LIVE (7:30 pm CST) JFK Profile in Courage Award Ceremony: Honoring Jerome Powell & People of the Twin Cities Minnesota

The people of the Twin Cities will receive one of the nation’s most prestigious civic honors Sunday 5/31/26 when the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation presents them with a 2026 Profile in Courage Award.

The award recognizes what the foundation described as the courage shown by residents during Operation Metro Surge, the federal immigration crackdown that swept Minnesota and other parts of the country beginning in late 2025.

Why are Twin Cities residents receiving the award?

The Kennedy Library Foundation said it selected “the people of the Twin Cities of Minnesota” for defending immigrant neighbors and constitutional rights during Operation Metro Surge, which the Department of Homeland Security described as the largest federal immigration enforcement operation in U.S. history.

In announcing the award, the foundation pointed to the tens of thousands of people who protested the operation, as well as residents who documented enforcement activity, alerted neighbors to the presence of federal agents and organized support for immigrant families.

Four Minnesota leaders will accept the award on behalf of Twin Cities residents:

---Imam Yusuf Abdulle, co-founder of the Somali American Leadership Table and executive director of the Islamic Association of North America
---Natalie Ehret, founder of Haven Watch
---Carolina Ortiz, associate executive director of COPAL
---Zena Stenvik, superintendent of Columbia Heights Public Schools

https://www.startribune.com/what-to-know-as-twin-cities-residents-receive-prestigious-jfk-courage-award-tonight/601851126