Sisters Chelsea Kane and Courtney Azar are used to being calm in tense situations.
Azar served in the Army for 18 years and was medically discharged in 2023. Kane, a non-commissioned officer, was an infantry soldier serving with Special Forces in Afghanistan between 2010-2011.
The combat veterans both served deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and relied on their military training to not let volatile emotions cloud their judgement. But as they’ve embarked on peacefully documenting the conduct of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in Minneapolis in recent weeks, Azar and Kane said they’re not seeing the same behavior from federal agents.
“We were trained to be cool headed under pressure,” Kane told local NBC affiliate KARE. “They’re not. ICE is not acting cool under pressure. They get angry. They punch people, they assault people. They throw people to the ground.”
Tensions over ICE’s immigration enforcement in the Twin Cities escalated last week when federal agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed local citizen and mother Renee Good, leading to nationwide protests and putting a renewed microscope on the agency’s conduct.
Azar and Kane’s concerns rose in December as ICE’s presence in the Twin Cities kept growing. The sisters began documenting the agency’s actions after Good’s death, mostly through cellphone video, to buck an online narrative that observers were interfering with federal operations.
“When we went over there, we were told that we were defending our country and our countrymen’s constitutional rights,” Kane said. “Now, to have ICE and (Customs and Border Patrol) going door to door knocking, asking people for papers and random snatch and grabs on the street, it’s literally everything that we fought against; it’s everything that I was told I was defending against, and it’s here in our streets.”
Body Cameras ‘Keep People Safe’
Azar said some immigration enforcement leaders and supporters of ICE are trying to portray non-violent observers in a negative light.
“They’re trying to paint (observers) as violent radicals and violent protesters and stuff and we’re moms, we’re veterans, we’re farmers.”
Azar also wonders why ICE agents are not required to wear body cameras like police are required in many U.S cities.
“We’re trying to keep ICE and Border Patrol accountable to their actions,” Azar said. “We know that body cams and footage recording do keep people safe. That’s why police are required to wear body cams.
“Why aren’t they at least doing that barebones minimum? That’s the biggest question that I have for ICE.”
Since Good was killed, the veteran sisters said they’ve documented more allegedly aggressive tactics from ICE, such as randomly detaining Minneapolis residents, driving them around, and releasing them later.
“That’s the thing that we have seen more and more,” Kane said. “They’re doing random arrests. They’re not doing warranted searches, they’re not doing warranted arrests, they’re not going after illegals, they’re going after anyone who looks like an ‘other.’”
Since early January, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has reportedly sent more than 2,000 additional ICE agents to the Twin Cities, along with about 600 DHS officers, to investigate alleged fraud in daycares operated by Somali immigrants.
On Sunday, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem told Fox News she plans to deploy “hundreds more” ICE agents to Minneapolis with emotions on an all-time high following last week’s fatal shooting.
More Documentation to Stay ‘Safe’
Azar insists she’s not impeding in federal oversight and investigations.
“I’m behind them. I’m giving them a wide berth,” Azar said. “You know, like, I’m staying out of the way.”
While even peaceful demonstrations can escalate, the sisters added that they’re not worried if ICE agents respond with force.
“We have the training to deescalate so that’s what we do is, we’re gonna keep going out,” Kane said. “We’re going to keep documenting them to keep our neighbors safe, to keep that aggression from increasing.”
Azar echoed her sister’s words, saying any information they document in their community will be provided to state and local law enforcement.
“If it is illegal, then the state will come for me,” Azar said. “I completely stand by everything that I’m doing. I’m observing. I’m there to make sure that our community is remaining safe, and I intend to do that for as long as ICE is here.”
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