Yes!

It should be longer, but it’s a great start!

When They’re Not Applying Banned Chokeholds, ICE Agents Are Apparently Stealing and Selling Citizens’ Phones

As I keep saying ICE is full of white supremacist gang thugs with no decency or morals.Β  They abused a minor and stole his phone then sold that phone.Β  Think of it they steal like the crooks / criminals they are.Β  These ICE people don’t see any nonwhite person as a human deserving rights.Β  Β  Hugs

In late October, a Houston-area 10th grader, 16-year-old U.S. citizen Arnoldo Bazan, watched his father tackled, choked and arrested in public by immigration officials who the teenager said refused to identify themselves and wore no official uniforms or insignia. Arnoldo Bazan was treated much the same: Put into a banned chokehold byΒ whoeverΒ these purported law enforcement figures were supposed to be,Β he was beaten and choked,Β and had his phone confiscated, despite his pleas that he was underage and a citizen. His treatment at the hands of agents was later justified byΒ professional murder-rationalizer and DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin,Β who claimed that he had β€œassaulted” officers during the arrest by hitting one with an elbow, cappingΒ her statementΒ with the following, incredibly smug flourish: β€œThe federal law enforcement officer graciously chose not to press charges.”

The immigration agents in this account are effectively operating as something like federally sanctioned highwaymen–they might as well be privateers in tactical vests and masks, flying the U.S. flag as a defense for why they’re able to do literally anything they want, right up to stealing from citizens for personal profit, confident that nothing will happen to them.

Where is a person supposed to turn, if a man in a vest and mask, who may or mayΒ notΒ be ICE, decides to leverage their power against them? Say they take your phone: What do you do? File a police report? Good luck with that–the family of Arnoldo Bazan tried to report their incident to the Houston Police Department, where officers made plain their lack of interest in getting involved in anything related to ICE or DHS. The Bazan family still hasn’t been interviewed by police about the incident, and a department spokespersonΒ told ProPublicaΒ that there was no investigation. The message is clear: Federal agents can act with impunity, and local police will only intervene onΒ theirΒ behalf.


https://www.jezebel.com/ice-immigration-phone-theft-sold-arnoldo-bazan-houston-chokeholds-private-property

A 16-year-old U.S. citizen had his phone taken as his father was detained. He later tracked it down at the kiosk where ICE had apparently sold it.

When They’re Not Applying Banned Chokeholds, ICE Agents Are Apparently Stealing and Selling Citizens’ Phones

In late October, a Houston-area 10th grader, 16-year-old U.S. citizen Arnoldo Bazan, watched his father tackled, choked and arrested in public by immigration officials who the teenager said refused to identify themselves and wore no official uniforms or insignia. Arnoldo Bazan was treated much the same: Put into a banned chokehold byΒ whoeverΒ these purported law enforcement figures were supposed to be,Β he was beaten and choked,Β and had his phone confiscated, despite his pleas that he was underage and a citizen. His treatment at the hands of agents was later justified byΒ professional murder-rationalizer and DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin,Β who claimed that he had β€œassaulted” officers during the arrest by hitting one with an elbow, cappingΒ her statementΒ with the following, incredibly smug flourish: β€œThe federal law enforcement officer graciously chose not to press charges.”

This story is of course heinous in and of itself, but also typical to the experience of countless Americans who have had their families torn apart by the β€œimmigration enforcement” campaign of DHS and ICE. If you asked Arnoldo Bazan, then surely he would cite the loss of his father Arnulfo Bazan Carrillo that day in October (he was eventually deported to Mexico) as the most important and gutting detail of the encounter. But when the 16-year-old’s case resurfaced this week in the context of aΒ ProPublica deep dive into the widespread use of banned chokeholdsΒ by immigration agents, there was another detail that stood out as particularly galling in its sheer disregard for the idea that agents might face any kinds of consequences: The fact that the ICE agents in question allegedlyΒ sold Arnoldo Bazan’s confiscated phoneΒ for cash, potentially on the very same day that they took it from him.

