Human Impact Project

Nasra Ahmed, 23, a U.S. citizen born in Minnesota, was detained by ICE agents on January 15, 2026, after being caught in a parking lot during agents' pursuit of two other men. Ahmed sustained injuries including cuts, bruises, and a head injury during the arrest. While in custody at Sherburne County Jail, she experienced a seizure and was transported to a hospital in shackles for an MRI. She was released after two days without charges. Ahmed reported that ICE officers used forceful tactics and that an officer used a racial slur against her. Rep. Samakab Hussein held a press conference where Ahmed shared her account.

A man who has lived in the United States since 1987 was detained by ICE in Minnesota on January 21, 2026, and is currently held in El Paso, Texas. He was pressured into signing a voluntary removal document while detained and without legal counsel, facing deportation to Vietnam despite not having lived there since the 1980s and lacking citizenship there. He had been complying with immigration supervision for years without missing check-ins.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers handcuffed and detained two teenagers in south Minneapolis on Wednesday afternoon. One teenager was detained on Blaisdell Avenue while their passenger, who witnessed the incident, was left crying in their vehicle.

Federal immigration agents in Minnesota stopped an off-duty police officer, drew guns, and prevented her from recording the interaction, according to local police chiefs. The chiefs stated that immigration agents have been stopping American citizens without cause. The incidents occur as part of "Operation Metro Surge," which federal authorities describe as an immigration enforcement operation.

On January 18, 2026, ICE agents conducted a raid on the home of ChongLy Scott Thao, a U.S. citizen with no criminal record, in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Agents pointed guns at family members and handcuffed Thao without presenting a warrant; after confirming his citizenship through fingerprinting, ICE released him without apology or explanation. The incident occurred in front of his 5-year-old grandson. The raid prompted a protest at Cities Church in St. Paul, where one of the pastors worked for ICE. Subsequently, 30 protesters have been indicted on federal crimes, along with civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong and journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort for their roles in the demonstration.

An ICE agent entered a Thai restaurant in St. Paul, Minnesota with his handgun drawn while searching for a person who had run past the restaurant. The agent accused the restaurant owners of hiding "a kid" and conducted a search of the establishment. Multiple customers and staff members were present during the incident, with some employees subsequently expressing reluctance about returning to work.

A 62-year-old Somali elder was detained by ICE agents at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis on December 31 without a warrant. ICE officers remained at the patient's bedside for approximately 28 hours while she received medical care. During her detention, the patient was allegedly shackled to her hospital bed and denied family visits. She was subsequently transported to the ICU where she remains unresponsive.

On January 18, 2026, ICE officers entered the home of Chongly "Scott" Thao, a 56-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen and Hmong American man, without a warrant and detained him for several hours. Agents removed Thao from his residence in minimal clothing during sub-freezing weather. ICE stated they were searching for two convicted sex offenders with ties to the property, but Thao denied knowing the men and one remained incarcerated. Ramsey County authorities launched an investigation into potential crimes including kidnapping, burglary, false imprisonment, and constitutional rights violations. Thao was released after ICE confirmed his U.S. citizenship and lack of criminal record.

A family of eight returning from a basketball game in Minneapolis on January 17, 2026, became trapped between ICE agents and protesters. After being surrounded by federal agents and unable to leave, tear gas canisters were deployed into their vehicle, forcing the mother to administer CPR to their 6-month-old infant who stopped breathing. The family was ultimately rescued by bystanders who helped evacuate the children from the tear gas-filled car.

ICE agents conducted an enforcement action in Minneapolis that resulted in the detention of a man and caused injuries to multiple children present at the scene. During the incident, ICE agents smashed a car window containing six children, including a 6-month-old who lost consciousness and was hospitalized after exposure to tear gas and a flash bang device. A 16-year-old U.S. citizen was allegedly placed in a chokehold during the encounter, and his phone was reportedly confiscated and sold to a used electronics vending machine. The family was returning home from a basketball game when they became trapped in the area where the enforcement action was occurring.

