Activists Unveil Quilt Honoring Thousands Disappeared by ICE in Minnesota
The Stolen Neighbors Quilt features 11,000 hand-stitched squares in an indictment of violence against immigrants and a “call for political courage.”
On Tuesday, September 22, activists unfurled a 24-foot-long quilt at the Minnesota State Capitol to protest Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) violence. Known as the "Stolen Neighbors" quilt, it was crafted from 11,000 individual patches, each representing an individual disappeared by ICE in the state. The quilt was stitched together over five months by dozens of volunteers.
MIRAC member Owen Lubozynski, who created the quilt, drew inspiration from discussions with activists about effective ways to engage key Minnesotan lawmakers following Operation Metro Surge, a deadly deployment of over 3,000 state officers and ICE agents across the state earlier this year. The quilt's purpose was to resist a return to normalcy while Minnesotans continued to be quietly terrorized.
The activists carried the heavy quilt around the central insignia in the Minnesota State Capitol Rotunda, chanting "stand up, fight back." The quilt's length posed a challenge, as it was too long to fit over the mezzanine and risked hitting light fixtures. MIRAC members decided to slowly unfold the quilt horizontally on the rotunda floor as they chanted their slogans.
Some representatives observed the protest from the balcony above, while supporters in inflatable frog suits stood around in solidarity.
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