“The people of Minnesota have risen to the occasion. Thousands of people have made their voices heard peacefully. Minnesota: thank you. We have witnessed a powerful peace. We have every reason to believe that the peace will last,” Walz said in a statement.

ICE Budget Soars, as Does Its Number of Agents

And if 2025 was chaotic for the immigrant community and its advocates, 2026 promises to be macabre given the multi-billion dollar budget that will be allocated to the detention and deportation of immigrants.

ICE's budget increased by 120%, allowing the hiring of 12,000 new agents, for a total of 22,000, La Opinion reported.

“More arrests. More deportations. Greater security for the Homeland. The Homeland will be defended,” the agency stated.

And indeed The great and beautiful spending law enacted by Trump gives ICE such a large budget, $75 billion, that it is the best-funded agency among all the federal government's law enforcement agencies and has more resources than many of the world's armies. Of that figure, a total of $45 billion is allocated to detention centers with a view to meeting Trump's goal of deporting one million immigrants annually.

Uncertainty among Venezuelan immigrants after Maduro's arrest and removal

On the other hand, the arrest and removal of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has created more uncertainty among Venezuelan immigrants in the United States who had already lost protections under Trump's TPS and humanitarian parole programs, among others.

They cannot apply for refugee status because they are on U.S. soil and fear that their asylum applications will also not progress due to the idea that with Maduro gone, the situation has changed, even though in reality other figures of the regime remain in power.

Many fear for their lives if they are deported or voluntarily return to Venezuela. Venezuelan-American lawyer John De La Vega requested that DHS approve the DED.or Deferred Enforced Departure for Venezuelans because, despite Maduro's departure, Chavismo remains in power.

DED would temporarily protect them from deportation.

Quote of the Week

“What they are doing is not to provide security in the United States. What they are doing is causing chaos and distrust. They are tearing families apart. They are sowing chaos in our streets and, in this case, literally killing people,” said Jacob Frey, mayor of Minneapolis, regarding the presence of ICE in his city, and he asked them to leave after the fatal shooting that claimed the life of U.S. citizen Renee Nicole Macklin Good.