Sophie Watso, a 30-year-old Mdewakanton Dakota woman, was detained by ICE agents on January 14, 2026, after monitoring immigration enforcement activity in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. During her arrest, agents broke her truck windows and physically restrained her while she held her dog. She was charged under U.S. Code 18 Section 111 for allegedly obstructing a federal investigation, though no formal charges were filed. She was held for over 48 hours at Fort Snelling's Whipple Building and Sherbourne County Jail before being released on January 16, 2026, without charges being formally filed.

Liborio Parral Ortiz and Bonfilia Sanchez Dominguez, a married couple from Mounds View, Minnesota, were stopped by ICE agents early Thursday morning while driving to Mercy Hospital's Unity Campus in Fridley because Sanchez Dominguez was experiencing back pain. ICE immediately detained Parral Ortiz and transported him to El Paso, Texas within 20 hours, separating him from his wife who remained hospitalized. According to their daughter Shelly Parral Ortiz, ICE agents were posted outside the mother's hospital room, and hospital staff told the family they would not be allowed to return to visit if they left. Security staff also threatened to arrest the family's lawyer when he attempted to speak with Sanchez Dominguez.

Recent violent incidents involving ICE agents in Minneapolis and other cities have prompted scrutiny of federal immigration officer training and use-of-force protocols. An ICE officer fatally shot U.S. citizen Renee Macklin Good, and another Department of Homeland Security officer shot a man in the leg during an arrest. Experts and advocates are questioning how officers are trained to conduct arrests and engage with citizens and protesters.

A federal judge ordered the release of Garrison Gibson, a 37-year-old Liberian man, four days after heavily armed immigration agents broke into his Minneapolis home using a battering ram and arrested him. The judge ruled that the agents violated Gibson's Fourth Amendment rights by entering his home without his consent and without a judicial warrant. Gibson had been living legally in the U.S. under an order of supervision and had checked in with immigration authorities days before his arrest.

Photographer John Abernathy was detained by federal ICE agents outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis on January 15 while documenting protests. During the confrontation, Abernathy threw his camera to a fellow photojournalist. He sustained injuries including chemical burns, pepper bullet wounds, and abrasions, and received a citation but no court date.

The ACLU filed a class-action lawsuit against the Trump administration on behalf of three Minnesotans in connection with stops and arrests by ICE and CBP. A 20-year-old U.S. citizen named Mubashir Khalif Hussen was arrested by masked ICE agents on December 10, 2025, while walking to lunch in Cedar-Riverside. Hussen repeatedly stated he was a citizen. The lawsuit challenges practices involving stops and arrests by ICE and CBP.

ICE agents detained Sebastian, a 16-year-old Ecuadorian asylum-seeker, in Minneapolis in January 2026 during an interior arrest while he was driving alone, seizing his phone after he called his father. Despite his father living in the U.S., Sebastian was labeled an "unaccompanied minor" and transferred to the Bridgeway shelter in Michigan, making it difficult for his family and attorneys to locate him. The case illustrates how the "unaccompanied minor" designation can impede family unity protections and legal access even when a parent resides in the country. While in custody, Sebastian reported receiving vaccines without consent.

ICE arrested 19-year-old Willmar High School student Suban Noor on January 12. She was reportedly held in custody for several days before being released.

Ramon Menera, a naturalized US citizen born in Mexico, was detained by a US Border Patrol agent outside his home in a Minneapolis suburb on January 14, 2026, while walking with his five-year-old daughter. The agent cited Menera's accent as the reason for questioning. His citizenship was verified through federal records and he was released. The incident, part of Operation Metro Surge, has prompted legal challenges alleging racial profiling and civil rights violations, with lawsuits filed by the Minnesota Attorney General and the ACLU.

