When ICE Blows Through Rural America

This article appears in the April 2026 issue of The American Prospect magazine. Read more from the issue.

Photos by Jenn Ackerman and Tim Gruber

ALBERT LEA, MINNESOTA – It’s afternoon and I’m riding shotgun in Theron Gjersvik’s pickup, patrolling the town to look for any sign of ICE. A camouflage pair of binoculars sits on the middle console and a camera is at the ready in the backseat. It’s blisteringly cold, and he drives with gloves on. We pass a lake with a blue plastic tent on it...