Ahmad Wazwaz: ‘It’s not like this is the end.’
Ahmad Wazwaz is a third-year law student at the University of Minnesota. He was born and raised in Minnesota and attended the University of Minnesota for his undergraduate degree.
“For me, ICE has had a profound impact. I was in France last semester, so I came back on Dec. 18, and immediately I could tell the vibes were completely different. With my sisters, who own a cafe, I got to see the impact it had directly. They told me once Metro Surge came their sales absolutely plummeted, and businesses nearby suffered. I have family members with stores that had raids, and some of them had people who got detained and shipped off to Houston.
“Even at the law school a lot of people were terrified. I’m on the board of a musical that the law school runs called Tort, and we seriously discussed not having the show or moving everything online. Approximately 40% of the people in it said they weren’t sure they felt comfortable staying for so long while Metro Surge was happening.
“I think the biggest problem for my relatives who have had confrontations with ICE at their businesses is them coming, taking someone, and then they’re left with the question of ‘What do I do without risking everyone else’s safety and my own safety?’ It’s made a lot more people politically aware. I have a lot of conservative family members, and during the 2024 election I told them I think Trump will be disastrous. A lot of them laughed and said nothing’s going to really change. Now people are understanding that the stuff they see on the news is impacting real people. There are a lot of people who told me, ‘I never understood the repercussions that these things can have.’
“That’s one of the problems of social media. When you hear about whatever’s happening across the United States, it’s really hard to conceptualize that this is actually happening until it’s in your own community.
“Being a law student puts me in a weird position. When I see what’s happening with ICE, legally I know they have essentially no standing for a lot of the stuff that they do. I’m more adamant in my conviction that telling people this stuff really matters. That’s why I think anyone in law school should know how to talk to people regardless of differences in belief. Usually, a lot of stuff ends up becoming a culture war, but with ICE I’ve seen essentially everyone say, ‘Why is this going on?’
“What happens next is really important, especially since they’ve wound down Operation Metro. As we’ve seen with this administration, it’s not like this is the end. Chances are, there are hundreds of other things going on. If you look at Project 2025, they talked about Operation Flood the Zone, where they just throw stuff at the wall. The scary part is, Metro Surge was terrifying, but it could have been a lot worse if Minnesotans didn’t unite in such a brave and daunting way.
“A lot of people should be prepared for this to occur in other states or for them to come back to Minnesota. I think Minnesota should be prepared to recognize that if they did this with ICE, they may have to unify once again and defend themselves from the Trump administration’s attack in other sectors of the state.”
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Interview by Josie Wise
