On January 9, students from St. Anthony Village High School raised signs and chanted in protest of recent violence from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Minneapolis. “We’re trying to make it clear that we’re not okay with this,” one student at the rally told the Northeaster. (Davis Steen)
On the afternoon of January 8, a day after Renee Nicole Good was killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in South Minneapolis, ICE agents detained Mar Navarro and Anna Brauch following an altercation near the intersection of Central Avenue and Lowry Avenue NE. Per a GoFundMe, Brauch “has been released and is at the hospital with broken bones in her hand”; according to eyewitnesses, Navarro has been released as well.
ICE is a federal law-enforcement agency under the supervision of the United States Department of Homeland Security. Its stated mission is to conduct criminal investigations, enforce immigration laws and preserve national security. On January 6, the agency announced they were deploying about 2,000 agents to the Twin Cities.
According to Elliott Payne, Ward 1 councilmember, Navarro and Brauch are “legal observers.” Legal observers, according to the National Lawyer’s Guild, “create documentation during events which can later be (used) in defense cases, public statements and litigation which aims to hold law enforcement agencies accountable for the actions of their officers.”
“We are seeing increased ICE activity in the neighborhood, and we’re asking all of our community members to show up in this moment,” Payne said.
A frame from a video showed several agents at Garfield Street and 32nd Avenue NE after a collision left two vehicles damaged. The driver of the white SUV was taken into custody. (Provided)
The scene on Garfield
Later in the afternoon, ICE agents appeared at the intersection of Garfield Street and 32nd Avenue NE.
One eyewitness, who asked not to be identified in print, said a blue SUV with “ICE” printed on the side drove down Garfield Street NE with their lights on. At the intersection, they drove into the side of another vehicle, a white SUV going along 32nd Street.
“He started going (through the intersection) and ICE just slammed into him,” the eyewitness said. “Then ICE took him out of the car and took him away. They pushed his car back over here” — out of the intersection — “and left it on the side of the road. I said (to ICE), ‘What did you run into him for?’ They said, ‘He crashed into us.’ They T-boned the car, smashed into it, and ripped the guy out of the car.”
Video obtained by the Northeaster shows the two vehicles in the intersection. At least three masked individuals get out of the navy vehicle, which has visible damage to its passenger-side door. The white SUV has visible damage across driver’s side doors.
St. Anthony high school students braved the cold and the slippery surfaces to protest at 33rd Avenue NE and Silver Lake Road. The students still had school, unlike Minneapolis schools, but it didn’t deter the group of 20-30 students. (Davis Steen)
“We’re not allowed back in school”
On January 7, Minneapolis Public Schools canceled classes district-wide “due to safety concerns” following the death of Renee Nicole Good. Midway through the morning of January 9, students from St. Anthony Village High School — which, at time of reporting, had not cancelled classes — walked out in protest of ICE’s activity in the area.
A student, who appeared to be leading the rally, told the Northeaster that the group of 20 or 30 individuals was mostly St. Anthony Village High School students.
“We’re seeing everything going on in Minneapolis, and we’re trying to let them know we’re heard,” he said. “Right now, our school’s still open, so we’re trying to use the fact that we’re all in school, that we’re all together right now, to put something to it.”
At that point, the students had been out for roughly an hour and a half.
“We were informed that we’re not going to be allowed back in school for the day,” the student continued. “I guess we’re not allowed to leave school in the middle of the day. We’re trying to make it clear that we’re not okay with this. Especially after what happened to Renee Nicole Good, we’re not okay with that. What they’re doing is not okay, and it’s not constitutional.”
ICE has not responded to requests for comment.