Financial records show more than $3.3 million in grants and assistance flowed from a Minneapolis charity linked to Open Society Foundations to activist organizations organizing protests, legal-observer networks, and rapid-response efforts targeting federal immigration enforcement.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Sixteen activist organizations mobilizing against federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota have received millions of dollars in funding from a nonprofit backed by the Soros family’s Open Society Foundations, according to a newly published investigation by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The Minneapolis-based Headwaters Foundation for Justice has awarded $3,321,013 in cash and non-cash assistance since 2014 to organizations that now work to monitor Immigration and Customs Enforcement or organize demonstrations opposing the agency, based on analysis of nonprofit filings, group websites, and social media activity detailed in an extensive report. One of those demonstrations—held at Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport—resulted in around 100 arrests on Jan. 23.
Groups receiving Headwaters support include organizations that now seek to track ICE activity or protest the agency. The funding totals were compiled from publicly available tax filings and other disclosures.
The Headwaters Foundation did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
In a Wednesday Instagram post announcing $120,000 in new grants, the foundation framed the activity as part of a broader political struggle. “What we are seeing in the streets of Minneapolis and across Minnesota right now is a fight for collective liberation in real time,” the post said. Additional grants from 2025 are listed on the foundation’s website without specific dollar figures. “Your support of Headwaters will help us meet the ongoing need of funding organizing on the ground,” the post added.
Financial disclosures show Headwaters has received substantial backing from liberal philanthropy nonprofits for more than a decade, including a $300,000 contribution in 2020 from Open Society Foundations, created by George Soros and now led by his son, Alexander Soros, according to the same detailed report.
‘ICE Out’ Marches
Several activist groups that coordinated “ICE Out” marches on Jan. 23 received Headwaters funding. They include Mizna; Unidos MN; CAIR Minnesota; Communities Organizing Latine Power and Action (COPAL); Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en la Lucha (CTUL); Jewish Community Action; Voices for Racial Justice; Minnesota Freedom Fund; and the LGBTQ advocacy organizations OutFront Minnesota and Gender Justice.
None of the organizations responded to requests for comment.
Jewish Community Action board member Emma Kippley-Ogman was arrested during the MSP airport demonstration after protesters blocked a roadway and violated permit conditions, according to police. In an op-ed, Kippley-Ogman defended her actions, writing, “We cannot keep on with business as usual when our federal government is engaged in escalating state terror right here, right now.” Headwaters has provided $183,013 to Jewish Community Action, according to tax forms.
CTUL urged supporters in a post to call its “worker defense hotline” if employers threatened them for taking time off to attend the Jan. 23 protests. CTUL received $1,085,750 from Headwaters, filings show.
Unidos MN—formerly Navigate MN—received $90,250 from the foundation and is promoting a “healthcare worker resistance training” in February to teach medical staff how to “protect” patients during ICE searches, according to an Instagram post.
Minnesota Freedom Fund’s only Headwaters grant was for an unspecified amount. The fund previously received national attention in 2020 after then-Sen. Kamala Harris encouraged donations to help post bail for individuals arrested during unrest tied to Black Lives Matter protests.
Additional Headwaters grants include at least $25,000 to Mizna; $385,000 to the Greater Minnesota Worker Center; $10,000 to the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee; $171,000 to Voices for Racial Justice; and $318,500 to OutFront Minnesota.
‘Legal Observers’ and Riot Gear
COPAL, the Indigenous Protector Movement, and MN8—formerly ReleaseMN8—advocate for deploying so-called legal observers to follow immigration agents during enforcement actions.
MN8 and COPAL operate a text chat and a hotline, respectively, allowing residents to summon observers during ICE encounters. COPAL’s online “Constitutional Observer” handbook instructs participants to wear identifying badges, film agents, and persistently request judicial warrants while avoiding physical interference. Headwaters has awarded $360,000 to MN8 over time and provided $10,000 to COPAL in January 2026.
Gender Justice invites visitors to its website to submit reports for possible legal action involving alleged “gender-based” mistreatment by immigration agents. The organization’s legal director claimed in testimony to the Minnesota Senate that it had received reports of agents using slurs, body-shaming, and misgendering. Headwaters provided $62,500 to Gender Justice.
In a Jan. 23 Instagram post, the Indigenous Protector Movement requested donations for gas masks, goggles, “legal observer vests,” and other supplies, citing the fatal encounter involving protester Alex Pretti during a scuffle with law enforcement earlier that day. The post also referenced activist Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE agent while volunteering with MN ICE Watch on Jan. 7. Headwaters announced $10,000 in funding for the Indigenous Protector Movement in its Wednesday post.
Minnesota’s Somali Lobby
Several Headwaters-funded groups—including Ayada Leads, Awood Center, and CAIR Minnesota—focus much of their advocacy on behalf of Somali migrants, a population in Minnesota that has been targeted for deportation following welfare fraud investigations.
CAIR Minnesota’s Somali-born executive director has attended multiple anti-ICE demonstrations in Minneapolis in recent days, according to video footage. The chapter received $140,000 from Headwaters.
Ayada Leads, which has received $280,000, provides political campaign training and previously recruited Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota to enter politics, according to its website. Omar has been a vocal critic of ICE operations in the state and was reluctant to condemn violence against agents in a January interview.
The Awood Center, which received $190,000, has sought to hire staff for an anti-ICE “rapid response” program aimed at preventing what it describes as unlawful detentions. Neither Ayada Leads nor the Awood Center responded to requests for comment.
The funding trail outlined in the records illustrates the scale of financial support behind Minnesota’s anti-ICE activism, as federal immigration enforcement continues to draw organized opposition across the state.
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