 

In the midst of ProPublica’s investigation and interviews with Arnoldo, the teen explained that he had filmed much of the incident between the ICE agents and his father, who had been driving him to high school when they stopped at a McDonald’s for breakfast. There, federal agents swarmed the Bazans’ vehicle, causing them to flee. The two fled on foot into a restaurant supply store, where agents tackled them and began to choke both. This portion of the incident was partiallyΒ captured on video by bystanders,Β and Arnoldo Bazan can be heard pleading and crying as officers constrict his throat, hoarsely saying β€œI’m underage” and β€œI was going to school!” He laterΒ described the scenarioΒ as feeling β€œlike I was going to pass out and die.” It’s little wonder he gave not much thought to his phone at the time, but after being returned to his home hours later, he used the Find My tool to locate where it had ended up–at β€œa vending machine for used electronics miles away, close to an ICE detention center,” according to ProPublica. Seemingly, he was able to somehow visit this location and retrieve the phone–the publication said it had later seen the footage, which β€œbacked the family’s account of the chase.”

This is 10th-grader Arnoldo Bazan. A citizen.Immigration agents grabbed him and put him in a chokehold. "We're from the United States bro!' he screamed.Agents took and sold his phoneAnd when he finally got home hours later, his shirt was ripped, he neck had angry, red welts, and he sobbed.

Eric Umansky (@ericumansky.bsky.social) 2026-01-13T22:20:42.595Z

 

Just consider, for a moment, the thought process of the immigration agents making this kind of decision. You detain a man under the suspicion of being an illegal immigrant, and brutalize both him and his teenage son who is on his way to high school. You take the phone that the kid is using to record the experience–prior to when you start choking him, that is. One would expect there to be some kind of lip service here about how the phone was being taken for β€œevidence” or β€œinvestigation,” or in greater likelihood the thought that perhaps it can be wiped of any incriminating evidence. Nevertheless, if a federal agent takes your phone from you, do you not expect for them to hang onto it in some kind of official capacity? Maybe to evenΒ returnΒ your property to you afterward, if you’re really lucky? One thing I’m pretty certain isn’t in the operations manual: Bringing your phone to a kiosk, to sell for cash, and then pocketing the modest payday.

As if it needs to be said, this isn’t law enforcement–this is the kind of behavior that law enforcement is intended to dissuade and prevent. The immigration agents in this account are effectively operating as something like federally sanctioned highwaymen–they might as well be privateers in tactical vests and masks, flying the U.S. flag as a defense for why they’re able to do literally anything they want, right up to stealing from citizens for personal profit, confident that nothing will happen to them. If this was the Old West, this is the type of scenario where the citizens would be expected to find a U.S. Marshal and round up a posse in order to exact justice. Only today, it’s the federal β€œlawmen” who are doing the robbery, backed by millions of dollars in federal PR and spin to convince half of the U.S. population that you clearly deserved anything that was done to you. Oh, an ICE agent stole your phone and sold it? Well, turns out that as of this moment, that’s the new retroactive penalty for being β€œdisrespectful” or β€œobstructive.”

What’s also beyond clear is that nothing can be believed from the statements of spokespeople for these federal apparatus, because they’re so often shown to be shameless lies. An unnamed β€œICE spokesperson” wasΒ quoted by theΒ Houston ChronicleΒ in the immediate wake of the incident with Arnoldo Bazan, claiming the reports that the agents β€œbeat up” the teenager (he ended up in a hospital trauma unit, receiving X-rays and CT scans) were β€œoutright lies,” going on to claim that β€œit wasn’t even an ICE officer who was engaged in the physical altercation with him at the store or in the video,” while simultaneously refusing to explain who these men were supposed to be if not ICE. In the midst of ProPublica’s piece written several months later, meanwhile, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin has given up on pretending that the men were not ICE–something she’sΒ demonstrably lied about in the pastΒ as well–and had instead pivoted to the claim that Arnoldo Bazan had assaulted the officers in order to justify their use of banned chokeholds on him. She gave no statement at all about Bazan’s phone turning up at a sell-your-electronics kiosk.

