For the past month, the country has watched as ICE, which is ostensibly an immigration enforcement agency, took to the streets of Minneapolis and began terrorizing neighborhoods.
In the face of these raids, thousands began showing up, speaking out, and organizing against the lawless harassment of not only undocumented people, but also American citizens. One of the many people documenting the tyrannical takeover of his city is Will Stancil, an attorney and policy analyst who describes himself as a proud member of “Do Something Twitter.” And now he’s walking the walk, every day, in his hometown, whether it’s chronicling the abduction of two 16-year-old girls or following ICE agents around in his Honda Fit.
For rapid response training to ICE takeovers, check out Indivisible’s resources here.
Stancil joined Lincoln Square Executive Editor Susan J. Demas to paint the picture of what it’s like living in a war zone. “At times it has felt very much like we are under federal siege, so we’re city under occupation. There are armed, masked men who are clearly hostile to the population, have no interest in protecting us or working with us, don’t care about our interests at all. And they’re roaming our city,” he said.
Stancil, who works on public school policy, lamented the collateral damage ICE has had on the community, with schools around the region closed due to the risk of agents raiding a school and dragging students away from their classes.
Give to Lincoln Square
He also encouraged more people who are working alongside him to speak out to the media. “We build support for resistance by putting ourselves out there publicly, being public about defying them, and then seeing it have, you know, seeing them unable to do anything about it. I also think it’s really important why we are out here. We’re the first link on a chain that creates the information, that documents what’s happening on the ground. This is why Alex Pretti’s shooting was immediately, the narrative immediately collapsed around it, the government narrative, because there’s so many films.”
Watch more of Will Stancil’s harrowing accounts from the ground and what he hopes is next for his city here on Lincoln Square. And be sure to check out his ongoing coverage on his Bluesky account (which has been endlessly memed).
