Maya Rao
Reporter
Race and ImmigrationRao wrote for The Press of Atlantic City and The Philadelphia Inquirer before moving to Minnesota in January 2012. She previously covered the federal government for the Star Tribune.
Latest from Maya Rao
Federal agents surround south Minneapolis restaurant, clashing with protesters
Local officials quickly pushed back against initial concerns that a federal immigration raid took place at a Mexican restaurant on Lake Street. No arrests were reported.
June 3, 2025
Afghan allies struggle in Minnesota after funding cuts: ‘What will I do?’
Abdul Saboor Qaderi received a special immigrant visa, but with major cuts to refugee services, the father of five felt lost trying to build a new life in Minnesota.
May 30, 2025
Trump order could affect some 3,000 Chinese students in Minnesota
The latest administration move on international students targets those from China, which sends more students to the U.S. to study than all but one other country.
May 29, 2025
Venezuelan family in Minnesota pursues asylum amid court battle over TPS
America is “one of the safest places to be,” said a St. Paul man hoping to avoid deportation.
May 27, 2025
Five years later, Minneapolis remembers George Floyd though some say racial justice progress has stalled
People gathered in what is known as George Floyd Square on Sunday to reflect on the police murder of George Floyd.
May 25, 2025
'This is an uprising': An oral history of the 6 days after George Floyd's murder
Protesters, police, Gov. Tim Walz and neighbors chronicle the upheaval that changed Minneapolis and spread across the world.
May 19, 2025
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A CIA military base was their home during the ‘Secret War’ in Laos. Now Hmong Americans can finally see it again.
Long Tieng once housed one of the busiest air hubs in the world in the 1960s, but it was closed to the public for decades after the war.
May 10, 2025
Inside Minnesota’s deportation court since Trump took office
The Star Tribune sat in on the majority of the case hearings for detainees at Fort Snelling Immigration Court since late January.
April 30, 2025
As hundreds of immigrants are detained in Minnesota, families struggle with separation
Hearings at the Fort Snelling Immigration Court are filled with jailed men worried about how their wives and children will pay bills and survive without them.
April 28, 2025
She survived the long trek from Venezuela. Then she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
After journeying through the perilous Darién Gap, Miriam Orta eventually found treatment, support and hope with her partner in Minnesota.
April 9, 2025
Immigration detentions of international students expand beyond protesters
Arrest of U international student because of DWI suggests expansion of ICE authority, according to immigration attorney.
April 3, 2025
Second Minnesota university student detained by ICE
Students from Minnesota State University Mankato and the University of Minnesota were detained late last week.
April 1, 2025
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