Where is a person supposed to turn, if a man in a vest and mask, who may or mayΒ notΒ be ICE, decides to leverage their power against them? Say they take your phone: What do you do? File a police report? Good luck with that–the family of Arnoldo Bazan tried to report their incident to the Houston Police Department, where officers made plain their lack of interest in getting involved in anything related to ICE or DHS. The Bazan family still hasn’t been interviewed by police about the incident, and a department spokespersonΒ told ProPublicaΒ that there was no investigation. The message is clear: Federal agents can act with impunity, and local police will only intervene onΒ theirΒ behalf.

To be clear: Topics like the use of violent, potentially deadly chokeholds are of far more pressing importance than the threat of say, a lost phone. But I can’t stop thinking about that phone, all the same. The immigration agents in question could have done anything with the device after taking it from Arnoldo Bazan. They could have stuck it in an evidence locker. They could have dropped it in the trash. But they seemingly wentΒ out of their wayΒ to specifically sell it–the private property of a U.S. citizen–as a way of monetizing the cruel business of enforcing the β€œimmigration” policy of Donald Trump. Just a perk of the job, you know! It’s just one more indication that despite all the talk of the rights of citizens vs. illegal immigrants, β€œcitizenship” truly (and predictably) doesn’t mean anything in the eyes of the men who have chosen to become part of this Trump zealot army of ICE goons. They carry out their actions as if they’ve already come to the conclusion that the Supreme Court will retroactively strip the children of immigrants born in the U.S. of citizenship, and have thus decided to simply act accordingly–visualizing the racist world in which they dream of living.

What to Do if ICE Invades Your Neighborhood

Ali sent me some links and I thought they were worthy of posting.Β  Β Thank you Ali.Β  Β  Hugs


https://www.wired.com/story/what-to-do-if-ice-invades-your-neighborhood/

With federal agents storming the streets of American communities, there’s no single right way to approach this dangerous moment. But there are steps you can take to stay safeβ€”and have an impact.

Image may contain Clothing Glove Adult Person Car Transportation Vehicle Accessories Bag Handbag Gun and Weapon
Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Getty Images

If federal immigrationΒ agents are coming to your areaβ€”or haveΒ already arrivedβ€”you may be frantically making plans to lay low at home, or perhaps grabbing your whistle and lacing up your sneakers to join a neighborhood watch. It’s a terrifying situation for undocumented residents and all American immigrants, and the climate has even become fraught for US citizens too. There are no simple answers for how to protect yourself and others in every scenario, but there are frameworks you can use for weighing your options.

The presence of immigration agents in cities and towns around the country has starkly increased in recent months, and tensions have escalated in step. On Wednesday, aΒ federal agentΒ shot and killed 37-year-old MinneapolisΒ resident and US citizen Renee Nicole GoodΒ in her car during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation. Having already deployed 2,000 agents to Minnesota, DHSΒ reportedly plannedΒ this week to send 1,000 more. “There are now more ICE agents in Minnesota than there are combined in Minneapolis police force and St. Paul police force,” Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar said on Friday. β€œSo they are outnumbering our own local police officers out on the streets.” (Minnesota and Illinois have sinceΒ filed lawsuitsΒ in federal court to end the ICE β€œinvasion” in those states.)

Elsewhere, Customs and Border Protection agents shot two people in a car in Portland, Oregon, on Thursday, hospitalizing both. These tragedies are just the latest in a series of violent incidents involving immigration agents that have escalated since US president Donald Trump took office a year ago with aΒ sweeping anti-immigrationΒ agenda. In addition to intense activity in Minneapolis and Portland, ICE and CBP have carried outΒ deportationΒ operations across the US.

β€œThe number of ICE agents has dramatically increased, the sheer presence in people’s communities is larger,” says Jennifer Whitlock, senior policy counsel at the National Immigration Law Center. β€œAnd this means that the risk of encountering an ICE officer has really increased for people, even if you’re not in any way attached to immigration.”

Pause

Problems haveΒ persisted for yearsΒ with ICE and CBP actionsβ€”including arrests and detentionsβ€”that accidentally ensnare US citizens and other documented residents. Additionally, the agencies’ operations have a history ofΒ aggressionΒ andΒ mistreatmentΒ in dealing with suspects. Immigration infractions are typically civil, not criminal offenses. Over the last year, though, the Department of Homeland Security’s budget for immigration enforcement has expanded substantially at the same time that public unrest about the activity has grown. The result is a charged climate in which standard interactions can quickly, and dangerously, escalate.

