C. and one of the first two Muslim American women elected to Congress.
Omar plans to focus on issues such as investing in education and decreasing student debt, ensuring fair wages for workers, creating a just immigration system and prioritizing the threat of climate change.

Lacy Johnson, Republican:

Lacy Johnson has lived in North Minneapolis for 40 years. Johnson studied pre-med, math and English at the University of Minnesota, and his career experience is in technology and economic development. He served as program director for Hospitality House Youth Development, a Christian youth development center in North Minneapolis. Johnson’s platform includes supporting school choice, expanding Medicare and advocating for criminal justice reform legislation, which rehabilitates criminals and shortens mandatory minimums.

Michael Moore, Legal Marijuana Now:

Michael “Mickey” Moore grew up throughout Minneapolis. He attended the University of Minnesota where he received a full-ride scholarship and ran track. Moore also trained for the Olympics in 1988. Before his involvement in politics, Moore ran multiple luxury hair braiding salons. Now, he lives with his family between his homes in the U.S. and Thailand. If elected, Moore will focus on issues such as policing and social justice reform, educational reform, homelessness and the negative effects of political conditioning and political partisanship.

U.S. Senate, Minnesota

Tina Smith, Democratic-Farmer-Labor:

Sen. Tina Smith was appointed to the Senate in 2018 after former Sen. Al Franken’s resignation. Smith graduated from Stanford University and later earned an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. She is married and has two sons. Before entering local government, she worked for General Mills and started a small business. She previously served as chief of staff to both Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and Governor Mark Dayton. Smith served as Minnesota’s 48th lieutenant governor for three years. Her focuses include tax fairness to ensure the wealthiest 2% pay their “fair share,” early education, rural broadband access and increasing health insurance access.

Jason Lewis, Republican:

Jason Lewis graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with a Bachelor of Arts degree in education and business and received his Masters of Arts degree in political science from the University of Colorado-Denver. Lewis was formerly a conservative talk radio show host. He previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives for Minnesota’s 2nd district from 2017 to 2019. Lewis lives in Woodbury. If elected, Lewis will continue to focus on the issues he worked on as a member of the House, including tax cuts and regulatory reform to improve the economy. Lewis was also endorsed by President Donald Trump.

Oliver Steinberg, Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis:

Oliver Steinberg’s pro-marijuana legalization platform centers on a Bill of Rights passage that states a person can sell products from their farm without obtaining a license beforehand. Steinberg also supports constitutional amendments that eliminate government allowances treating corporations as people, abolish the Electoral College, outlaw monopolies and strengthen data privacy.

Kevin O’Connor, Legal Marijuana Now:

Kevin O’Connor supports smaller government and the medical benefits of marijuana. A website could not be found for his campaign.

Every Tuesday and Wednesday, University of Minnesota student Mia Tran wakes up around 1 a.m. to attend her 1:25 p.m. Zoom discussion class. While taking classes from Vietnam, Tran struggles to balance a 12-hour time difference with her school work and personal life.

Like Tran, many international students have had to decide whether to stay in the U.S. or travel back home at the start of the pandemic. In addition to navigating online learning, international students taking classes from their home countries have the added challenge of managing conflicting time zones with classes, routines and building connections.

The new normal for international students

First-year student Clarisse Wihono is taking online classes from Indonesia. During the week, Wihono rarely has time to spend with family and friends. In an email, she said her eating times have become completely flipped.

To stay on track of her school work, she splits her sleeping schedule into two sessions and drinks coffee. Most of her classes occur between 8 p.m. and 2 a.m.

“Because of the time difference, some of my exams are at 1 AM my time, and I’m not a night owl by nature, so it’s hard to even stay awake at that hour,” Wihono said in the email.

Sleep deprivation is common for many international students who are living in different time zones. Prolonged screen time during odd hours to meet deadlines has students staying up late or waking up early.

“My sleep is not as good as it was before …” Tran said. “The exposure to computer screens and having my brain be so active before I go to bed, it’s actually difficult to fall asleep … so sleep deprivation has been a major issue for me.”

Typically, Tran said she would talk to her professors in between classes and walk with friends to class. But the loss of interacting with friends and peers has affected her sense of belonging at the University, she said.

“Back in my freshman year, I was such a big hugger,” Tran said. “I would hug my friends every time I met them, and it was the most comforting thing of my days during my freshman year.”

Creating community among other international students

Since the start of the school year, the Minnesota International Student Association has had low attendance of international students at their virtual events and meetings, according to Daniel Garamvolgyi, MISA’s finance director. MISA is a student group that represents international students at the University and bridges the gap between international and local students.

“It was so devastating to see that actually no one showed up … it’s usually about 20 to 25 people during the day who visit our office,” Garamvolgyi said. “It was just so sad to walk into the room and have no one.”

MISA is still active online and planning more virtual events for international students who want to be involved.

Some international students also deal with expenses, like housing, even though they are living in a different country. Despite no longer needing an apartment near campus, some University students were unable to end their housing leases with their landlords.

“[Rent] was one of the reasons I actually moved back [to the U.S.]. So if I pay for my rent, I actually live here too,” said Garamvolgyi, who is from Budapest, Hungary.

The Vietnamese International Student Association held an online event in mid-September but because of the time zone difference in Vietnam, there were not many international students who could attend. VISA is a student group that aims to create a community for Vietnamese international students on campus.

