The arbitrary detention of ChongLy Scott Thao

This is superb reporting from Marisa Kabas:

It’s an image that will knock you sideways: As snow falls, an elderly man wearing nothing but blue boxers and white Crocs with his hands restrained behind his back is forced out of his home by ICE agents. In the photo captured by photojournalist Leah Millis, you can see a red and white plaid blanket is draped around the man’s shoulders, but his chest is completely bare, exposing him to the harsh elements. It’s something out of a nightmare. It’s something that happened in St. Paul on Sunday.

ChongLy Scott Thao, also known as Saly, is a Hmong American born in Laos who has lived here most of his life. Born in a Laos refugee camp, he’s a US citizen, and St. Paul, Minnesota is his home. His mother Choua, who passed away just three weeks ago, was a nurse who helped American troops during the Laotian Civil War and brought her family stateside post-war as part of a large wave of Southeast Asians seeking refuge. Despite his status, Thao was subjected to the ultimate indignity when federal immigration agents broke down his door Sunday, terrorizing him, his wife and his five-year-old grandson, his family has confirmed. Though he ended up being returned, the damage is done and the message has been sent: If you’re not white, you’re not safe. 

“Whatever you think it is, it’s worse,” Brandi Reilly, a neighbor who witnessed Thao’s detainment, told me by phone on Monday about what it’s been like in the Twin Cities of late. Sunday morning Reilly and her partner Kristi Nelson hit the streets of St. Paul for the first time since the occupation began to serve as observers. First they stood watch outside a local church with a predominately Spanish-speaking congregation, and shortly after a call went out to their Signal group that ICE agents were surrounding a nearby home and observers were needed. They went over, the man’s immigration status immaterial to the effort to protect him.

“There were, gosh, 10-15 agents,” Reilly, a nurse practitioner who has many Hmong patients and has watched up close the impact on the community, recalled. “They were surrounding the house. They all had weapons. People were screaming to see a judicial warrant. They were ignoring everybody. Neighbors were outside. They [the agents] had hands on tear gas, hands on their weapons. It was scary.”

Shortly after the men busted down Thao’s door, they came out with their supposed target in hand: A short, elderly, half-naked man being marched out of his home. Photos from that moment show his grandson looking out the window, a pacifier in his mouth. Brandi said Thao had red marks on his face and legs. “He looked like he had been physically assaulted before they brought him out of the house,” she said. “He just looked terrified and broken.”

Thao was then thrown into an ICE vehicle and taken away. Reilly and Nelson captured video of the whole scene, which I’ve posted to Youtube.

I strongly recommend clicking through for the rest of the story. Needless to say, Noem’s claims that these raids are “targeted enforcement” is a dangerous lie.