The Women Holding Minneapolis Together

[Ocelot II]

“This is a movement of women here in the Twin Cities,” says middle school teacher and content creator Mandi Jung. “That is why it can’t be put down, that is why we cannot be intimidated, that is why it cannot be stopped.”

Since Operation Metro Surge, the ongoing operation by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), began in Minnesota in December 2025, the headlines out of Minneapolis and St. Paul have been violent and disturbing. Photos that look as though they’re from a war zone: masked officers with guns drawn, smoke from tear gas and other irritants on the ground. Two citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, killed by federal agents on the city’s streets. A five-year-old boy detained in his Spider-Man backpack and a floppy-eared hat.

But amid the despair and brutality, there is another important narrative: on the front lines, a community coming together to push back against ICE and support their neighbors. And it should surprise no one that much of this work is being led by women. They come from all backgrounds and walks of life—immigrant women, mothers, teachers, healers, Black and Brown women, queer and trans women, grandmothers, young girls, women of faith, women who are simply fed up—to get involved, organize, support, nurture, fight, love, protect, and contribute in whatever ways they can.

“Women play an instrumental role in every movement,” says Christine Harb, DO, a physician who’s part of a network of health care providers meeting patient needs while they shelter in place. “The vast majority of the people I work with are women and queer people. Folks are raising rent-relief funds for families, delivering groceries, giving folks rides to their appointments, driving their neighbors and colleagues to work and back, protesting, patrolling, contacting state representatives in the hopes that they will listen—the list goes on and on.”

https://www.glamour.com/story/the-women-holding-minneapolis-together