Anh Vo, VISA’s secretary, said attendance was low, but students were still able to have fun and bond. Vo is on campus and has some family, but she has not seen her parents in Vietnam for more than a year. She said she often feels homesick.

Though international students are finding ways for professors to accommodate the challenges of online learning, many still want more resources to support them.

“I think that’s important for people to just be aware of the problems that international students might face during this time, especially the time zone difference issue that most of us have to deal with,” Tran said. “Like other students, we do share some of the unsettling feeling about the pandemic.”

A new group of students and community members launched two campaigns to organize against the University of Minnesota’s relationship with two big food corporations: Cargill and Aramark.

Uprooted and Rising Minneapolis’ main two campaigns, #CancelCargill and #RealMeals, seek to highlight the ties between the food companies and the University — and advocate they be cut.

The group is a chapter of a national organization that aims to end the support for big food corporations in higher education. The Minneapolis chapter started in August to advocate for food sovereignty, the right for people to access healthy and culturally appropriate foods through sustainable methods.

The recently-established group is hoping to build momentum with two initial campaigns around food sovereignty, and they plan to use social media and rallies to get the word out.

After a summer virtual retreat led by the national Uprooted and Rising organization, University student Meredith Song said she reached out to students she knew were passionate about food sovereignty and started a chapter in Minneapolis.

“Part of the [#CancelCargill] campaign is changing perception around Cargill and revealing that, first of all, the influence they have over our food system, [and] how this system is fueling ecosystem destruction abroad,” Song said.

The #CancelCargill campaign and its connections to the University

Cargill is the nation’s largest privately-owned company by revenue, and is headquartered in Minnesota. It operates internationally to produce and distribute agricultural products like grain, oil and meat. The company also provides services like transportation and risk management.

Cargill has been accused by environmental activists of polluting the environment and exploiting workers and Indigenous land. It has been under scrutiny for deforestation, pollution and human rights abuses and the theft of Indigenous land. Though the company has made efforts towards reducing its environmental impact, activists continue to push for more accountability.

In 1999, Cargill Inc. gave $10 million dollars to the University to create the Cargill building located on the St. Paul campus for expanding agricultural research. The building houses the Microbial and Plant Genomics Institute and 15 University Cargill-based faculty that conduct research while teaching students.

Since then, the College of Biological Sciences and the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences have continued to receive funding from Cargill, according to public records.

The #CancelCargill campaign also aims to address the company’s presence on campus, said Edward Cruz, a fourth-year student studying environmental policy planning and management.

“We really want to focus on shifting the narrative of what is a reputable or desirable company to work for, within the larger culture at the U and specifically within CFANS,” Cruz said.

Cruz joined Uprooted and Rising Minneapolis as a co-lead to the #CancelCargill campaign. He said the University facilitates a pipeline of students, specifically students from CFANS, to work for the Cargill company by coaching them on how to approach the company at job fairs.

“The U takes students, specifically in CFANS, and teaches them to do agricultural business or how to do other business practices, and then funnels them through Cargill… to steal [Indigenous land] further, just in a different place now,” said Cruz.

The #RealMeals campaign and its connection to the University

The #RealMeals campaign sparked after the University made a proposal to extend its contract with Aramark, the University’s food contractor. Through this campaign, Uprooted and Rising Minneapolis is pushing the University to cut ties with Aramark and bring in local vendors and producers that are Black, Indigenous or people of color to provide healthy food for students.

In 2008, the University signed a 20-year contract with Aramark that was set to end in June, but was later extended to 2022. The Minnesota Student Association, among other student groups, led initiatives to end the University’s contract with Aramark. Due to COVID-19 and other reasons, the office of University Services proposed to extend the contract until 2023.

“Cargill and Aramark, we see them as players within the big food sphere. And so [Uprooted and Rising] Minneapolis is also doing some work to take on Aramark’s contract with the University,” said Mina Aria, the midwest coordinator at the national Uprooted and Rising.

“[Uprooted and Rising Minneapolis] see both of those players as enemies that have no place on campus.”

What Uprooted and Rising Minneapolis is doing now

On Monday, Uprooted and Rising Minneapolis hosted a #CancelCargill virtual teach-in to discuss the company’s role in land-grab universities, deforestation and its presence at the University. At the virtual teach-in, the group discussed finalizing the list of demands for Cargill and the University.

“I’m doing work to not only take down corporations like Cargill who are perpetuating injustice and violence throughout the world,” Aria said. “But also I want to contribute towards building something in its place. And that being local food systems, food sovereignty and reclaiming power as uprooted communities and people displaced from our homelands.”

In addition, Uprooted and Rising Minneapolis is planning to collaborate with student organizations at the University to continue involving students and spreading awareness about the two campaigns. The group is not a registered student organization out of concern that the University would stifle their movement, Cruz said.

Uprooted and Rising Minneapolis’ Instagram platform has more information about the #CancelCargill and #RealMeals campaigns, including ways to get involved. The group has weekly meetings on Mondays.

“I hope folks know they can join [Uprooted and Rising] and be involved in the campaign as much as they want,” Aria said. “[And] folks know that people in the university community… are fed up with the University putting corporations over students, over workers, over staff on campus and that there’s a wave coming.”