Human Impact Project

Two Minneapolis residents who monitor immigration officers' activities were detained by ICE for several hours without being charged. During their detention, they were held without access to phone calls and were pressured to provide information about protest organizers and undocumented immigrants.

J.I.B.C., a 19-year-old man from Ecuador applying for Special Immigrant Juvenile status and asylum, was detained by Border Patrol agents outside a T-Mobile store in Minneapolis on January 13, 2026. He was transported to Texas and held for seven days without access to legal counsel. After attorney Kira Kelley filed a habeas petition, a court ordered his return to Minnesota and release from custody on January 20, 2026.

Kong Vang, a St. Paul resident, recorded federal immigration agents knocking on his door in the Frogtown neighborhood. Vang refused to open the door after agents did not explain the purpose of their visit, and they left after about 90 seconds. The video was posted to Facebook and received over 400,000 views.

Federal ICE agents raided a residential home in Minneapolis on Sunday, ramming the door to arrest a man inside. Agents pepper-sprayed protesters who had gathered outside the home to disrupt the operation. The raid occurred as part of a massive enforcement campaign in Minnesota that has resulted in more than 2,000 immigration arrests since early December, and took place in a city reeling from the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE officer on January 7.

ICE agents rammed into Christian Molina's car in south Minneapolis on January 12, 2026, then questioned him about his immigration status. Molina, a U.S. citizen, refused to comply and was not detained. The incident occurred two blocks from where an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Good on January 7.

Nimco Omar, a Somali-American U.S. citizen, was stopped by multiple masked ICE officers while walking in her Minneapolis neighborhood. The officers demanded identification and proof of citizenship status. Omar refused to provide ID and asserted she was a U.S. citizen, but an officer threatened to place her in a vehicle and warned of federal charges if she was lying. Omar recorded the encounter on her phone out of fear. Legal experts noted that U.S. citizens have no legal obligation to provide identification while walking or standing in public. The encounter occurred as part of ICE's expanded enforcement operations in Minneapolis.

On January 12, 2026, federal immigration agents stopped Christian Molina, a U.S. citizen, in Minneapolis. As agents questioned Molina, residents emerged onto snow-lined streets to protest, filming the encounter. When someone threw a snowball toward the agents, federal officers responded by deploying tear gas into the crowd, pepper-spraying protesters and news photographers at close range, and firing pepper balls that struck journalist A.C. Thompson three times, including above the right eye. Additional team members from FRONTLINE and ProPublica, including director Gabrielle Schonder and director of photography Tim Grucza, were pepper-sprayed as agents departed. A former Department of Justice official later characterized the response as "use of excessive force after use of excess force."

ICE agents rammed a Latino man's car during an enforcement operation in south Minneapolis. The agents released him after determining he is a U.S. citizen. The incident occurred as federal immigration agents conducted operations across the Twin Cities.

Garrison Gibson, a Liberian national in his late 30s living in north Minneapolis, was arrested by ICE agents on January 11, 2026, when they used a battering ram to break down his door. Gibson had been regularly checking in with immigration authorities. According to Gibson's account, the agents took trophy photos during the arrest and held him in an overcrowded cell. The agents were armed with an administrative warrant rather than a judicial search warrant.

Brandon Sigüenza, a volunteer legal observer documenting ICE enforcement activities in Minneapolis, was pepper-sprayed, arrested, and detained for eight hours after ICE agents surrounded his car while he was legally recording their operations on a public street. He was released without charges. His detention was part of a pattern of intimidation against community members observing and reporting on ICE activities in the area.

ICE agents detained Jose Roberto Ramirez, a Native American citizen born in Minneapolis with family from the Red Lake Reservation, outside a Hy-Vee grocery store in Robbinsdale, Minnesota. The incident was documented on video and shared on social media. Ramirez was subsequently released from custody.

