MANKATO — Even as the protesters voiced their opposition, ICE agents were actively working this weekend across Minnesota, including in Mankato.
The group Greater Mankato ICE Watch was using Facebook to scramble volunteer “observers” to various locations in the city and passing along suspected sightings of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents elsewhere in the region.
One turbulent incident occurred at 201 Heather Lane, just west of East High School, during the late morning and early afternoon Saturday.
“MANKATO RESPONSE NEEDED. 201 Heather Lane. Workers are trapped on a roof!!!! NEED TRAINED OBSERVERS NOW @11:33am,” the organization posted.
The two-story, eight-unit apartment building at that address is in the process of being re-sided, and ladders, scaffolding and a construction trailer were on site. Witnesses reported seeing an ICE agent driving erratically and confronting a worker on top of the roof.
A resident of a nearby apartment building, who didn’t want to be identified, was home at the time.
“I had heard some yelling. It sounded like angry yelling,” he said.
His girlfriend checked the ICE Watch site and saw the call for observers. Countless vehicles soon poured into the dead-end street. The man said he saw three people on the steeply pitched roof but was unsure if they were part of the siding crew or others who had used the ladders leaning against the building.
He said he didn’t see what became of the men but later noticed two agents, dressed in green tactical uniforms, leaving in an SUV with the emergency lights activated.
At 2:18 p.m., the ICE Watch group posted additional information about the incident, which The Free Press could not independently verify: “We have confirmed the outcome of this situation — two men were heartbreakingly taken before we arrived on scene, but, because of all of your support, 4 men are resting safe in their homes.”
The group also posted notices of other alleged instances of ICE stopping vehicles on Mankato’s hilltop, including near the intersection of Madison Avenue and Sioux Road near Walmart. In addition, there were widespread reports of ICE activity in St. Peter on Friday and again on Saturday night.
Local law enforcement are receiving no information about what federal agents are up to, said Chris Baukol, deputy chief of police for the city of Mankato.
“We have zero contact with the federal agencies that are doing this,” Baukol said. “We are as much in the dark as anyone.”
The police department is monitoring social media and relying on calls from residents to learn about the activity, which was how they heard about ICE activity on Heather Lane. By the time officers responded to calls about traffic congestion and vehicles illegally parked, the federal agents had cleared out.
Mankato has a policy of not assisting federal agencies with civil immigration enforcement. But police will respond to traffic and safety concerns, parking violations and other complaints from residents.
“This is new for us as well,” Baukol said. “We’re just taking it day by day.”
So far, Baukol said the ICE observers and protesters seem to be striving to be safe and responsible as they rally from one location to another.
“We certainly want people to be able to express their First Amendment rights. Just do it safely,” he said. “… For the most part, what I’ve seen so far over the last few days, it’s been great.”
For residents of Heather Lane, the sudden traffic jams, honking horns and blowing whistles were a sharp contrast to what they’re accustomed to.
“This is a quiet street,” the anonymous resident told The Free Press. “I just prefer it stay that way.”
He thinks, too, there should be some reasonable middle ground in the immigration conflict that’s been dividing Americans for decades — only to arrive at his doorstep Saturday morning.
He supports deportation of criminals: “If people come here for nefarious reasons, they need to go. … But do it humanely.”
At the same time, he said he has no animosity toward immigrants who enter the country looking to work and wishes America would provide them with a practical path to gaining citizenship: “If they come here in good faith, they should have a way to become legal.”
Mainly, he wants an end to the current divisiveness and chaos.
“I would just prefer that everybody get along,” he said.