β€œWe’re surging operations because of the dangerous situation we see in this country,” homeland security secretary Kristi Noem said in a press conference on Wednesday. β€œWe should all work together to protect our citizens.”

Many see immigration enforcement’s track record and current activity very differently, though.

β€œFor its entire existence, ICE has been a very violent agency and a very unaccountable agency without a lot of oversight or transparency,” says Nithya Nathan-Pineau, policy attorney and strategist at the Immigrant Legal Resource Center.

She notes that as immigration officers have been involved in more and more violent incidents in recent months, it has become harder than ever to offer simple, definitive advice to people about assessing risk in interactions with federal agents.

Numerous sources told WIRED that their trainings and materials about interacting with federal immigration agents are actively evolving to reflect the current moment. For example, one core point has long been to explain the difference between a judicial warrant signed by a judge that gives law enforcement the right to, say, enter a person’s home versus the administrative warrants that ICE agents often carry that do not give them that right. β€œDon’t open the door for ICE” is a common refrain. But this type of information, while still accurate, does not fully account for the chaotic intensity of current US immigration enforcement.

In short, there is some risk inherent in any interaction with federal immigration officials, whether you’re a US citizen or not. Even if you aren’t willing to expose yourself in that way, though, you can still take action to meaningfully and concretely help people in your community affected by the Trump administration’s policies.

Plan Ahead

Depending on your situation, you should make a plan in case you end up interacting with immigration enforcement while out and about.

In itsΒ online guidance, the nonprofit National Immigrant Justice Center says individuals and communities can create a β€œsafety plan” to help be best prepared in case ICE operatives arrive in the area. Such a plan could involve identifying trusted family members, friends, or colleagues who can act as emergency contacts for people who could be the target of federal immigration actions, or anyone who could come into contact with agents. Memorize their phone numbers and also make sure that your child’s school or daycare has emergency contacts on file. If you know you are at specific risk of deportation, you may considerΒ additional steps, too, related to establishing an emergency guardian for children and a power of attorney for yourself.

Given that US citizens are not safe from violence or arrest at the hands of federal immigration agents, immigrants with an established status, visa, or permanent residency are potentially at even higher risk if they participate in community safety efforts or other activities that put them near immigration agents.

In December, DHSΒ vehemently denied to WIREDΒ that its agents engage in racial profiling as part of immigration operations. Multiple sources emphasized to WIRED, though, that nonwhite Americans should consider being extra cautious about proximity to immigration agents. This is particularly true in light of aΒ September 2025 US Supreme Court decisionΒ in which Justice Brett Kavanaugh concluded that someone’s apparent ethnicity may be a β€œrelevant factor” that could justify detaining someone during an immigration enforcement actionβ€”something now derisively known as aΒ β€œKavanaugh stop.”

You should consider taking precautions toΒ protect yourselfΒ againstΒ potential digital surveillanceΒ if you know you are going to be proximal to immigration authorities. CBP and ICE both have digital surveillance capabilities that are increasing all the time. You can’t always anticipate when you might encounter federal agents, of course, but people who could specifically be the target of an immigration enforcement action should consider takingΒ extra digital precautionsΒ if they can.

Looking broadly, sources told WIRED that political polarization and rising tensions across the US are key contexts in assessing potential risks.

β€œIt’s no longer Officer Friendly out there,” Whitlock says. β€œThis is not to give any excuse, but I can imagine there is a mindset within the field ICE agents and CBP where they really do think they’re under attack and being threatened. And no one is above the law, but I think it’s important for people to understand that there are going to be limited forms of trying to hold these officers accountable in practice.”

On the Scene

If you find yourself witnessing an immigration enforcement action, there are some things to keep in mind if you want to stick around.

β€œThe goal is to be an observer and to document what is happening,” says Nathan-Pineau of the Immigrant Legal Resource Center. β€œThe goal is not to go and try to intervene in the law enforcement action.”