An employee at Pancho's Taqueria & Mexican Café in Circle Pines was detained by ICE agents on January 15 while possessing a valid work visa. He was transported to the Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis and then to El Paso, Texas. The restaurant owner set up a GoFundMe that quickly raised $25,000 from customers and supporters to cover legal fees, and plans to sponsor the worker to help secure his release.

Marina E., an Ecuadoran citizen who has lived in the U.S. since 2007, was taken into custody by immigration authorities on January 15, 2026. The government classified her under mandatory detention provisions, but the federal court ruled she was wrongly classified and is entitled to a bond hearing under discretionary detention statutes. The court ordered immigration authorities to provide her with a bond hearing.

Gregory Bovino, a senior Border Patrol commander, appeared in Minneapolis in mid-January 2026 wearing a distinctive oversized green trench coat during ICE enforcement operations. Social media users posted comparisons of his attire to other uniforms, with videos showing crowds chanting. Bovino's presence coincided with federal enforcement following the January 7 shooting death of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE officer during immigration crackdown protests.

ICE agents deployed tear gas at a family vehicle containing eight people, including six children aged 6 months to 11 years old, during Minneapolis protests after the family became trapped between ICE agents and protesters. All six children were hospitalized with breathing problems, and the mother performed CPR on her 6-month-old infant. The incident occurred during protests following an ICE shooting in the city.

ICE agents conducted multiple enforcement activities in St. Paul, Minnesota involving immigrant communities. In one incident, agents knocked on a resident's door in the North End neighborhood and asked her to identify Hmong and Asian households, without clearly displaying badges. In a separate incident at a downtown bus stop on 6th Street and Jackson, ICE agents were photographed surrounding a man with his head covered by a black bag. These incidents occurred as part of broader ICE enforcement operations.

Estefany, a Colombian woman with a clean record and a pending immigration court case, was arrested while walking her youngest child to the school bus stop and transferred to El Paso. She had a bacterial infection and required hospitalization before her transfer. A federal judge ordered her release on January 15, 2026, but officers did not free her until two days later. The case exemplified the Justice Department's failure to follow judicial orders during Operation Metro Surge.

A parent was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Wednesday morning while waiting at a bus stop with their child in Crystal, Minnesota. The incident occurred at Northport Elementary School's bus stop, and multiple students and the bus driver witnessed the detention. The school district stated that all students, including the child of the arrested parent, were able to safely board the bus and provided support services to affected students and staff.

The Jackson family, including six children and an infant, was caught between protesters and federal immigration enforcement officers in Minneapolis. An officer rolled a tear gas canister under their family's SUV, flooding the vehicle with toxic fumes. The family, including the infant, required hospital treatment for tear gas exposure.

ICE agent Christian Castro was arrested in Texas on May 29 and charged with four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime for shooting Venezuelan national Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in the leg on January 14 during Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis. Castro fired through a front door, with the bullet striking Sosa-Celis and traveling into a child's room. Federal assault charges against Sosa-Celis and another man were previously dropped after prosecutors determined the initial accusations against them were false.

Alfredo A. Aljorna was detained by ICE agents at a Minneapolis home on January 14, 2026, and initially charged after agents claimed he and his cousin attacked an officer with a shovel and broom. Video evidence contradicted ICE's account, leading the Justice Department to drop charges in February. U.S. authorities have opened a criminal investigation into whether two ICE officers lied under oath about the shooting; the officers have been placed on administrative leave and may face termination and criminal prosecution.

ICE officer Christian Castro was charged with four counts of assault in the second degree and one count of falsely reporting a crime after shooting Venezuelan immigrant Julio Sosa-Celis in the leg through the front door of a residence during an attempted immigration arrest on January 14, 2026. Prosecutors determined that both Sosa-Celis and another man in the home were in Minnesota lawfully, making the shooting a case of mistaken identity. Video evidence contradicted the agency's initial claim that the men had attacked officers with a shovel and broom. The Hennepin County attorney's office issued a nationwide arrest warrant for Castro.

