Minneapolis is just over the river from western Wisconsin commuter communities like Hudson, River Falls and Baldwin in St. Croix County — where immigration agents are also venturing.

“Someone personally messaged me and they said, ‘Kim, ICE is downtown on Main Street taking somebody — do you know, can you get a hold of anyone?'” shared Kimberly Solberg.

A community advocate and one of the moderators of the Baldwin WI Community Page group on Facebook, she said Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, has been in Baldwin since early January.

At that point, Solberg said she sprang into action.

“I started reaching out to what context I had to try to find out if people could get ahold of the farm, and let workers know, just to be alerted that ICE is in the area and to make sure that their families are protected,” she said.

About 4,300 people live in Baldwin, where farming is prevalent in this part of western Wisconsin.

“We have a very thriving, rich and diverse community of Hispanic and Guatemalan people up here, working at the farms and being part of our community,” Solberg explained.

She said the immigrant community is working in Baldwin legally.

“To my knowledge, most of these families are here on work visas — I know the people that sponsor them,” Solberg added.

Baldwin is about 50 miles from the intense ICE activity in Minneapolis, but Solberg said ICE is active in the area.

Has she personally seen ICE activity here in Baldwin?

“I’ve seen clusters of ICE vehicles — maybe almost a dozen vehicles or more clustered together — getting ready to do sweeps at apartment complexes,” said Solberg.

Were their faces covered?

“As far as I’ve seen, they’ve all, they haven’t had their masks on,” she said. “And that might just be a different dynamic here in Baldwin, where they feel a little more comfortable here than they do in Minneapolis.”

Solberg said she’s also seen local Baldwin police present in ICE raids.

“I have seen, personally, local law enforcement assisting ICE in ICE actions — not the actions taking themselves, but they were local law enforcement, were present,” she said.

Solberg was asked to start a group and connected with other organizations to share resources for Baldwin families who are impacted by ICE and afraid to leave their homes.

“Most of the people I know who give rides, who donate resources, are terrified that their name gets out there as somebody who is helping,” she said.

The I-94 bridge connects Hudson in Wisconsin to the Twin Cities in Minnesota, and Solberg said that connection is invoking fear among local residents. She said they’ve seen ICE agents in Hudson, Baldwin and Woodville.

“For sure, those actions are going on in neighboring communities,” said Solberg.

In Hudson, Kiva Sherr said ICE detained an employee during his first day on the job at a grocery store.

“We have an Amazon drop-off and pick-up area, and so ICE went to that particular part of the store and detained an employee there,” explained Sherr.

Sherr said some employees feel they are being profiled. She and other staff want to help support them if ICE returns, but said fear takes precedence.

“Even though I want to be a good person and help, there’s that fear of what are they going to do? Are they going to use tear gas?” Sherr asked.

Back in Baldwin, Solberg said the community is holding a vigil for their Minneapolis neighbors Renee Good and Alex Pretti who were killed by federal agents, in order to help each other heal.

“It is about having a peaceful presence and being there for each other,” she said. “It shouldn’t be about politics.”