When Minnesota was a new state, thousands of settlers arrived, many of them from Europe. But in recent decades, the state has attracted large numbers of Hmong and Somali refugees. There are also thousands of people from India, Ethiopia, the Philippines, Mexico and the People’s Republic of China living in Minnesota.
The state has become more racially diverse in the last 10 years, and demographers said that's especially true among children. About 83 percent of Minnesotans were white, non-Hispanic for the 2010 census, compared to 88 percent in 2000.
January 15, 2003 - A U-S District judge in Seattle ruled the federal government's attempts to deport people to Somalia illegal. The historic decision not only continues a ban on deportations to the East African country, it also certifies a nationwide class of Somali petitioners. This new class-action status allows all Somalis, not just the individual plaintiffs, to be represented in the deportation litigation. The Seattle ruling relied heavily on an order issued by a federal judge in Minneapolis last March that declared the United States cannot deport people to a country that has no government capable of receiving them. Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991, and human rights advocates say those returned to the country face torture and death. Kevin Magnuson is an attorney on Minnesota's Somali deportation case. He says the decision to give Somalis class status is a major milestone.
January 15, 2003 - Winona resident Wadie Al-Saeed is waiting to hear if he'll have to go back to Saudi Arabia. His deportation hearing will start this Thursday (1/16) . The Immigration and Naturalization Service turned down Al-Saeed's request for permanent residence because he checked the wrong box on a job application more than ten years ago. Al-Saeed and his family are worried that recent changes within the INS are increasing the likelihood of his deportation. Minnesota Public Radio's Rob Schmitz reports.
January 17, 2003 - Five Hmong high school girls from St. Paul are back from a two-week trip to Thailand and Laos. They called the trip the Homeland Project. The girls hoped seeing their parents' homeland and meeting relatives they had only heard about would help them understand the deep cultural gap that separates them from their parents. MPR’s Greta Cuningham interviews three members of the group, Soua Yang, Cindy Xiong, and adult chaperone Gunnar Liden.
January 23, 2003 -
February 7, 2003 - An organization representing the state's private colleges and universities is pushing for a change in the way Minnesota finances higher education. The Minnesota Private College Council has been arguing for more state grant money for about 15 years, they and they believe the current state budget problems may provide the best environment for their initiative to finally succeed. Critics say the Council's proposal would hurt students and the public colleges they attend. Minnesota Public Radio's Marisa Helms reports.
February 7, 2003 -
February 10, 2003 - After the Sept 11 terrorist attacks, US Attorney General John Ashcroft ordered the Immigration and Naturalization Service to begin tracking visitors from 25 mostly Muslim countries. Since the first anniversary of the attacks, male visitors from these countries have been required to report in person to the INS for special registration, or risk deportation. So far, more than 23,000 have registered nationwide. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure followed one Pakistani man as he made his way through the process. She filed this report.
March 11, 2003 -
March 13, 2003 -
March 19, 2003 - Author T.C. Boyle is a prolific novelist. He's written books about illegal immigrants, aristocratic sex offenders, radicals in New York State, the Kelloggs of Battle Creek Michigan, and a science fiction eco-novel called "A Friend of the Earth". His new novel "Drop City" obliquely follows the eco-theme. It's been creating a bit of a stir for its cover, which features a ring of naked flower people lying in a meadow. The book tells the story of a hippy commune which moves to Alaska after being chased out of its home in California. The arrival of the free-love preaching hippies in the wilds leads to just about everyone questioning his or her way of life. Boyle told Minnesota Public Radio's Euan Kerr he wanted to take a new look at the hippy movement.