Few ICE detentions have happy endings. Even fewer end with detainees being released at all. As ICE agents continue to disappear U.S. citizens, one pastor from Minnesota is speaking up about his encounter. While some are shocked at his statements, others are in disbelief that America has stooped to such a level.
“I joined the protesting, and before I knew it, I saw ICE agents circling a young woman who appeared to be Hispanic. And so I approached her, and we were, at that point, chanting, ‘we are not afraid, we are not afraid, go, get out of our state, we are not afraid,'” the pastor says. “And I said to this ICE agent, take me. Stop harassing her, take me.” As the interview continues, the pastor goes into explicit detail about an ICE agent sticking his weapon in the pastor’s face.
“Are you afraid now?” The ICE agent said. “I am not afraid,” the pastor responds in his retelling of events. “The next thing I knew, they were putting handcuffs on me, and they put me in the back of an SUV,” he says. “They came back three times and asked me if I was afraid yet.” To this, the pastor told them, “Hell no, I’m not afraid of you. And I’m never going to be afraid of you.”
As the pastor continues sharing details, he says the ICE agents came back one final time. They asked for his identification and cell phone, to which he asked if he was under arrest. They ignored his question, but said, “Well, you’re white. You won’t be any fun anyway. You can get out of the car.” The pastor says he was astounded to experience and see such blatant racism and the effects it’s having on the community. However, for many, this racism has been underscoring injustices in these communities for years. Now, it’s come to a head.
While the pastor’s experience has yet to be confirmed by anyone else, one Reddit user summed up his thoughts: “If this pastor is speaking the truth, this is horrible. If he is lying about this incident, this is also horrible. Damn.”