Training materials from Siembra NC, a North Carolina–based grassroots organization working to defend its local communities from exploitation, say that the priority when ICE is present is letting agents know they are being observed and reminding people of their right to remain silent, while deescalating whenever possible and promoting safety. The group advises that if ICE operatives are conducting an arrest or traffic stop, responders should try to approach within their line of sight and identify themselves in the process.

You can also report immigration enforcements sightings in many areas without getting involved by calling a local ICE watch tip line. Many immigration advocacy and human rights groups suggest using the β€œSALUTE” acronym to guide the information you give in these reports. Size: How many agents or officers you see. Activity: What are they doing? Has anyone been detained? Location: Where exactly did you see them and what direction are they heading in? Units: What types of officers are they or what words and markings can you see on their uniforms? Time: What time was the sighting? Make reports as quickly as possible. Equipment: What do the agents have with them, such as types of weapons, vehicles, crowd control methods, and other details?

Filming ICE behavior can let agents know they are being watched, potentially creating some accountability for their actions, as well as a digital evidence trail for any legal cases or proceedings that may occur at a later date. When interacting with federal agents as part of a group effort responding to ICE, Siembra NC recommends identifying yourself as a volunteer, and asking agents who they are, what they are doing, and what agency they work for. Then you can state that you will remain present to observe, while also recording any models of vehicles, license plates, and operatives at the scene.

β€œWe always advise people that if the law enforcement officer that you are filming tells you to step back, you should step back and you should say it out loudβ€”β€˜I’m stepping back, I’m stepping back.’ That way you’re recording that you’re complying with their order,” Nathan-Pineau says.

Multiple sources reiterated that recording federal agents has a dual purpose, because if your own behavior and that of the people around you is appropriate to the situation, this will be captured in your documentation as well as any officer misconduct. The fact remains, though, that peacefully filming interactions can be interpreted as aggressive or escalatory precisely because it is an accountability mechanism.

Proximity is one of the most important risks to assess when on the scene, says Xavier de Janon, director of mass defense at the National Lawyers Guild. β€œThe closer people have been to federal agents or property, the more likely they’ve been charged, tackled, or arrested,” he says.

More and more, federal prosecutors are seeking criminal charges against people for allegedly assaulting federal officers, even if the casesΒ ultimately don’t succeedΒ and later get dropped. The NLG recently published aΒ guideΒ on how protesters and observers can assess risks related to the federal assault law.

Work From Home

Even if you can’t risk hitting the streets, there are other important ways to contribute to community safety efforts.

Civil liberties groups have beenΒ campaigning nationwide to ban real-time surveillance platforms and end lucrative contracts that feed information to ICE. You can contact the offices of your local officials and tell them to cancel surveillance contracts and stop information-sharing and other law enforcement cooperation that fuels ICE operations.

β€œIt’s good that local officials in cities targeted by ICE are speaking out and condemning their brutal tacticsβ€”but talk is cheap,” says Evan Greer, director of the digital rights activist organization Fight for the Future. β€œICE violence is enabled by ICE surveillance, often with help from local police and city-run surveillance systems. If local leaders want to protect their residents from ICE’s gestapo tactics, one of the most immediate things they can do is roll back and limit surveillance by canceling contracts with surveillance vendors like Flock and banning the use of facial recognition and other forms of biometric surveillance, either through executive action or city ordinance.”

For those who are not direct targets of the federal immigration crackdown, Kathy O’Leary, a member of the Catholic peace organization New Jersey Pax Christi, recommends listening to neighbors who are directly affected and figuring out what they need. Every week, she and other volunteers go to Delaney Hall Detention Facility in New Jersey to support families who are visiting their loved ones in detention. The volunteers bring chairs and water for the visitorsβ€”who are forced to wait outsideβ€”and help visitors navigate the rules of the facility.

For example, she said, her group started bringing extra clothing because they realized that visitors were being turned away because of dress code violations. She said it started when a woman who had traveled all the way from Boston to visit her father in detention was turned away because she was wearing ripped jeans. A volunteer realized she was the same size and offered to switch pants.

β€œThat was a serious act of resistance,” O’Leary says. β€œThe system was creating a hurdle to see her father. The system tries to limit contact with families; it’s about stealing people’s hope and trying to break people.”