Border Patrol agents smashed a car window and dragged a Honduran man from a vehicle during an immigration enforcement operation at a gas station in St. Paul, Minnesota, on January 11, 2026. Video posted by Ford Fischer of News2Share shows agents surrounding the parked vehicle, breaking the window, pulling the man out, forcing him to the ground, and taking him into custody as a crowd gathered. DHS said the man had a final order of removal issued in 2020 and refused to obey orders. After multiple warnings, agents broke the window and arrested him. During the arrest, bystanders surrounded the agents, who fired pepper balls toward the crowd. A U.S. citizen who hit an officer was also arrested. Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino was present at the scene and was heard ordering bystanders to move back. A second individual was also detained during the incident.

ICE officers in Minneapolis conducted multiple "show me your papers" encounters with residents in public spaces. In one incident last weekend, officers approached a man pumping gas and demanded to see documentation of U.S. citizenship. The man refused initially but eventually provided a driver's license; officers continued questioning whether he was naturalized and when. In another incident, officers questioned a man at a vehicle charging station about his citizenship. These encounters were recorded on video and shared on social media, prompting criticism from public figures. The Department of Homeland Security did not provide information on the citizenship status of the people approached or details about these specific incidents.

Khadra Muse Mohamed, a 25-year-old Somali refugee and single mother, was pulled over by undercover ICE agents on January 10, 2026, one day after Operation PARRIS began. She had legally arrived in the U.S. in April 2024, passed security screenings, and was living in St. Cloud with her 7-year-old son and extended family including her disabled stepfather. After her arrest, she was transferred to a detention facility in Texas before her family could secure legal representation, separating her from her young son and elderly relatives who depend on her care. She was released on January 19 after nine days in detention.

Rachel Dionne-Thunder, who is Plains Cree and co-founder of Indigenous Protectors Movement, was stopped and questioned by ICE agents near Powwow Grounds coffee shop on January 10, 2026 without being given a reason for the stop. She locked her vehicle doors and refused to comply with agents' orders to show ID or exit the vehicle, citing Know Your Rights training. Community members came to her aid and the agents left.

An Eritrean single mother of three with a pending green card application was detained during Operation PARRIS operations beginning January 9, 2026. During a five-hour interview with USCIS officers, she was questioned about her application materials and reasons for fleeing her country. Her attorney reported that the USCIS officer conducting the interview stated he had no knowledge of why she was detained or authority regarding her detention. She was released a few days after arrest and returned to Minnesota, and her green card application was approved while she was in detention.

Four Native American men, all citizens of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, were detained by ICE agents under a bridge near Little Earth, a Native American housing complex on Minneapolis's southside. According to tribal President Frank Star Comes Out, the men were homeless and unable to provide sufficient documentation of their citizenship and tribal membership during the encounter. At least one of the men was released after a 12-hour hold, but the community was unaware of his whereabouts. Tribal attorneys have been working to locate the men and provide documentation of their citizenship and tribal status.

Rachel Dionne-Thunder, co-founder of the Indigenous Peoples' Movement, was detained by ICE agents on Friday morning while sitting in her car near the Powwow Grounds coffee shop in Minneapolis. Coffee shop workers intervened and stopped the agents, and Dionne-Thunder recorded the incident on Facebook live. She is a Native American and U.S. citizen.

Jose Roberto Ramirez, a 20-year-old descendant of the Red Lake Nation, was detained by ICE agents on January 8, 2026, after being pulled over at a Hy-Vee grocery store in Robbinsdale, Minnesota. According to one account, agents struck him on his face and body during the arrest despite his aunt identifying him as a citizen and Native American. Ramirez is not enrolled in the Red Lake Nation due to the tribe's blood quantum requirement and had no tribal identification. He was released after his mother provided his birth certificate. ICE later claimed he assaulted a federal officer; Ramirez denies the charge and has since been charged with assaulting a federal officer. Red Lake Nation's legal department provided assistance with documentation of his citizenship and family tribal connection.

On January 8, 2026, ICE agents fatally shot 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good during an encounter in Minneapolis. Federal authorities claimed the officer fired in self-defense after being run over, but video analysis from multiple angles showed the SUV was turning away from the agent when he fired three shots at close range. Protesters gathered Thursday at the ICE Field Office (Whipple Building) in St. Paul, where federal agents deployed pepper balls, mace, and tear gas.

