ST. PAUL, MN – Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reportedly apprehended a group of four illegal aliens who were part of a roofing crew during an enforcement operation in a St. Paul neighborhood earlier in October, sparking backlash from locals who apparently held a vigil over the illegal aliens taken into custody.
On October 2nd, ICE agents descended upon a roofing crew working on a home in St. Paul's North End neighborhood, reportedly taking into custody four individuals authorities say are illegally present in the country. A spokesperson for the agency confirmed that three of the men apprehended had prior criminal convictions and standing orders for removal, whereas the fourth individual is being placed into immigration proceedings.
Following the apprehension of the four illegal aliens, locals gathered that same evening to hold a vigil in St. Paul to mourn over the fact that federal immigration law is being enforced, with one speaker saying before the crowd, “Our families deserve to go to work, come home, and spend time with our loved ones. I also want to be clear: Minnesota depends on us.”
Despite the assertion of, “Our families deserve to go to work,” made by one of the speakers during the evening vigil in St. Paul, illegal aliens residing within the United States harbor zero right to employment in the country, as it is a violation of 8 U.S. Code § 1324(a) which explicitly outlaws the hiring, or retention, of illegal aliens. Employers who are caught engaging in a “pattern or practice” of hiring illegal aliens could find themselves being fined $3,000 for every illegal alien hired, as well as face six months in federal prison.
Minnesota House Democrat Rep. Athena Hollins also chimed in on the matter, touting similar talking points to those sounded off during the vigil, noting in a statement, “These men weren't breaking the law, they weren't dangerous gang members or drug dealers. They were working – contributing to our society and our neighborhoods and our economy.”
Aside from the obvious federal immigration violations at play when considering that three of the men arrested had already been ordered removed from the country, these illegal aliens were quite literally “breaking the law” by obtaining employment illegally if they used any phony documents or made false attestations during the required I-9 process.
Rep. Hollins' statement continued from there, where she claimed, “No one should have to go to work, afraid that they will be detained. No child should wonder if their parents will come home tonight. These raids are not about safety - they are about cruelty and control.” The logic, or lack thereof, in Rep. Hollins’ claims suggests that someone actively breaking the law and avoiding detection (exempli gratia, what most people would call a fugitive) shouldn’t be “afraid” of getting arrested.
When it comes to immigration in particular, Democrats like Rep. Hollins seem to hold this collective belief that if an alien isn’t immediately stopped and turned around at the border, then every effort to pursue and apprehend the immigration offender is some kind of affront to decency. But also, as it relates to border encounters, these same Democrats believe every illegal crossing is tantamount to a valid asylum claim and thus said illegal aliens should be released into the country’s interior.
No matter whether immigration laws are enforced at the border or within the United States, progressive Democrats will find a means to vilify the practice. Because it would seem to a progressive, there’s no such thing as an illegal alien — just an unregistered Democrat.
On October 2nd, ICE agents descended upon a roofing crew working on a home in St. Paul's North End neighborhood, reportedly taking into custody four individuals authorities say are illegally present in the country. A spokesperson for the agency confirmed that three of the men apprehended had prior criminal convictions and standing orders for removal, whereas the fourth individual is being placed into immigration proceedings.
Following the apprehension of the four illegal aliens, locals gathered that same evening to hold a vigil in St. Paul to mourn over the fact that federal immigration law is being enforced, with one speaker saying before the crowd, “Our families deserve to go to work, come home, and spend time with our loved ones. I also want to be clear: Minnesota depends on us.”
Despite the assertion of, “Our families deserve to go to work,” made by one of the speakers during the evening vigil in St. Paul, illegal aliens residing within the United States harbor zero right to employment in the country, as it is a violation of 8 U.S. Code § 1324(a) which explicitly outlaws the hiring, or retention, of illegal aliens. Employers who are caught engaging in a “pattern or practice” of hiring illegal aliens could find themselves being fined $3,000 for every illegal alien hired, as well as face six months in federal prison.
Minnesota House Democrat Rep. Athena Hollins also chimed in on the matter, touting similar talking points to those sounded off during the vigil, noting in a statement, “These men weren't breaking the law, they weren't dangerous gang members or drug dealers. They were working – contributing to our society and our neighborhoods and our economy.”
Aside from the obvious federal immigration violations at play when considering that three of the men arrested had already been ordered removed from the country, these illegal aliens were quite literally “breaking the law” by obtaining employment illegally if they used any phony documents or made false attestations during the required I-9 process.
Rep. Hollins' statement continued from there, where she claimed, “No one should have to go to work, afraid that they will be detained. No child should wonder if their parents will come home tonight. These raids are not about safety - they are about cruelty and control.” The logic, or lack thereof, in Rep. Hollins’ claims suggests that someone actively breaking the law and avoiding detection (exempli gratia, what most people would call a fugitive) shouldn’t be “afraid” of getting arrested.
When it comes to immigration in particular, Democrats like Rep. Hollins seem to hold this collective belief that if an alien isn’t immediately stopped and turned around at the border, then every effort to pursue and apprehend the immigration offender is some kind of affront to decency. But also, as it relates to border encounters, these same Democrats believe every illegal crossing is tantamount to a valid asylum claim and thus said illegal aliens should be released into the country’s interior.
No matter whether immigration laws are enforced at the border or within the United States, progressive Democrats will find a means to vilify the practice. Because it would seem to a progressive, there’s no such thing as an illegal alien — just an unregistered Democrat.
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Comments
2025-10-05T20:00-0400 | Comment by: James
These criminals have been lied to by the socialist left! I don't care if it is ONE GUY selling hotdogs to pay for his kid to go to school! If he is illegal he is a criminal and should be arrested!!! Thank You ICE!
2025-10-05T22:18-0400 | Comment by: Melvin
What a lot of people fail to realize is that there are a lot of the illegals working in the U.S. are under the control of cartels. They work for some contractor that pays them, but a large portion of their pay has to be turned over to the cartel member that has control of them. For instance in our are you will see some guy driving an 80 thousand dollar pickup that will pull into a job site, and yell to the roofing crew, they all scramble to him, then he talks to them and they scurry back to work, at the end of the day they are picked up in a van and go to where ever the cartel hs them housed