O’Leary and other volunteers also give out gift cards to grocery stores to visitors, since many families’ breadwinners are the ones in detention. O’Leary says that people who want to figure out how to get involved in their communities can see if they live near a local member of theΒ Detention Watch Network. If there isn’t a member in their state, sometimes groups in neighboring states will know who’s active in their area.

Working with local mutual aid organizations, food pantries, and other humanitarian support groups contributes to overall community strength and safety. And simply contributing to digital ICE watch trackers as you go about your regular activities can give others valuable information.

β€œIt’s about what lever matches your risk tolerance, matches the resources that are available to you,” says Matt Mitchell, CEO of the risk-mitigation firm Safety Sync Group. β€œNot everyone has the same privileges. Some people want to donate money, some people want to write letters, some people want to read up on what law enforcement and CBP and ICE can and can’t do. Some people want to put their bodies in the space and assemble because that is our right, some people want to document. There are many different levels.”

Updated 9 am ET, January 13, 2026: Added details about ICE watch tip lines.

Updated 2:45 pm ET, January 13, 2026: Corrected Xavier de Janon’s professional title.

The Horrifying Reality Of ICE Detention Centers

People who followed and were following the rules being tortured so they will give up their rights and voluntarily leave the country.Β  This is the country white supremacist want, they do not see nonwhites a human.Β  Hugs

How hateful does one person need to be to get satisfaction for their hate?

Some short clips I want to share but not do a long post one each. Hugs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Democrats Successfully Strip All Anti-Trans Riders From Final Appropriations Bills

I really like the reporting of this person.Β  I strongly suggest everyone subscribe to her substack and support her efforts if you can.Β  But even though this is 7 days old it is really important as it shows how feelings are changing on protecting trans people.Β  Hate won’t win if we and our politicians fight back.Β  When they had the right takes advantage to attack the rights of the LGBTQ+.Β  Hugs


https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/democrats-successfully-strip-all?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=994764&post_id=185215126&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=2r5nx6&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

The HHS and Education bills once contained the most sweeping anti-trans provisions in congressional history. Now they contain none.

Another Ethical Candidate

from Florida, too! I’m not sure how liberal he’ll be, but there’s a lot of work to get done before worrying about that, and we know this guy can do the work.

Whistleblower Alexander Vindman to seek Florida Democratic nomination for Senate

He is the third major Democrat to enter the contest to challenge GOP incumbent Ashley Moody in November.

By:Mitch Perry-January 27, 20266:00 am

==========================

Some clips of different link from MS Now.

I watched them all but I know many don’t have that kind of time or watch the shows on cable TV.Β  But they are of different lengths and around the same theme, which is ICE.Β  Hugs


At Stephen Miller direction the republicans stripped out of the funding bill an amendment that would have made it illegal for ICE to deport US citizens.Β  Β Think on what that means.Β  Β Hugs

 

 

It seems if you watch this to the end that there is a fight in the upper ranks over who is in control over ICE and the CBP people.Β  Stephen Miller and Noem want Bovino because they love the violence and control, and tRump wants to cool things off and he wants Homan because while Homan is an asshole he doesn’t want the spectacle of violence and arresting mom’s dads, and kids.Β  He wants to prioritize what he has always claimed on news shows, the going after the worst of the worst, rapist, murderers,and violent criminals.Β  From clip of other shows I have watched it is so bad Homan and Noem doing even talk to each anymore.Β  However Homan was the one who implemented Stephen Millers separating the children from their parents at the border.Β  Hugs

 

 

I love this.Β  ICE concentration camp prisons no matter for children or adults are rife with abuse and mis treatment.Β  Β We need to stop these for profit prisons and stop ICE while making the conditions better at existing facilities.Β  Β They have the money, the big billionaire bailout bill gave them more money than some country’s militaries.Β  Β Hugs

 

She has some good ideas that the people are doing to resist ICE including helping the people who are too terrified to leave their homes.Β  Β Hugs

I am sorry that the corrupted courts are the last resort.Β  We must try to use them, if only to set a record for the future.Β  Hugs

 

 

A bunch of democratic politicians / congress critters where on Ms Now talking about ICE.Β  I won’t share all of them but no where have I seen leadership such as Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer.Β  Β Hugs

 

 

 

 

 

Minneapolis schools cancel classes after Border Patrol clash disrupts dismissal at Roosevelt

This is an older report that I missed.Β  Β But this is a school with children and according to witnesses ICE gang thugs acted like animals attacking people and assaulting children.Β  Β Hugs


https://www.mprnews.org/story/2026/01/08/after-border-patrol-clash-at-roosevelt-minneapolis-schools-cancel-classes

Three Border Patrol agents pin a person to the ground in the snow while surrounded by other agents.