Jose Avendano, a 62-year-old dishwasher from El Salvador with temporary protected status and a valid work permit, was arrested on January 9, 2026, while driving to work. He told officers he had legal authorization to be in the United States, but was detained and transferred to El Paso. Avendano has lived in the U.S. for 32 years, has a heart condition requiring daily medication and a pacemaker, and missed a critical medical procedure due to his arrest. A federal judge ordered his release after his lawyer filed suit, but ICE kept him in custody for three additional days in violation of the court order.

A father in Minnesota was separated from his child by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. The incident was documented on social media. Community organizers in Minneapolis erected makeshift barricades in neighborhoods to monitor and slow ICE vehicle movements by tracking license plates. Minneapolis police dismantled at least five of these barricades, citing concerns about emergency response times and traffic obstruction. Residents repeatedly rebuilt the barricades.

Mauricio Martínez was detained by ICE agents during a traffic stop on January 9 and transferred to a detention facility in El Paso, Texas. His wife Nancy Parra and their three children have remained largely confined to their home. Parra reported that her husband is held in conditions including overcrowding, spoiled food, and poor sanitation. The family experiences financial hardship without his income.

On January 8, 2026, Border Patrol agents entered a Target store in Richfield, Minnesota, and detained two U.S. citizen teenagers employed at the store: Jonathan Aguilar Garcia and Christian Miranda Romano. Despite the detainees presenting a U.S. passport and asserting their citizenship, agents proceeded with detention. Both were later verified as U.S. citizens and released without charges. Christian's family remained in contact with ICE during the detention, and the incident prompted protests calling for accountability and restrictions on agent access without warrants.

Jose Roberto Ramirez, a 20-year-old member of the Red Lake Nation, was forcibly removed from his aunt's car by ICE agents in Robbinsdale, Minnesota, and struck during the encounter. He was detained for approximately 10 hours. Tribal leaders and members of the Minnesota state legislature's Native American Caucus reported that federal agents were racially profiling Native Americans—U.S. citizens with dual tribal and federal citizenship—mistaking them for immigrants based on skin color. The incident was recorded on camera.

On Wednesday morning, ICE agents attempted to enter Little Earth, the first Native American community housing project in the United States, located on Minneapolis's southside. Property managers turned the agents away. Later that same morning, community members reported and documented video evidence of ICE agents removing at least three individuals from the facility. According to one community member, agents appeared to be targeting maintenance workers and parents dropping children off at the Little Earth Daycare center.

Ahmed Bin Hassan, a Somali American Uber driver and U.S. citizen, was accosted by over a dozen Border Patrol and ICE agents at Minneapolis-St. Paul airport. The agents approached him citing his accent, which Bin Hassan later characterized as evidence of racial profiling. During the viral confrontation, Bin Hassan remained defiant, refusing to provide identification and questioning the agents' authority, before they ultimately walked away.

ICE agents arrested Alberto Castañeda Mondragón near a St. Paul shopping center on January 8, 2026, and claimed he suffered severe skull fractures and brain hemorrhages by running headfirst into a wall while handcuffed. Medical staff at Hennepin County Medical Center, including doctors and nurses, stated his injuries were inconsistent with that account and suggested he was mistreated by federal agents. Disagreement exists between ICE and hospital staff regarding custody practices and restraint policies.

Ricky Chandee, 52, a Laotian refugee and Minneapolis city engineer, was detained by federal immigration agents on January 24 and faced deportation based on a conviction from over 30 years ago. The Minnesota Board of Pardons unanimously granted him a pardon on May 4, 2026, one day before his scheduled deportation, potentially removing the legal basis for his removal.

Mar Navarro, a DJ and founder of the Minneapolis club night Gothess, was detained by ICE agents on January 8, 2026, while visiting an immigrant-owned bakery in Northeast Minneapolis. Navarro was cuffed so tightly during the arrest that their wrists ached and required a splint for weeks afterward. They were transported to the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building but ultimately released. The detention occurred during "Operation Metro Surge," a surge of 3,000 ICE agents deployed to Minnesota in early January 2026.

