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The day federal immigration agents shot and killed Alex Preti, I ran out of the house with my camera in hand to document the aftermath. As a visual editor at ProPublica, I spend most of my time at my desk. But I couldn’t ignore this epic story that was rapidly unfolding in Minneapolis, the city I’ve called home for the past few years.
The first photo I took that day was of a woman trying to calm down a man with a hug. “There was a young man right next to the police tape, inches away from some of the investigators, and he was very angry,” she later told me. “I’m starting to get really scared for him.” The scene became unstable soon after, with federal, state and city police tear gassing and detaining demonstrators in a standoff that lasted several hours.
It turns out that Kristin Heiberg is a 64-year-old technical writer, volunteer at an animal shelter, and cancer survivor. And like many others here, she patrols her neighborhood while blowing a whistle, looking for immigration and customs agents.
I’ve been watching the Twin Cities rally to counter Operation Metro Surge, and I wanted to know the one thing I hadn’t seen. It’s about what these people look like in their daily lives. I wanted to know who they were and what motivated them to patrol the streets, drive strangers to work, and provide food and rent to families who have been in hiding since the surge began. Although media coverage has shifted and there are fewer ICE agents on the streets, they are still here, and neighbors are still offering mutual aid.
When I asked Heiberg who she felt was involved, she said, “Everyone in the community. Anyone with a heart.” I felt the same way. Every conversation these days ends up in the same place, whether you’re gathering with friends, ordering coffee, or running into a neighbor while walking the dog. “What are you doing to get to this moment?”
The people I photographed all scoffed at the idea that they were paid agitators or that their efforts were being led by state or city officials. They said they just wanted to help their neighbors.
They are, in their own words, my neighbors in their city.
