Kaylee Pontell: ‘I just was so afraid for the people in my neighborhood.’
Kaylee Pontell is a fourth-year biology major and transfer student at the University of Minnesota.
“In my personal experience, seeing ICE firsthand was actually very scary. Knowing what everyone has to go through is terrifying. Knowing ICE is actively on your street when you’re going to work is terrifying. You never know where these people could be, where they’re going to come out of. Yes, it’s brought people together, but it’s also created more of a dread and fear that overshadows a lot of the positivity you can try to find. People are rallying together out of fear.
“I have not interacted with ICE. No one has come up to me and asked for my ID, obviously. But I was leaving my house one day, and they just happened to be on my street, blocking off my street. They weren’t detaining anyone, but it was really scary to see anyway. This had been maybe not even two weeks after Alex Pretti was shot. I want to feel a sense of a moral duty to my fellow neighbors and community to stay witness to it, but at the same time, you’re fighting with that fear of never knowing what they could do. Luckily, no one was detained at that point that I saw them, but it was a horrible way to start off the day.
“I feel really strongly for everyone who had been approached by these ICE agents in the middle of their routines, disrupting their lives to a serious degree. That day when I saw them and I was driving to work, I started to tear up. I just was so afraid for the people in my neighborhood and myself. I think it’s definitely reshaped the community because it feels like a much tighter community now because everyone’s looking for something to do for others, like some way to help the people around them. It’s not even people doing what they normally do. There is always going to be food and clothing drives and fundraising and everything, but there’s more motivation now to contribute because of how deeply this has affected our community. It’s like a general sense of looking to do more.”
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Interview by Eleanor Steffen