Anna Brauch, a local artist, was detained by ICE agents on January 8, 2026, in Northeast Minneapolis while standing near her car, which bore the message "trans rights are human rights." She was seized and beaten during the arrest, sustaining tendon injuries from rough handling. Brauch was transported to the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building but was ultimately released. The detention occurred during "Operation Metro Surge," a surge of 3,000 ICE agents deployed to Minnesota in early January 2026.

Thi Dua Vang, who legally came to the U.S. in December 2023 and is awaiting green card approval, was detained by ICE agents on January 8, 2026 at her St. Paul home. She was transferred to detention facilities in Texas for nearly two weeks before an immigration judge ordered her release on bond. Since her release and required check-in with ICE, agents have reportedly returned to her home three additional times attempting to make contact.

ICE agents arrested Mexican immigrant Alberto Castañeda Mondragón on January 8, 2026, and claimed he suffered eight skull fractures and brain hemorrhages by running headfirst into a wall while handcuffed. Medical staff at Hennepin County Medical Center disputed this account, stating the injuries were inconsistent with such an accident. A federal judge ordered his release from ICE custody, though he faces significant memory loss and ongoing recovery.

Pablo Nieves, a Venezuelan asylum seeker who legally entered the U.S. in 2018 with a work permit, was detained by ICE agents in a Home Depot parking lot in Plymouth, Minnesota on January 8, 2026. He was transferred to a detention center in El Paso, Texas, where he was held for two weeks before being released on bond after a court hearing. The detention occurred during Operation Metro Surge, a federal immigration enforcement initiative targeting asylum seekers with pending applications.

Alberto C.M., a Mexican citizen who entered the country legally on a temporary H2B worker visa in 2022, was arrested by ICE agents in St. Paul during Operation Metro Surge and suffered life-threatening skull fractures and brain hemorrhages. A federal judge ordered his immediate release after 15 days of hospitalization, finding his detention unlawful as he was arrested without a warrant. Hospital records indicate C.M. reported being dragged and mistreated by federal agents, though ICE has refused to provide details about the cause of his injuries, only stating he "got his s*** rocked."

Jonathan Aguilar Garcia, a 17-year-old U.S. citizen and Target store employee in Richfield, Minnesota, was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents on January 8, 2026, along with coworker Christian Miranda Romano. Despite repeatedly asserting their U.S. citizenship and presenting identification including a passport, both teenagers were physically apprehended and removed from the store. Garcia was later released at a Walmart parking lot with injuries after his citizenship was verified.

On January 8, 2026, U.S. Border Patrol agents led by Chief Greg Bovino detained two U.S. citizen teenagers, Jonathan Aguilar Garcia and Christian Miranda Romano, while they were working at a Target store in Richfield, Minnesota. Both were apprehended based on their appearance during an immigration enforcement operation. Garcia presented a U.S. passport asserting his citizenship but was initially detained anyway; after verification, agents released him at a Walmart parking lot without charges or transportation assistance. Both individuals were injured during the detention. Miranda Romano, a minor with no criminal history, remained in detention at Fort Snelling despite his family's contact with ICE. State Representative Michael Howard criticized the incident, describing it as "pure madness."

An investigation identified Border Patrol agents Michael Sveum (EZ-2) and Edgar Vazquez (EZ-17) from an El Paso BORTAC unit as key participants in violent federal enforcement operations across the Midwest. The agents were documented using chemical munitions, pepper spray, and tear gas against crowds in Chicago and Minneapolis, including at the scene where ICE agent Jonathan Ross killed Renée Good on January 7, 2026. The investigation analyzed body camera footage, CBP reports, and incident videos to identify the agents and their role in multiple violent escalations.

Rev. Kenny Callaghan, senior pastor at All God's Children Metropolitan Community Church in Minneapolis, was detained by ICE agents on January 7 while standing in solidarity with a Hispanic woman during a protest on Portland Avenue. Callaghan said agents pointed a gun at his face after he told them he was not afraid and offered himself instead of the woman they were approaching. He was handcuffed and placed in an unmarked vehicle for approximately 30 minutes. According to Callaghan, ICE agents then released him, saying "you're White. You wouldn't be fun anyway." Callaghan said the incident revealed to him that ICE raids are "really about fear and intimidation" and made him reflect on how such treatment is "some people's reality every single day of their lives."

