A Dialogue Between Friends — Part II
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My good friend continues:
When the big raid happened on Lake Street in June, Minneapolis residents figured it was an ICE operation so they jumped to conclusions and caused a scene. At that point, I thought all the concerns over ICE were largely overblown and unnecessary. When I learned this operation was related to an absolutely massive drug operation, I had to roll my eyes at everyone in the streets trying to interrupt the officers that were trying to arrest some of the baddest guys around. This is such an obvious "win" and necessary operation. I overwhelmingly support initiatives like this. When it was positioned as "ICE is coming to get the criminals" — and I had no reason to distrust that — I supported that notion. As it has unraveled though, my opinion on everything has changed drastically.
Expanding on item #2 above, one of my biggest concerns is where the onus of responsibility lies. This begins with ICE's responsibility to conduct its operations lawfully. Being "short staffed" or operating under stressful situations does not absolve them of their duty to operate under the law. I agree completely here. And being short-staffed or operating under stressful conditions is NO excuse. But instead of ratcheting up the crisis by encouraging Minneapolis residents to march and protest against ICE, why doesn't Mayor Frey have Minneapolis police simply stand by at the protests, protecting citizens from ICE agents and ICE agents from abusive protesters? That IS the purpose and role of local police. Frey and Walz have a duty to ensure that citizens do not break the law or attack law enforcement agents. But Minnesota officials ONLY show up after the damage is done and then demand access to the crime scene and the evidence.
The argument that people should "always carry proof, just in case" shifts the burden onto individuals to prove innocence, lest they risk being pulled into a van for failure to comply.
The courts have made it clear that ICE can only force you to "prove" citizenship if they have reasonable suspicion based on specifics and facts — appearance, accent, silence, or walking away is not enough. Here's a confrontation at the airport where an officer speaks to a Somali Uber driver saying: "I can hear you don't have the same accent as me, that's why I'm asking where you were born?" ICE is WRONG to demand identification and documents on the basis of skin color or accents. The Uber driver had a few options: 1. Tell them where you were born 2. Show ID or citizenship papers 3. Show them a green card or any other document that proves you are here legally 4. Explain that you are NOT a citizen, but that you have lived here peacefully as a good tax-paying citizen and respectfully welcome the agent to verify your status OR 5. Refuse to cooperate, refuse to answer questions, insult and provoke the agents, refuse to leave your vehicle and expect to get dragged out of your car and thrown into an ICE vehicle headed for Fort Snelling and a cold jail cell. Ahmed chose to insult, offend, challenge, and make demands of the ICE agents who were smiling and professional, as he said, "I'm afraid you motherfuckers will just shoot me" and "You guys just murdered somebody in cold blood" and "Where are you from, Mr. Mills, with your big ass body?" Why provoke ICE agents? Does he want to be arrested? And in spite of all his provocation and refusal to cooperate, he was not.
From what I've seen, these detainments aren't a simple car ride to the local courthouse for a couple hours — it can be a highly traumatic experience filled with intense fear. Here is the most calm, level headed recount I've seen of what it's like to be detained. This guy is a white US citizen that was detained for 10 hours. He left with a little bit of road rash to his face, before being released without charges. There are also various testimonies released from the recent legislative oversight hearings on their experiences being detained. No parts of this would classify as just a minor inconvenience.
I watched Ryan Ecklund's video (along with the various testimonies) and Ryan presents his experience calmly and rationally. His rights were clearly violated, he was abused, disrespected and mistreated in many ways. ICE was absolutely wrong in their handling of Mr. Ecklund. I hope he pursues and succeeds in a serious lawsuit against ICE and the federal government. But given the times we live in, exactly what did he hope to accomplish by following ICE agents and recording their activities? My brother once claimed he followed, chased and pulled over a highway patrol officer for speeding many years ago — he was within his legal rights — but what were his intentions and what did he really think was going to happen?
I've saved some Instagram posts showing interactions people have had with ICE agents:
Nimco Omar — A Somali woman parked her car and started walking towards the largest Somali mall in Minneapolis. Four ICE agents exited their car and began a "citizen check" on the sidewalk. They questioned her birthplace and demanded an ID while saying, "We're going to identify you one way or another." ICE agents have the legal authority to ask someone for identification during immigration enforcement encounters, but individuals are not required to provide it or answer questions without reasonable suspicion of a violation. — Perplexity AI Watching Omar's Instagram video, I was actually impressed with the patience of the ICE agents. They were insistent, but polite and professional, even with folks honking their horns in the background. Nimco had NO obligation to provide an ID, but why not simply do so? Even one of the comments for that post asks: If you're a US citizen why not comply and show ID? Lol Why provoke authorities in times like these?
Destiny + Shawn Jackson: Family who were driving their children home, when their vehicle was struck by a flash-bang, which set off the airbags. A tear-gas canister was dropped near the car. Three of the children were hospitalized.
In response, DHS tweeted, "It is horrific to see radical agitators bring children to their violent riots. PLEASE STOP ENDANGERING YOUR CHILDREN." They were a family going home from a basketball game. They later deleted the tweet. That sounds horrible! An innocent family coming home from a basketball game results in three children being hospitalized. But is there another aspect to their story? Were they REALLY at a basketball game? Destiny + Shawn Jackson Apparently, all of the Jackson family survived and now has $173,857.00 raised through GoFundMe to help them recover...
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