St. Paul, MN – February 11, 2026 – Our community is hurting. In Minnesota, Renée Nicole Good and Alex Pretti were killed by federal agents. Their final words— “I’m not mad at you.” (Good) and “Are you okay?” (Pretti) – showed kindness, even in a frightening moment. Our systems did not show them the same care.
This same failure to recognize and respond to people’s humanity is continuing to put others at risk. It is harming community members like Aliya Rahman, an autistic and disabled Bangladeshi‑American woman born in northern Wisconsin, who testified that while driving to a traumatic brain injury medical appointment in Minneapolis, she became caught in an ICE enforcement operation. She told agents she was autistic, disabled, and trying to reach her doctor, yet she was met with force as officers smashed her window, cut her seatbelt, pulled her from the driver’s seat, and carried her away despite her pleas.
Disabled people, including people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), are disproportionately harmed by immigration enforcement and detention. Many disabled people are immigrants or live in mixed‑status families. Many rely on immigrant caregivers. Disability‑related communication differences — such as freezing, delayed or limited speech, sensory overload, hearing impairment, difficulty processing commands — are routinely misinterpreted as threat or defiance. These are disabilities, not dangers.
Community reports and public statements show a clear and troubling pattern: disabled people being assaulted, denied essential medications, and exposed to unsafe and unsanitary conditions while in federal custody. Families and advocates have also raised concerns about DHS accessing Medicaid‑linked health information to identify and target individuals—putting all disabled people who rely on Medicaid at risk.
We may not all arrive at this moment from the same place, but we share an obligation to listen to and follow the communities most directly impacted: disabled people, people of color, immigrants, and mixed‑status families.
In solidarity with community members, we request immediate action from Congress to:
- Stop Operation Metro Surge and halt escalated enforcement in Minnesota.
- Reject increases to DHS/ICE funding by rolling back the previously authorized $75B and reinvesting those resources in healthcare, disability services, and community supports.
- Ensure transparent investigation and accountability through open public hearings, independent oversight, consequences for those who violate constitutional rights, and remedies for harmed individuals and communities.
- Protect disabled people’s rights and safety by requiring disability‑informed training, protocols and accommodations, safe and clean detention conditions, access to medical care, enforcing restrictions against violence, establishing controls to prevent sexual assault of detainees, and strictly limiting DHS access to private health information.
- Guarantee legal rights and support by ensuring access to lawyers, clear information about rights, and fair treatment at the Whipple facility and in all immigration enforcement actions.
Aliya Rahman’s experience—and the final words of Renée Nicole Good and Alex Pretti—remind us what is at stake. Minnesota must be a place where disabled people, immigrants, and all community members are met with dignity, care, and safety.
— The Arc Minnesota Board
Citations
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrcW8SZtYpI
- https://nonprofitquarterly.org/the-danger-ice-poses-to-the-disabled-community/
- https://www.mprnews.org/story/2026/02/06/transplant-recipient-arrested-by-federal-agents-in-rochester-minnesota-needs-medicine
- https://www.fox9.com/news/ice-detention-conditions-fort-snelling-labeled-inhumane-feb-2026
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2026/01/15/ice-detention-death-homicide/
- https://www.aclu.org/news/immigrants-rights/detained-immigrants-detail-physical-abuse-and-inhumane-conditions-at-largest-immigration-detention-center-in-the-u-s
- https://www.startribune.com/immigrant-whose-skull-was-broken-in-eight-places-during-ice-arrest-says-beating-was-unprovoked/601578393?utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook
- https://www.npr.org/2026/01/05/nx-s1-5665009/ice-can-use-medicaid-data-to-find-people-without-legal-status-for-deportation-cases
About The Arc Minnesota
The Arc Minnesota is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and protecting the human rights of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Through advocacy, education, and support services, The Arc Minnesota works to ensure full inclusion in all aspects of community life. To learn more or get involved, visit ArcMinnesota.org.
For more information or press requests, contact Marketing & Communications Director Angie Tesch at AngieTesch@ArcMinnesota.org.