GUEST ROOM | From Minnesota: In Response to Glasgow

Anna Lovat is a sophomore in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. She can be reached at all287@cornell.edu.

Mr. Glasgow’s Feb. 24, 2026 article covers the actions of the Trump administration in recent months, mainly focusing on “addressing the backlash” in regards to Trump’s immigration politics. My primary motivation for writing my own piece is not only to rebuke Mr. Glasgow’s politics and note the glaring flaws throughout his writing, but also to speak about my home, and the experiences of my community in the face of a violent occupation. 

I was raised in St. Paul, Minnesota. My family, friends and neighbors live there. I was there when 2,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents began to forcefully occupy the Twin Cities. Renee Good was shot while I was shoveling my grandmother’s driveway no more than eight miles away. I filmed ICE agents conducting a traffic stop in a Latino neighborhood. I was pepper-sprayed at a protest. ICE agents swarmed my little sister’s school dismissals. These stories are not atypical experiences for any Twin Cities resident, and my family and I are incredibly privileged not to have faced the brunt of these attacks. 

Just days into our Spring semester, five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos was sent over 1,300 miles to an ICE detention center in Texas, the fourth child in two weeks to be kidnapped from Columbia Heights Public Schools. I am not able to be with the people of Minnesota. I cannot deliver groceries to my neighbors, or drive others to school, or participate in one of the hundreds of ways Minnesotans are resisting. However, I can speak out against injustice when presented with it. When faced with oppression it is the duty of the people, especially those in a position of privilege, to resist. 

It is clear that Mr. Glasgow has cherry picked his data. I worry that his reputation as the ‘MAGA Voice’ on campus prevents him from learning from the experiences of people impacted through the Trump administration's policy. In the first paragraph of Mr. Glasgow’s February opinion piece he writes, “During the 2024 election, our President promised the largest scale of deportations ever done and won the popular vote; that fact alone counters the narrative of American disapproval; people wanted what they voted for. President Trump has been consistent.” 

It is rather appalling that Mr. Glasgow chose to ignore the very public dissent to recent actions taken by the Trump administration regarding immigration. An Ipsos poll conducted in January reported that 53% of Americans disagree with the administration’s actions, while the AP-NORC lists American disagreement concerning the administration's conduct at 60%, a statistic which has remained above 50% since his first presidency. This disapproval  crosses party lines. Polling conducted by Politico shows that more than 1 in 3 Trump voters who, while supporting his deportation campaign, disapprove of the way it is being conducted. As I am writing this, Mr. Trump’s overall approval rate stands at 39%, which is a lower rate than any seen during Biden's term. 

Of course, polling has its flaws. Let us turn to the words of Republicans in Minnesota. Chris Mandel, a defense lawyer and leading Republican contender for the 2026 gubernatorial race, ended his campaign due to the actions of ICE, calling them “unconstitutional and wrong.” Mendel also referred to Operation Metro Surge as an “unmitigated disaster” while pointing out that the actions of national Republicans have made it “nearly impossible” for a Republican to win a statewide election in Minnesota. These are views reflected across the state. 

Pastor Amezcua of Dios Habla Hoy, a church in south Minneapolis, leads a program donating groceries and other household essentials to immigrant families who fear attack. Mr. Amezcua, a conservative and an immigrant, was not initially concerned upon hearing that ICE would arrive in Minnesota, believing that they would only target criminals. Clearly, that is not what has happened. As Mr. Amezcua told the New York Times, “This is literally racism in the name of patriotism — and a conservative guy is telling you that. I feel betrayed by Donald Trump.” To defend the actions of ICE in Minnesota is a choice which clearly impairs the Republican Party and their success in November. 

Glasgow’s claim that “Nobody celebrated the American protestors who died” is also a falsehood. Look to the creation of the term AWFUL, or tweets made by Republican officials and right-wing commentators. President Trump and members of his administration continue to downplay the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, calling Pretti an “Agitator and, perhaps, insurrectionist” and Good “a domestic terrorist." Mr. Glasgow’s attempt to justify the actions of ICE agents is a clear example of the MAGA crowd's utter devotion to the Trump administration and determination to surpass any sense of rationality. 

Mr. Glasgow attempts to defend the current administration’s immigration policy by comparing it to that of the Biden and Obama administrations. I am far from one to call their policies ‘good’ or ethical, but I would like to raise two points: 

First, the concept of Due Process, a constitutional right.

Due process is the guarantee that no person within U.S. territory, regardless of citizenship,  shall “be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” This is a principle established in the Constitution and upheld by Supreme Court precedent. It is, quite literally, a founding principle of the United States.

Second, I advise Mr. Glasgow to consider the concept of ‘false dilemma fallacy’ in which the defense of an unethical action is solely based on the assessment that other policies have been ‘worse.’ Mr. Glasgow implores us to think critically, I ask him to do the same. There is no reason, be it moral or logistical, to limit ourselves to choose between two options both actively causing harm. A democracy is dependent on accountability and transparency, and as such, any democratic government must be held to these standards. If Mr. Glasgow’s goal is a fair process of immigration, I encourage him to acknowledge the suffering so many face from the deliberate actions of the Trump administration. 

It is clear that Mr. Glasgow’s justification of the Trump Administration’s immigration policies is poorly researched and lacks factual standing. The Republican Party prides itself on principles of “truth, justice, and common sense,” I find these values absent in all of Mr. Glasgow’s morals, especially in his refusal to disavow the actions of ICE. 

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