CWS Updates, Stories, and Ways to Get Involved
Kristy Beachy-Quick
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No images? Click here  Dear John, Thank you to those of you who came out for the bike rally on Saturday to honor the life of Alex Pretti. It was meaningful to speak on behalf of CWS, with the estimated 1,000 riders in Fort Collins and hundreds of thousands across the country, to condemn the violence brutally deployed to our streets in the name of “immigration enforcement.” At CWS we stand in solidarity with all of those impacted. We want to draw particular attention to the 5,600 legally present refugees in Minnesota who were promised refuge and are now fearful of the government who guaranteed them safety. Over 100 have been arrested and detained without being charged with any crime. Many of you have asked what you can do. Please read below for three concrete ways to make a difference:
In solidarity, Kristy Beachy-Quick 
Also, a special announcement. Please join us or start a local Cluster for Faith250, a national movement celebrating our shared values and civic commitments as a nation, leading up to the 250th anniversary of the signing of the declaration of independence. Click here to learn how you can get involved Public Stories of Refugees Impacted by Operation PARRIS Selamawit Mehari is a single mother of three from Eritrea who entered the U.S. as a refugee in 2023. On January 13, as her 13-year-old son cried in the background, federal agents showed up at her apartment in St. Paul, shackled her, and arrested her. A day later, chained at the wrists, waist, and ankles, Ms. Mehari was flown to Texas for “intensive” interrogation. In Texas she was issued prison garb and locked in a cold room with other women. After being questioned for hours, she was released on January 17 without any money or identification. A gold chain she was wearing had been confiscated. Walid Ali is a 19-year-old from Eritrea who was resettled in the U.S. under the unaccompanied refugee minor program. On January 13, Walid was arrested by ICE outside of his home in St. Paul and rapidly transferred to a holding facility in Texas alongside other refugees who had been hunted down by ICE. Officers confiscated his wallet, phone, and ID. When he protested, he was kneeled on and beaten. He was released without his wallet, phone, and ID, and forced to find his way back to Minnesota from Houston. Upon returning home, Walid’s family made an appointment at a clinic to have his ribs x-rayed. “This is not the American way,” his uncle said. Khadra Muse Mohamed is a single mother who resettled in St. Cloud, Minnesota from Somalia in 2024 with her seven-year-old son. On January 10, Ms. Mohamed was pulled over by a squad of undercover ICE agents and detained in a Minneapolis holding center. She was allowed one call, where she complained of the bitter cold in the facility. She was quickly transferred to Texas, where nine days after her arrest she was ultimately released. A.J. is a 20-year-old who lives with his parents and siblings in Minneapolis and resettled to the U.S. from Venezuela via the refugee program. He remains on legal status, with no criminal record and a pending green card application. In early January, a group of roughly 20 ICE agents in six separate cars arrived in force at A.J.’s home, pounding on the door with fingers on the triggers of their weapons. A.J. was not home at the time, and the agents told his parents they were only there to resolve a fingerprint issue – not to detain him. When A.J. returned home, the agents swiftly surrounded him, placed him in handcuffs, and drove away. 
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