With 1,500 troops reportedly on standby to deploy to Minnesota, tensions are rising in the state as protests continue against Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. US officials say they are targeting the worst of the worst but critics warn migrants with no criminal record and US citizens are being detained, too.
It could be anybody, says Sunshine, as she drives around her neighbourhood, St Paul - one of the so-called Twin Cities, along with Minneapolis. Snow and ice swirl over the tarmac in the bitter wind.
Sunshine is not her real name - she has asked to use a pseudonym because of fears she could be targeted for her actions.
I have decided for my own safety to give them more space, she says, referring to the unmarked patrol cars ahead, driven by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents she is trying to track.
Each day, residents in loosely organised groups drive around their neighbourhoods trying to spot ICE agents and film them, saying to hold them accountable.
I, we, have the legal right to drive on the streets of our own city and we have the legal rights to observe [the ICE agents], but they seem to have forgotten that, Sunshine comments.
The streets of Minneapolis feel like a battle of wills between a Republican president pressing the boundaries of his power and a Democratic city and state pushing back.
This week as the temperature plummeted, protests intensified against ICE agents outside the federal building hosting them.
Federal agents have been accused of racial profiling, a claim the Trump administration has denied. Minnesota officials have urged protesters to stay orderly and peaceful, but at times there have been clashes, with authorities deploying tear gas and pepper balls to disperse crowds.
Additionally, a US federal judge issued an order limiting crowd control tactics that can be used by ICE agents against peaceful protesters, stating they cannot arrest or pepper spray demonstrators monitoring or observing ICE agents.
Trump has vowed to press on with his mass deportation drive in Minnesota, with thousands of federal agents deployed to the state, following incidents of fatal encounters with local community members.
Community leaders are determined to reverse the immigration crackdown, with many residents feeling compelled to protect one another amid rising fears of unjust detentions.
}
