Minneapolis priest ‘not hopeful’ tensions will ease under border czar

A Minneapolis priest told OSV News that despite signals of deescalation, tensions over immigration enforcement actions in that city will not see the situation get “better in a few days.”

Father Jim Cassidy, parochial vicar at St. Joan of Arc Parish in Minneapolis, spoke with OSV News a day after joining several faith and community leaders who, along with Minnesota officials, were part of CNN’s live Jan. 28 town hall, “State of Emergency: Confronting the Crisis in Minnesota,” moderated by journalists Anderson Cooper and Sara Sidner.

Since December, Minneapolis has been the focus of the Department of Homeland Security’s “Operation Metro Surge” — part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on unauthorized immigration — which has so far seen the arrest of at least 3,000 persons alleged to lack authorized immigration status.

The operation has sparked backlash and fierce criticism, especially following the deaths of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, two 37-year-old U.S. citizens and Minneapolis residents shot and killed by federal agents Jan. 7 and 24 respectively as they protested immigration enforcement actions in that city.

In the wake of widespread outcry over the deaths of Good and Pretti — including from several U.S. Catholic bishops — President Donald Trump removed Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino from the Minneapolis operation, returning him to his previous post in California and sending longtime “border czar” Tom Homan in his place.

In a Jan. 29 press conference, Homan — while providing few details — said that he sought to work with local officials to create “common sense cooperation that allows us to draw down on the number of people we have here.”

But Homan’s pledge to “fix” issues with the ongoing operation are being met with skepticism, said Father Cassidy, adding that grief and anger in the community over the crackdown are “the proverbial both sides of the coin.”

In his CNN town hall appearance, he told OSV News, “part of what we were hoping to address was the sense of grief that the community is feeling.”

Among “all that comes with that grief” is “rage,” he said, noting that he and other faith leaders ultimately sought to “begin that process of how to discover hope.”

Yet “the other side” of the coin, said Father Cassidy, “is that this fight is just beginning.”

“We must not fool ourselves (that) … this is just going to be better in a few days,” he said.

Father Cassidy said he was “not hopeful” that the Trump administration would significantly alter its immigration enforcement operations despite the arrival of Homan.

“I think we would be fools in any way to step down. We would be absolute fools,” he said. “It is, at best, a Trojan horse.”

Father Cassidy said he has been “ecstatic with what I’m hearing” from Pope Leo XIV and other Catholic prelates, who have called for an end to violence and a respect for God-given human dignity regardless of immigration status.

As the Minneapolis community continues to navigate the coming days and weeks of Operation Metro Surge, Father Cassidy said the moment is one in which to “quite frankly, embolden ourselves and rally the troops,” adding, “the Christian community has a great deal to say to this.”

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