While the federal government has said it is scaling back immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota, immigrants in the Fargo-Moorhead area are still fearful, according to community leaders. The Trump administration's border czar, Tom Homan, announced on Feb. 12 the end of Operation Metro Surge, the administration's name for the heightened immigration enforcement activity in Minnesota.
However, Fowzia Adde, executive director of the Immigrant Development Center, said many Fargo-Moorhead area immigrants who came to the country legally still fear being detained. As they heard the needs of community members, Moorhead residents Garrett and Audra Maurer decided to donate lettuce to families impacted by the federal immigration surge. The couple runs For Good Farms, a hydroponic produce business, out of their garage.
Garrett Maurer said he donates the lettuce to Ethnic Self-Help Alliance for Refugee Assistance, or ESHARA. Mutual aid and outreach help build trust, he said, and donating excess produce is a small way to help.
"It's just really important — like, these are our neighbors," Garrett Maurer said. "They deserve the dignity and security that we take for granted, and so any way that we can help with that is great."
Read more at Inforum
