Reverend Mariah Tolgard says federal immigration raids have terrorized Minnesota communities

Reverend Mariah Tolgard, senior pastor at Hamlin Church United Methodist in St. Paul, testified at a public hearing that federal immigration enforcement operations are terrorizing Minnesota communities and using "fraud in Minnesota" as a pretext for aggressive action. She told the committee she was speaking in her personal capacity as a pastor, a citizen and a mother.

Tolgard said the operations have included the deployment of "3,000 federal immigration enforcement agents" and alleged raids that have produced widespread fear: church members afraid to attend worship, postponed funerals, and families staying home rather than sending children to school. "In my church, members have been afraid to come to worship and have even postponed funerals," she said.

Why it matters: Tolgard framed the issue as both a civil-rights and public-safety concern for Minnesota, saying the tactics harm vulnerable people and undermine community trust. She described concrete impacts on children, families and neighborhood institutions that she said warrant a formal response from elected and appointed leaders.

Tolgard gave specific examples she said illustrate the effect on everyday life in St. Paul. She recounted an account of an elderly U.S. citizen taken from his home in freezing weather wearing only underwear and a blanket and said that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement vehicles drive "recklessly" through neighborhoods in packs, stopping people for proof of citizenship. She also said that nearly a quarter of students at the schools her children attend enrolled in distance learning because families were too afraid to leave their homes.

She warned that children are now practicing drills she said are intended to protect them from government enforcement as well as from active shooters: "American children are now practicing two kinds of drills at school. One for an active shooter and one to protect themselves from their own government." Tolgard argued this, in her view, signals a failure of security and an erosion of the community's sense of safety.

Tolgard tied the alleged targeting to Minnesota's civic values, saying that because local systems provide supports—free meals for children, health care access and inclusive schools—the state had been singled out. She described community responses organized by faith and conscience: volunteers delivering groceries, driving children to school, standing vigil at mosques, serving as constitutional observers and pledging to care for children if parents were detained.

On rights and remedies: Tolgard asserted that the enforcement operations have wrongfully detained some citizens and legal residents and urged committee members and other leaders to take action. She closed by appealing to lawmakers' conscience: "What are you willing to do about it?" and invoked Matthew 25 as a moral imperative to protect vulnerable neighbors.

The hearing record contains testimony and allegations from Tolgard but does not include independent evidence in the record verifying the numerical claim of 3,000 agents or the specific accounts beyond the witness's statements. The committee's next steps, if any, were not stated during her testimony.