U.S. Border Patrol agents detain a person on the ground near Roosevelt High School during dismissal time on Wednesday in Minneapolis.
Kerem YΓΌcel | MPR News

Minneapolis Public Schools on Wednesday canceled classes district-wide for the remainder of the week β€œdue to safety concerns,” followingΒ the killing of a woman Wednesday by an ICE agent.Β The district said it was acting β€œout of an abundance of caution.”

The move came after officials at Roosevelt High School said armed U.S. Border Patrol officers came on school property during dismissal Wednesday and began tackling people, handcuffed two staff members and released chemical weapons on bystanders.Β 

β€œThe guy, I’m telling him like, β€˜Please step off the school grounds,’ and this dude comes up and bumps into me and then tells me that I pushed him, and he’s trying to push me, and he knocked me down,” a school official, who spoke to MPR News on condition of anonymity said.Β 

β€œThey don’t care. They’re just animals,” the official added. β€œI’ve never seen people behave like this.” 

A woman in a mask talks to three Border Patrol agents dressed in military gear.
Greg Bovino, a U.S. Border Patrol commander, argues with protesters near Roosevelt High School during dismissal time on Wednesday.
Kerem YΓΌcel | MPR News

The school leader said armed officers with apparent Border Patrol insignia on their uniforms arrived at a street near the school in several SUV vehicles during dismissal on Wednesday afternoon. They broke out the window of a vehicle.Β 

β€œThere’s a car that got hit. I don’t know how it got hit. They broke out the window,” the school official said. β€œThen different Neighborhood Watch, people, everybody, people, the staff in the school came out. And then they started coming on the property of the school and pushing people and tackling people and shooting pepper spray and pepper balls. And they handcuffed two of our employees.” 

Video shared with MPR News show armed, masked officers with apparent Border Patrol insignia on their uniforms dragging a person on a sidewalk outside of the high school and tussling with another person as bystanders blow whistles and shout.Β 

A federal agent in military fatigues runs outside a house.
A U.S. Border Patrol agent runs after a person near Roosevelt High School during dismissal time on Wednesday.
Kerem YΓΌcel | MPR News

The school official said some high school students were involved in altercations with officers. Many sheltered at a nearby library.Β 

Kate Winkel, who lives in the neighborhood near Roosevelt said she saw the Border Patrol agents on her drive home from work and witnessed agents pull a person into one of their vehicles.Β 

In a video shared with MPR News, a Border Patrol official is shown pushing 47-year-old Winkel to the ground after telling her to get out of the street.Β 

Winkel said she witnessed agents in other physical confrontations with school staff and parents on and near school property.Β 

β€œI think school property should be off-limits. I think our kids need to feel safe at school,” Winkel said. β€œThe federal government doesn’t need to attack schools.” 

A crowd of onlookers outside a school record ICE agents with their phones.
Federal agents face off with protesters near Roosevelt High School during dismissal time on Wednesday.
Kerem YΓΌcel | MPR News

In an email sent to school families on Wednesday, school principal Christian Ledesma said the school β€œinstituted a lockout due to law enforcement presence outside of our school involving a vehicle that stopped near our building” after the school’s regular dismissal time. Staff and students β€œwitnessed law enforcement engage with people at Roosevelt,” Ledesma added.Β 

He said school counselors, social workers and district personnel would be available to any students who needed support.Β Β 

Late Wednesday, district officials told staff and families in an email that all district-sponsored programs, activities, athletics and Community Education classes would be canceled and that it would collaborate with the City of Minneapolis on emergency preparedness and response.