WASHINGTON: Former US president Barack Obama on Saturday condemned the operations of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in Minnesota, comparing their behavior to conduct seen “in dictatorships.”
Thousands of federal agents including ICE agents carried out weeks of sweeping raids and arrests in what the Trump administration claims were targeted missions against criminals, until the operation was ended this week.
Obama had criticized the actions of ICE agents as unlawful last month, but went further in an interview with left-wing political commentator Brian Tyler Cohen released Saturday.
“The rogue behavior of agents of the federal government is deeply concerning and dangerous,” he said.
He called the behavior of federal officers, which included two fatal shootings that sparked mounting pressure on President Donald Trump’s mass crackdown, as the sort that “in the past we’ve seen in authoritarian countries and we’ve seen in dictatorships.”
But Obama, the only Black president in American history, said he had found hope in communities pushing back against the operations.
“Not just randomly, but in a systematic, organized way, citizens saying, ‘this is not the America we believe in,’ and we’re going to fight back, and we’re going to push back with the truth and with cameras and with peaceful protests,” he said.
“That kind of heroic, sustained behavior in subzero weather by ordinary people is what should give us hope.
“As long as we have folks doing that, I feel like we’re going to get through this.”
Trump’s pointman Tom Homan on Thursday announced the end of the aggressive immigration operation in Minnesota that triggered large protests and nationwide outrage.
In the wide-ranging podcast interview, Obama also criticized a lack of shame and decorum in the country’s political discourse, responding for the first time to a post on President Donald Trump’s social media that depicted him and first lady Michelle as monkeys.
Barack Obama compares Minnesota crackdown to behavior seen ‘in dictatorships’
https://arab.news/wvz58
Barack Obama compares Minnesota crackdown to behavior seen ‘in dictatorships’
- Thousands of federal agents including ICE agents carried out weeks of sweeping raids and arrests
- ‘The rogue behavior of agents of the federal government is deeply concerning and dangerous’
In rare overlap, Chinese Muslims observe Ramadan with Lunar New Year
- Lunar New Year started on Feb. 17 and is celebrated for another two weeks
- Chinese Indonesians make up about 3 percent of the Indonesian population
JAKARTA: Every year, on the first day of Lunar New Year, Febriani visits relatives and gathers for a feast with her Chinese Muslim family, part of a long-standing tradition honoring their ethnic heritage.
But this year, as Thursday marks the beginning of Ramadan, she is celebrating two important occasions within the same week, in a rare overlap that last took place in 1995.
“I’m very happy and grateful that Lunar New Year and Ramadan are celebrated so closely. I observe both every year, so it’s truly special,” she told Arab News.
Widely observed across Asia, the Lunar New Year or Chinese New Year festival is believed to date back to the 14th century B.C., to the times of the Shang Dynasty, China’s earliest ruling dynasty, when people celebrated good harvests.
In 2026, it started on Feb. 17 and is celebrated for another two weeks. For many, celebrations typically involve elaborate feasts, giving children pocket money in red envelopes, and watching dragon dance parades.
In Indonesia, Chinese-descent citizens make up an estimated 3 percent of the country’s Muslim-majority population of more than 280 million. While most are either Buddhists or Christians, a small minority professes Islam.
For 25-year-old Febriani, both Lunar New Year and Ramadan are equally meaningful.
“The two celebrations teach us to strengthen bonds, to share with one another, and to become closer to family,” she said.
“They are both important to me because they happen only once every year and they’re always an occasion to gather with the extended family. It is also a chance to self-reflect and strengthen relationships with your loved ones.”
For Naga Kunadi, whose family lives in Central Java’s Cepu district, Chinese New Year is all about embracing his ethnic identity.
Earlier in the week, his family was busy preparing for the new year’s feast, which was a fusion of Chinese and Indonesian dishes, such as claypot tofu, meatball soup and shumai, or steamed dumplings.
“To celebrate Chinese New Year, we prepared halal Chinese food at home. It’s also a way to introduce to my children the traditions from our Chinese side, but there’s a bit of a fusion because my wife is Javanese,” Kunadi told Arab News.
Kunadi, an Islamic teacher at the Lautze Mosque in Jakarta, sees both Chinese New Year and Ramadan as opportunities to teach important life values for his two children.
Upholding Chinese New Year traditions with his family is for him a way of preserving his ethnic heritage.
“We want to preserve cultural values as long as it does not clash with our religion,” he said.
“If we leave our culture behind, we might lose our identity, so this is something I want to teach my children.”
The fasting month of Ramadan, on the other hand, gives him a chance to teach and practice honesty.
“I want to focus on the religious and moral aspects during the holy month of Ramadan, when we practice honesty on a personal level,” Kunadi said.
“There’s always an opportunity to eat or snack in secret without anybody knowing, but we train ourselves not to do that. For me, Ramadan is a time for everyone to put honesty into practice, including myself and my children.”