Laura, a 24-year-old asylum applicant from Honduras, gave birth in January 2026 but remained isolated in her apartment with her newborn daughter due to fear of ICE enforcement. Her stress about immigration authorities was so severe that it affected her physical health during labor, reducing oxytocin production critical for delivery and breastfeeding. Her boyfriend rarely visited after the hospital stay, fearing detention if he left his mother's home. Fear of immigration enforcement continues to isolate Laura from the family and community support typically available to new mothers.

Dylan Linet, a Minneapolis resident and photographer, was sprayed in the face with chemical irritant by an ICE agent while photographing federal officers conducting an arrest on Lake Street. Linet was standing approximately 10 feet away from officers when one agent screamed profanities and immediately sprayed him, causing blindness and extreme pain. This declaration is part of a class action lawsuit against DHS, ICE, and other federal agencies challenging their enforcement activities.

A Liberian man was arrested after armed immigration agents used a battering ram to enter his Minneapolis home. According to his attorney, the man had been checking in with federal authorities for years prior to the raid.

Thousands of Minneapolis residents have organized into rapid response groups called ICE Watch to monitor and document Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in their neighborhoods. The groups, coordinated through organizations like Defend the 612, witness arrests, record incidents on video, and document community member interactions with ICE. Federal agents have conducted vehicle box-ins, window breaking, and surveillance of observers' homes during these operations.

On January 14, 2026, an ICE agent shot and wounded Julio Sosa-Celis, a Venezuelan immigrant, during an enforcement operation in north Minneapolis following a traffic stop pursuit. The Department of Homeland Security initially claimed Sosa-Celis attacked an agent with a shovel and broomstick for three minutes, but video footage contradicted this account, showing only a 12-second confrontation with no sustained attack. Prosecutors had access to the video within hours but did not review it until nearly three weeks after charging Sosa-Celis and his housemate; both charges were subsequently dropped. Two federal ICE agents were placed on administrative leave after DHS determined their testimony was untrue, and they faced possible termination or criminal charges for apparent perjury.

On January 13, 2026, ICE agents detained multiple enrolled members of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, including at least three to four Oglala Lakota men, during a sweep of a homeless encampment near the Little Earth housing complex in Minneapolis. Three detainees were transferred to an ICE facility at Fort Snelling. The Oglala Sioux Tribe asserted that enrolled members are U.S. citizens by statute and fall outside immigration jurisdiction. Federal officials refused to provide information about the detainees unless the tribe agreed to an immigration enforcement agreement with ICE and DHS. Tribal President Frank Star Comes Out and the tribe publicly rejected this condition, stating they would not compromise tribal sovereignty or authorize ICE operations on tribal land. The tribe contacted Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan to locate the detainees and issued guidance to members on asserting their citizenship rights.

ICE agents visited El Tapatio, a Mexican restaurant in Willmar, Minnesota for lunch on January 14, 2026, then returned and detained the restaurant's owners and a dishwasher. According to DHS, agents were conducting surveillance of an undocumented immigrants from Mexico and apprehended three individuals total, including one with a final order of removal from an immigration judge. The restaurant closed early following the incident.

Border agents conducted an operation at a Target store in Richfield, Minnesota, resulting in the arrest of workers at the location. Video footage captured agents descending on the store during what appeared to be a drive-up operation.

ICE arrested a protester wearing a giraffe costume in Minneapolis. The incident involved law enforcement action against a demonstrator. Limited details are available from the provided article text.

Christina Rank, a 25-year-old U.S. citizen classroom assistant, was arrested by ICE agents outside Concord Education Center in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota on Monday, January 12, 2026, around 7:30 a.m. ICE agents claimed Rank rammed an agent's vehicle, but witnesses disputed this account, stating the agent ran into her white Honda and broke her window. Rank was held in custody at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building at Fort Snelling for almost 12 hours before being released. As of Monday afternoon, no charges had been filed against her. Her mother, Sarah Rank, questioned the purpose of ICE agents at the school and the use of force employed during the arrest.

