I’ve seen a lot of hard-to-watch videos out of Minneapolis in recent weeks, which join the other clips I've pored over from around the country as the Trump administration’s brutal mass deportation campaign continues unabated.
Still, the ones I watched today were uniquely difficult: a child crying after being exposed to immigration enforcement’s chemical agents, kids at school running away from a federal agent who sprayed a chemical irritant at them, and a mother tearfully describing giving CPR to her 6-month-old baby who couldn’t breathe after being in the crosshairs of ICE’s tear gas.
That baby is part of the Jackson family—a Minneapolis mom, dad, and six children who had to rush to the hospital after agents deployed a flash bang and chemical irritant near their car.
I wrote about their story today and how this isn’t the first time that agents’ use of chemical weapons has ended up harming children. These include attacks where ICE agents were targeting their parents with chemical agents, where young people were exposed just by playing nearby, and where kids were put in dangerous situations by being at school.
These videos were hard to watch. But they’re important to witness.
—Katie Herchenroeder
