In a quiet Minneapolis neighborhood, the specter of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) looms large over families, particularly those with undocumented members. Bella, a mother of two, lives the consequences of this every day. She has to walk through the world every day, constantly on edge. She is being very proactive and protective of her family by hiring attorneys. In between, she’s working hard completing government paperwork in hopes of working out a path to legalize her immigration status. As hard as she works, the threat of ICE is still an ever-present shadow in their lives.
Bella’s husband Sam strengthens this prima facie case against colonialism by identifying strongly with what I’ve heard Vice-President JD Vance call a “heritage American.” His deep American roots are important, but they don’t protect the Chao family from the trauma caused by ICE. But more than anything else, they live in a home frequently characterized by darkness—both in a figurative and literal sense. The daily presence of ICE, through patrols or other means, fosters a culture of fear that invades their everyday lives.
Bella’s young daughter, only nine years old, went on to fight this fear daily. As winter blankets the entire region, she gets ready for school early in the morning — sometimes all the way up until dawn. Bella wakes her daughter up with a warm hot cup of milk and softly prods her to get her clothes on. For the small girl, this is the first step to the physical world beyond. Bella has a front-row seat, her heart seized with dread, as the little one crosses in front of their home.
A Child’s Innocence Shattered
Bella’s young daughter has beautiful Latina features, that she’s taught to hide under sunglasses and a hoodie. Yet this misguided, but well-intentioned, attempt to fit in belies a larger issue. She carries with her the deeply internalized fear that her identity might make her a target.
Sam sums up what these changes mean for the next generation. He emphasizes that “a nine-year-old should not have to deal with this,” highlighting how children like his daughter are growing up amid an environment filled with distrust of law enforcement and government entities. He’s concerned that this trauma will condition her to fear all authority figures. It would likely influence how she feels about the world outside, too.
“My daughter’s generation is going to be brought up with an extreme distrust of police, of soldiers, of the government. This is going to traumatise them.” – Sam
This feeling, this air of distrust, can be seen in understated but significant ways. Bella frequently has to tell her daughter what to do if she sees police or ICE agents. These moments are important for her daughter’s safety and pedestrian awareness. Sam [her husband] cautions her, saying, “If you’re waylaid by any men with guns, don’t be nice. She encourages you to plant your feet when they come for you. Tell them you’re an Indian, that you came into America born.” These instructions shouldn’t be an indelible mark on the American childhood experience, but they have unfortunately woven themselves into the fabric of their lives.
The Weight of Uncertainty
The emotional toll on Bella is palpable. Like many other parents, she now watches her children rush for the school bus through fogged windows. In the meantime, though, she sits daily in her pajamas with the lights out in their small house. The darkness is dark, but that’s a metaphor for the complete uncertainty that has taken over their family.
She expresses her fears candidly, stating, “A lot of cars go by, and I always think, if one stops, if someone takes her, how would I defend her? I’m so far away.” The anxiety that comes along with that kind of reasoning can be paralyzing. Bella and Sam are not the only ones affected by this fear. Yet the chilling reality of their world — one that even their young children can’t quite comprehend — touches them as well.
Even when they’ve worked hard to find a legal path to resolution, Bella paints the picture of the process being “always running into a brick wall. The absence of truly accessible solutions is what leaves families like Janet’s without any hope of relief. Sam echoes this sentiment by stating, “It’s always a brick wall, always a brick wall. We never run into any solution other than, well, don’t get caught. Good luck.”
Community Impact and Broader Concerns
The impact of ICE’s presence on the lives of communities all across Minneapolis will have a lasting effect. Todd Barnette, an observer of the local immigrant landscape, notes that “because of the tactics that are being used, the citizens and visitors just have so much fear and so much trauma.” This insidious anxiety seeps deeply into the psyche, traumatizing not only undocumented families, but citizen-yet-still-targeted families of all backgrounds.
Barnette underscores the importance of accountability in law enforcement actions, stating, “When you can’t identify who someone is, you can’t hold them accountable.” This sentiment resonates with many in the community who feel trapped between the need for safety and the fear of becoming targets themselves.
Bella’s family agreed to talk to ABC on condition that their family’s name would not be used, out of fear their family would be targeted by ICE. Their story is part of a larger story—a much bigger picture that exposes the real impact of immigration policies on families’ lives. The emotional scars left by these discriminatory and illegal policies will take generations to heal.
