Sunday, February 01, 2026
Sunday Reflection: My very own faculty statement
One thing academics have struggled with is coming up with statements in their individual capacity about what is going on. Institutions are fearful of making bold statements because they fear retribution (including for their students). We professors, though, shouldn't have that same fear. I wrote a statement on my own behalf, which is set out below. I thought it was important to both name the harm and call for an end to that harm.
An Open Letter to those who have eyes to see or ears to hear:
I write in my individual capacity as a member of the faculty of the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis, Minnesota to address the wrongs that I see as a teacher, a scholar, a neighbor and as a Christian. My objection to the realities of “Operation Metro Surge” in our city are rooted in my chosen vocation, which directs me to care deeply about our students, to engage with and support our neighbors, and to search for and value the truth. As a Catholic institution, our focus on human dignity means that we cannot turn a blind eye to the degradation and harm done to people in our midst.
St. Thomas Law was founded on and animated by the idea of community. The value of supporting one another, even when we disagree, is a core ethic here. That means that we cannot stay silent when members of our community are threatened and harmed. I condemn the actions of the federal government that have terrified and harmed people in our community because of the color of their skin, the accent in their voice, or their expression of fundamental First Amendment rights. It seems that all in our community are at the very least adjacent—by blood, love, faith, or friendship—to someone who has a been harmed in some way by the actions of ICE and the federal agents working with them. There has been too much blood on the snow, too many people forced into hiding, and too much carelessness in the enforcement of our laws.
As a scholar, I am appalled by not only the assault on human dignity that has been at the center of Operation Metro Surge, but the assault on truth. With each death and lesser tragedy, those in power have made claims that are facially false and brutally offensive to those who have suffered. People who understand the normal mechanisms of a rational criminal law system are united in calling for a vigorous truth-seeking investigation into potential crimes committed by federal agents, and vigorous prosecution where those truths reveal a crime.
Not all moments are equal, and this one is extraordinary for our community, for our state, and for our nation. Operation Metro Surge must end now.