Gage Diego Garcia, a U.S. citizen, was held for six hours on Monday after ICE officers approached him in an alleyway and demanded identification. When Garcia refused and began to blow a whistle, officers pushed him against a car, pointed a Taser at him, and accused him of assault by spitting. Video recorded by a friend documents the physical altercation. Officers told Garcia he was picked up because he "looked like someone who committed a crime" and said "we'll figure it out" when asked what crime. Officers later referenced a fatal shooting by another agent, saying "things could have gone really south for you like those agents did to Renee Good." The incident occurred as ICE has deployed approximately 3,000 officers to Minneapolis.

ICE agents arrested a woman in Minneapolis who was attempting to drive through a street where the agency was conducting a raid to reach her doctor's appointment. When the woman refused to move her car, agents broke her car window, cut her seatbelt, and dragged her out before arresting her. The incident occurred amid a broader ICE enforcement operation in the city.

Ryan Ecklund, a U.S. citizen and Twin Cities realtor, was detained by ICE agents for approximately 10 hours on Monday after following and recording their movements from his vehicle in Woodbury. According to Ecklund, five agents boxed in his vehicle, forcibly removed him, threw him to the ground, and one agent placed him in a chokehold. He was taken to the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building at Fort Snelling and released without charges.

Legal observers in Minneapolis are following federal ICE agents and documenting their enforcement activities. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara confirmed that observing and recording federal agents is a protected legal right, though certain driving behaviors remain illegal. The observers say they will continue documenting ICE operations as federal agents increase their presence in the city.

ICE agents surrounded a family's home with weapons drawn and pointed guns at an unarmed mother and her children. Agents briefly detained a U.S. citizen teenager without a warrant before releasing him after realizing they lacked authority to arrest him. The incident involved armed agents at an unarmed family inside their own home.

Rob Potylo, an artist, comedian, director and activist known as Robby Roadsteamer on Instagram, was arrested on Monday during anti-ICE demonstrations in Minneapolis. He was detained in federal custody but has been released. Potylo is known for wearing a distinctive giraffe costume during anti-ICE protests, which has generated viral videos.

Minneapolis City Council President Elliott Payne was shoved from behind by an ICE officer on October 31, 2025, while legally observing an ICE enforcement action at a bus stop on Central Avenue. Payne was standing with fellow council member Jason Chavez when they witnessed ICE officers stop a person waiting for the bus. Video footage captured an ICE officer pushing Payne from behind as he was recording and attempting to speak with the agents. Payne said he introduced himself as the council president and tried to de-escalate the situation, calling the officer's behavior "reckless."

Videos emerged showing Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICE nurse, being forcibly taken to the ground by federal immigration agents on January 13 after kicking out the tail light of their vehicle during a Minneapolis protest. The altercation occurred 11 days before Pretti was shot and killed by Border Patrol officers on January 24. The videos show Pretti struggling with agents and a handgun visible in his waistband, though he did not reach for it and it is unclear if agents saw the weapon.

Abel, an undocumented immigrant who has lived in Minnesota for 29 years with his four U.S.-born children, was detained by immigration agents on January 13, 2026, while delivering groceries to families in hiding during Operation Metro Surge. Agents pulled over his vehicle in Burnsville and arrested him despite his pending green card approval. He was held at a detention center in El Paso, Texas, for two weeks before being released on January 29, 2026. His arrest forced his wife into hiding and left his sons to manage household responsibilities.

Hani Duglof, a 32-year-old with a rare genetic disorder (RDEB) that causes skin blistering, was detained by ICE after agents ran his license plate while he was driving. He was transferred to M Health Fairview Southdale Hospital after requesting medical attention, where he remains in ICE custody. His family and attorney are seeking his release, citing his severe medical condition and his pending asylum application that has been ongoing for over 10 years.