In early January, around 2,000 federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrived in Minneapolis to target the metro area as part of a major crackdown on illegal immigrants. ICE is taking undocumented immigrants from their homes, therefore affecting incomes and the ability for people to provide for themselves, their families, and their pets. The nonprofit animal shelter Bond Between is helping families who are unable to receive food for their pets during this time.

The Bond Between, an animal shelter located in Minnetonka, Minnesota, is a well-known organization for providing rescue dogs and cats with foster homes while they await adoption. They also provide veterinary care, food, and toys to animals without a home. Bond Between is currently offering free bags of pet food to families who are struggling to afford to feed both themselves and their pets.

“[We] got a bunch of food donated, and we make cat bags and dog bags that are given to families who are sheltering because of ICE. We’ve connected with multiple other organizations that know who these people are and where they live. We give them bags of food, and they deliver it to the people that need it.” Annetta Santo, the pet food shelf coordinator for Bond Between, said.

By providing those resources to families, people don’t have to endanger themselves to feed their pets.

Bond Between also has the resources to support humane surrender and respite assistance. Humane surrender provides people with the option to surrender their pets to shelters, which then rehome them to new families or fosters. Respite foster care allows an animal to live in a foster home while owners deal with hardships like minimized incomes during ICE enforcement.

“We’re helping families affected by ICE by [allowing them to] surrender their animals to us,” Santo said.

Since ICE’s arrival, there has been an influx of surrendered animals in need of foster homes, and Bond Between has been able to assist around 900 families, with 12 affected animals in the foster system. Additionally, volunteering has increased since ICE arrived, and more volunteers and donors allow Bond Between to continue to do the work they need to do to help animals. The organization has received both national and global donations.

“The Bond Between has been doing really amazing work in the recent months relating to the ICE activities here,” sSenior Colette King said of the organization. “In January, they started doing puppy parties at schools in the metro.”

The Bond Between has been bringing puppy parties to schools to bring smiles to students’ faces during hard times. They have held parties at various schools including Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis, where ICE agents recently arrived to detain staff and parents, and Cornelia Elementary School in Edina.

“I know they’ve been doing [puppy parties] all over the metro with the goal of helping people de-stress. Everyone wants to see puppies,” King said.