91³Ô¹ÏÍø

Watch CBS News
Twin Cities News

Dozens of Shakopee residents fear eviction after losing income due to ICE surge

By
Conor Wight
Conor Wight
Reporter
Conor Wight joined WCCO after cultivating his skills as an award-winning investigative reporter in Syracuse, NY. As a newcomer to Minnesota, he's excited to explore this beautiful state and all that the Twin Cities have to offer.
Read Full Bio
Conor Wight

/ CBS Minnesota

The way Mary Hernandez describes it, the effort to keep families off the street in Shakopee, Minnesota, is like trying to keep your head above water. 

"We can't keep up," Hernandez said. 

As the executive director of the Shakopee non-profit , Hernandez has found that her work hasn't slowed down at all since the announced end of Operation Metro Surge in February. The armed raids and worries about Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents disguising themselves in the community are no longer day-to-day issues, but ensuring people still have a roof over their head is a constant battle. 

The problem in Shakopee mirrors what neighbors, advocates and politicians have described in the Twin Cities, Columbia Heights and beyond: fear of ICE kept people home for too long. It meant that they lost their jobs, meaning they couldn't pay rent. 

"I call it a big black hole because there's no end to it and there's really not enough assistance to do that," Hernandez said. 

In various communities throughout the metro, neighbors have established online fundraisers to help cover rent for families in need. Hernandez and Mi CASA are attempting to fill that role in Shakopee and other parts of both Scott and Carver counties. She said about 90 families are in need; that's in addition to about 500-600 families that the organization and its volunteers deliver groceries to weekly. 

The philanthropic Wilson Foundation is now stepping in. Its president, John Wilson, told WCCO on Sunday that the grantmaking foundation is wiring $300,000 to Mi CASA to help cover rent. The foundation is matching funds elsewhere, including Minneapolis, after becoming inspired by grassroots rental assistance efforts in Columbia Heights.

Hernandez said it's like a prayer answered, but said unless families can reestablish incomes, the money will only cover the area for about two months. 

"Nobody was prepared and nobody saw this coming," Hernandez said. 

Hernandez described the fear in the community as crippling. She said that she got requests from some neighbors to help take out the trash or collect mail from mailboxes, saying that for some, walking the length of the driveway was simply a "no go." 

Earlier in March, the Minnesota state Senate approved $40 million in emergency rental assistance. House Republicans stated that the measure would not get approved in their chamber. 

Democratic Rep. Brad Tabke of Shakopee said that he is hoping further debate will allow the state legislature to approve rental assistance. 

"I hope that the state will be able to get that done and move that forward but i don't think anybody should count on it," Tabke said. 

In:

© 2026 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
const link = doc.createElement('link'); link.rel = 'stylesheet'; link.href = '/fly/fly/bundles/cbsnewscontent/css/cmp-banner.min.css?v=296763317a51cab90faa73f1bb146d5c'; doc.head.appendChild(link); doc.body.innerHTML = CONSENT_MESSAGE; } else { el.insertAdjacentHTML('afterend', CONSENT_MESSAGE); } }); } function hidePrivacyMessage() { // Remove from the main document document.querySelectorAll(`.${CONSENT_MESSAGE_CLASS}`).forEach(el => el.remove()); // Remove from inside any iframes document.querySelectorAll('iframe').forEach(iframe => { const doc = iframe.contentDocument || iframe.contentWindow.document; doc.querySelectorAll(`.${CONSENT_MESSAGE_CLASS}`).forEach(el => el.remove()); }); } function activateGatedScripts() { // Handle both new format (cmp-gated-script) and old OneTrust/Ketch format (optanon-category-4) const gatedScripts = Array.from(document.querySelectorAll('script.cmp-gated-script, script.optanon-category-4')); // Activate scripts sequentially with a small delay to avoid timing issues let delay = 0; gatedScripts.forEach(function(placeholder, index) { setTimeout(function() { // Skip if already processed if (placeholder.hasAttribute('data-cmp-processed')) { return; } placeholder.setAttribute('data-cmp-processed', 'true'); const newScript = document.createElement('script'); newScript.type = 'text/javascript'; // Try new format first (data-cmp-src), then fall back to old format (data-src) const src = placeholder.getAttribute('data-cmp-src') || placeholder.getAttribute('data-src'); if (src) { newScript.src = src; } else if (placeholder.textContent) { // Inline script - just copy the content newScript.textContent = placeholder.textContent; } // Handle new format attributes (data-cmp-attrs) - for both inline and external scripts const attrs = placeholder.getAttribute('data-cmp-attrs'); if (attrs) { const tempDiv = document.createElement('div'); tempDiv.innerHTML = '
<\/div>'; const tempAttrs = tempDiv.firstChild.attributes; for (let i = 0; i < tempAttrs.length; i++) { // For external scripts, allow defer/async. For inline scripts, skip them (not valid) if (src || (tempAttrs[i].name !== 'async' && tempAttrs[i].name !== 'defer')) { newScript.setAttribute(tempAttrs[i].name, tempAttrs[i].value); } } } // Copy other attributes from old OneTrust format for (let i = 0; i < placeholder.attributes.length; i++) { const attr = placeholder.attributes[i]; // Skip attributes we've already handled or don't want to copy if (!['class', 'data-src', 'data-type', 'data-cmp-src', 'data-cmp-attrs', 'data-cmp-processed', 'type', 'async', 'defer', 'src'].includes(attr.name)) { newScript.setAttribute(attr.name, attr.value); } } placeholder.parentNode.replaceChild(newScript, placeholder); // If external script, manually trigger window.onload handlers after it loads // This handles widgets that use window.onload for initialization if (src) { newScript.addEventListener('load', function() { // If page already loaded and script set a new onload handler, trigger it if (document.readyState === 'complete' && window.onload) { const originalOnload = window.onload; window.onload = null; // Clear temporarily to prevent loops originalOnload(); // Execute the handler } }); } }, delay); delay += 500; // 500ms delay between each script to allow full loading }); } cbsoptanon.onScriptsReady(function(cmp) { cmp.ot.targetingAllowed(function(allowed) { if (!allowed) { showPrivacyMessage(); } else { activateGatedScripts(); } }); cmp.ot.awaitInitialConsent(function(consent_model) { cmp.ot.addOnConsentChangedHandler(function() { cmp.ot.targetingAllowed(function(allowed) { if (allowed) { hidePrivacyMessage(); activateGatedScripts(); } else { showPrivacyMessage(); } }); }); }); });