>> As the Trump administration's aggressive immigration crackdown has swept across the country.

Countless people have been documenting agent's warning neighbors with whistles and car horns and uploading videos of their encounters on social media to the people who have been on the front lines are a pair of teenage brothers from the Chicago area.

It kicked off their work is so-called Ice watchers when Operation Midway Blitz began in September and the Chicago region and most recently were on the ground in Minnesota documenting operation Metro Surge.

Joining us now to talk about their work is ICE watchers are brothers.

Ben and Sam Newman.

Thank you both for being here.

We navigated.

Thank you.

Thanks for having us.

That's so cool.

It was.

So, Ben, what was the catalyst for you wanting to become a nice watch your head of this get started?

Yeah, we've always been pretty locked into the news and what's happening in the world.

And we constantly have been seeing justice.

>> And there's not really anything we could do about it as teenagers and white suburbia.

And so when we got a call from a family friend, my mom come in our room, turn my fan often woke me up and said, hey.

Our family friend has been tracking ice now for 2 weeks in Chicago.

He just called and said that they are 5 minutes from our house and arresting somebody.

And so we woke up.

We got out of that and we drove over and we relate.

But I said followed a fan of workers from an apartment building to wherever they were trying to go.

They've broken the windows and then they arrested all 15 people.

We really didn't see it happening.

But a bunch of protesters were still there.

And so we got connected to a bunch groups in the area and really just.

Getting into that connection and then getting to know people more and really seeing how it's impacting people is just further show like why we should be doing this and where you originally thinking of kind of is going to to protest to demonstrate or were you always interested in trying to document what was happening?

I was interested documenting I mean, obviously like.

>> Protesting is part of it.

But videoing and showing what's actually happening is so important.

And also we've we've seen that they don't have body cams or if they do, videos never shared.

>> So just videoing it to show the American people what's truly happening feel so important.

So even back then I was something that was thinking about, yes.

And what about for you?

Isis work important for you to do.

I think just trying to get it to stop and trying to help people.

Stay safe.

like to turn his many arrests as we can.

And if there are s to make sure the people know what's going on and they get fair trials.

>> That suit, you know, your work puts you in very close proximity to federal agents and often some potentially dangerous situations.

Let's watch a little bit of a recent traction that you had.

>> It is illegal to him.

You can eat it we're not impeding to big warning.

18 U.S.

C one 11 said you Blick yes, it does.

Yes, it For what on traffic we are not impeding.

We are following every traffic, We are keeping that is illegal.

We're following every traffic light.

We're not getting in your way.

>> We are just filming, which is our First Amendment right.

>> To Ben, what were you feeling when they confronted like They've done that before.

It's not our first but honestly, it's just it's an empty threat.

A lot of times ice can do anything to us other than.

Scary.

so a bunch of it is fear factor and fear tactics.

And that's one of the many things the same will arrest you if you keep doing because it's illegal because of 18 U.S.

C one, 11, 18 U.S.

C one 11, basically just there's other.

There's other things that go into it.

But it basically just applies if you're blocking them with your body or your vehicle or if you're physically like touching that with you about vehicle and following them, giving them space like obviously you're letting them operate under just filming what happens in documenting try to get any information.

It's totally legal under 18 USC one 11 your First Amendment right.

And so they will often quoted to say, like you're going to rest because of this.

But that's just an empty threat.

It's really it's it's not.

And it's it's not illegal in all.

Yeah.

>> You know, so trying to dissuade people from documenting agent says one of the tactics that you mentioned, Sam, what are some of the other tactics you see on the ground?

I think oftentimes, though, just scare people and so like they come in intimidate, everybody would like large guns and like.

>> Push people around.

And I think there all their tactics are just trying to escalate the situation and scare people.

like almost scare people out from documenting because they don't want people there with cameras keeping an eye on what they're doing.

Yeah.

It feels like.

I mean, Tricia McLaughlin has put out a statement saying that ICE agents are trained to use the least amount of force possible in every situation.

We don't ever see that on the ground.

It often seems like they are there to escalate.

Usually they'll have for every now and then there will be an ice agent that some full tactical gear.

Cbp agent is in CBP.

Did.

>> And they have big cameras.

And whenever you see group of ICE agents with a camera guy, you know that they're probably going to tear gas at some point and that it's almost like they're wanting it to happen.

They will.

They will be in areas and they'll be kind of caravan on the street.

>> But they'll go like 5 miles per hour and then stop every 8 to 20 feet.

Jump out, stand on their vehicle, got back in their vehicle.

Do the same thing over and over again in the case of if, you know, throwing tear gas from the 21st of January, that's that's what's happening.

And >> I'm panning the camera and you can see that there's nobody in front of them.

They could leave.

But so often it feels like that they're just their to get their own narrative.

And so we get a peek behind the curtain with our video and you see what's truly happening today.

realize protesters they cry in their faces into the ground and people are trying to a bloodied, bruised and battered yeah, it just feels like they just want to beat us to the crown and show us that we can't fight.

And as we mentioned, you know, have been documenting both Midway blitz as well as going up to Twin Cities.

>> You know, Sam, you were just a few minutes away from where Alex pretty was killed.

What was that experience like?

So that started when we heard that.

>> I said showing up in the area as we were driving to the location, it feels like 26 necklace or something like that.

And when we are like 5 to 7 minutes away, we heard that there were shots fired and we're like, what the heck, what just happened.

So we had no clue who shot like what happened.

And then we arrived on the scene and people are starting to get videos of the incident.

And we saw just like all the shots and from what we heard, people are are telling us we think the guys dead.

I shot this guy just for filming and we saw that when we go home to on videos and during that process, tear gassed everybody just for being there documenting the situation.

Yeah.

So it cannot exceed on the ground there.

Yeah, for sure.

And you know, we've heard from from Trish McLoughlin from other administration officials from supporters of there's that.

>> You know, the protesters who are out there, you're just sort of protecting are advocating for criminal some.

How do you respond to that when we see the numbers, it shows that we're not like over and over.

We're seeing like large majority of the people being detained, have no criminal record.

So.

I think you just need look at the numbers and see see what they actually are.

Yeah, when you see what's happening on the ground and you actually get to know the people who get taken and so often what we see is just be carrying on the street and then to stop at a bus stop or they'll see a black or brown person walking on the sidewalk and they jump out of their car.

They surround them and they sometimes beat them up and then put them in a car sometimes the car and then minutes to hours later, they'll just be dropped off miles away, randomly some cases they're not.

And then they still take people who are here legally.

My uncle has lost multiple people from his church who have all come here legally and have legal identification everything.

And yet one of them was just released a month after being detained in Texas with prison guard know like no regular clothes and no phone.

And they just said get back home.

And he was in Minneapolis.

And it's so common that we see them going after people who have no criminal background and I think a lot of people see the work that we're doing.

They're like you're but you're protecting pedophiles and you just want to let them run that through our streets like no, there's almost nobody.

That's a get a pro that it's it's just that we want to protect the people that we see so impacted.

We've got just about 30 seconds left.

But I want ask clearly this is something you're very passionate about.

Have your folks reacted to all this?

What parents think?

Our parents on the same page completely it's been mix of reactions from other people just with how they view it.

But I think a lot of people are very supportive and positive.

Yeah, I think they were very nervous with us getting into this.

But we've always been raised to care for people.

Embassies like closing and then a kitten feeding the poor.

So core to who we are as people and how even race that.

It didn't make sense to say