Headshot of Minnesota Reformer reporter, Madison McVan

Madison McVan

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Madison McVan is a reporter at the Minnesota Reformer, covering the impact of the Trump administration on Minnesotans, including issues like immigration, agriculture, Medicaid, food, housing and other safety net cuts. She's also covering the 2026 Minnesota U.S. Senate race. Prior to joining the Reformer, she wrote about labor and environmental issues in the agriculture industry for Investigate Midwest. She moved to the Twin Cities in 2020 after graduating from the University of Missouri with degrees in journalism and Latin American studies. She's bilingual.

ICE agent Christian Castro turns himself in on federal charge
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Christian Castro, who is accused of shooting Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis through the closed door of a Minneapolis home in January, turned himself in to federal authorities on Thursday, the Associated Press and other outlets reported...
Report: Feds charge ICE agent Christian Castro in connection with Minneapolis shooting
Federal prosecutors have charged U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Christian Castro with making false statements about the shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in Minneapolis Jan. 14, the New York Times reported Thursday , citing an unnamed person familiar with...
CoreCivic offers to pay Appleton $1.2 million annually to cover lost tax revenue
CoreCivic, the private prison company opening a new immigrant detention center in Appleton, Minnesota, has offered to pay the city more than $1.2 million per year. CoreCivic sold the Prairie Correctional Facility — a 1,600-bed prison in Appleton that’s been...
Attorney argues to force government to release more surveillance records in ‘Minnesota 15’ case
A defense attorney in the conspiracy case against 15 Minnesotans asked a federal judge Thursday to order the government to release more documents related to the Department of Homeland Security’s wide-ranging surveillance campaign of anti-ICE activists, labor unions and nonprofits...
ICE agent Christian Castro, charged in Minneapolis shooting, released from Texas jail
Christian Castro, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent charged with shooting Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in Minneapolis in January, was released from a Texas county jail early Thursday morning. Castro has been the subject of a rare interstate extradition battle between...
Minnesota Truth Council begins process of documenting impact of federal immigration operations
A truth council assembled by Gov. Tim Walz heard testimony for the first time Wednesday from people who say they were harmed by the thousands of federal immigration agents sent to Minnesota this winter. Immigrants and community leaders shared stories...
Judge denies Minnesota’s extradition request for ICE agent Christian Castro
A federal judge in Texas on Wednesday denied the state of Minnesota’s extradition request of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Christian Castro, who is charged in the shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in north Minneapolis in January. The ruling means...
Minnesota set to fight in Texas courtroom to extradite ICE agent charged in Minneapolis shooting
An attorney from the office of Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is set to appear in federal court in Texas on Tuesday to argue for the extradition of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent charged with shooting a Venezuelan...
New court filings reveal more details of undercover agents’ surveillance of anti-ICE protesters
A court filing Tuesday morning in the federal case against 15 anti-ICE protesters contained more than 200 pages of undercover agents’ notes and photos from the Department of Homeland Security’s widespread surveillance operation during Operation Metro Surge. The documents reveal...
Appleton area could lose more than $800,000 per year in revenue following government prison purchase
APPLETON — The federal government’s purchase of a 1,600-bed prison in Appleton for an immigrant detention facility could deal a major blow to city, county and school finances. The prison had been owned and operated by CoreCivic since 1996 until...
Independent ICE flight tracker marks 5000th detainee deported from MSP
On the hot tarmac of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Tuesday afternoon, a man in a gray sweatsuit slowly climbed the steps to board an Eastern Airlines flight bound first for Alexandria, Louisiana, then El Paso, Texas. He was chained...
AG Keith Ellison sues Texas governor for failure to extradite ICE agent charged with assault
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is suing Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, alleging that Abbott is holding up the extradition of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer charged with assault in the shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in Minneapolis on Jan...