Four enrolled members of the Oglala Sioux Tribe were detained by ICE agents in Minneapolis in January 2026 during a large-scale federal enforcement operation. The men were sleeping under a bridge near the Little Earth housing complex in south Minneapolis and lacked identification documents at the time of arrest, though at least one presented tribal identification. Three were transferred to an ICE detention facility at Fort Snelling. A 20-year-old Red Lake Nation descendant reported being struck by agents after identifying himself as a U.S. citizen. Tribal President Frank Star Comes Out called the detentions a violation of treaty rights and constitutional protections, arguing that enrolled tribal members are U.S. citizens by birthright under the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924. The Navajo Nation reported that dozens of Native Americans had been questioned or detained during similar ICE operations, reflecting a broader pattern of agents failing to recognize or dismissing tribal identification.

Federal agents conducted an enforcement operation at Roosevelt High School in south Minneapolis on January 7, 2026, around 3:30 p.m. as classes were ending. According to witnesses, agents tackled individuals and deployed chemical irritants on school grounds using unmarked vehicles. DHS stated the operation targeted a U.S. citizen who rammed a government vehicle and led agents on a chase, and that a teacher assaulted a Border Patrol agent as a crowd formed. Minneapolis Public Schools cancelled classes for the remainder of the week following the incident.

ICE agents arrested Mubashir Hussen, a 20-year-old U.S. citizen of Somali descent, in Minneapolis's Cedar-Riverside neighborhood during Operation Metro Surge in December 2025. Video footage documented agents slamming him against a door, placing him in a chokehold, and handcuffing him despite his repeated statements and multiple displays of his U.S. passport and identification. He was released after approximately two hours once agents confirmed his citizenship status. Hussen subsequently became the lead plaintiff in a class-action ACLU lawsuit, Hussen v. Noem, which documents a broader pattern of ICE and CBP detaining U.S. citizens, legal residents, and individuals with pending legal status across Minnesota. The lawsuit, supported by 29 sworn declarations, found that 100% of documented cases involved individuals with legal status, with Somali and Latino communities apparently systematically targeted based on appearance during Operation Metro Surge.

ICE officers shot a woman in Minneapolis on January 7, 2026, during a federal enforcement operation. According to video evidence documented in the article, officers approached a Honda Pilot SUV blocking a road. When the driver reversed and began turning away from the officers, a third officer fired three shots into the vehicle, including two shots after the car had passed the officer. DHS provided a different account of the incident.

ICE officers shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis on January 7, 2026. DHS and President Trump claimed Good attempted to run over officers with her vehicle. Multiple videos reviewed by CNN show the incident occurred after officers approached her stationary SUV and told her to exit the vehicle. Video evidence shows the car made contact with an officer before he fired his weapon.

A 17-year-old girl was detained by ICE agents along with her mother after agents entered their apartment complex. The family was transported to the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, where the girl remained detained as of the article's publication.

A fifth-grade girl from Valley View Elementary was detained at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, along with her mother and stepfather. The school district lost contact with the family on January 9, 2026, and did not know where they were. Her detention was discovered when two schoolmates, who had been detained and then released, recognized her in the detention facility cafeteria. As of the article's publication, the girl remained detained at Dilley.

Roberto Hernandez, a 62-year-old undocumented immigrant with no criminal record, was detained by ICE during a traffic stop in Minnesota on January 5, 2026, while driving to work as a cook. He has been held in a New Mexico detention facility for nearly four months and now faces deportation despite having lived in the United States for nearly 30 years and being in the process of applying for permanent residency sponsored by his son, a Minneapolis police detective. Hernandez was arrested during Operation Metro Surge without a warrant or removal order. His case reflects a broader pattern in which the majority of ICE detainees have not been convicted of crimes.

On January 4, 2026, ICE agents in vehicles with out-of-state license plates surveilled St. Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Church in Hopkins, Minnesota, during a Spanish-language Mass, positioning themselves outside the church building. Pastor Paul Haverstock reported that parishioners informed him of men wearing ski masks sitting in a car outside, prompting him to prepare his phone to record if agents entered during the service. Following this surveillance and the earlier deportation of church employee Francisco Paredes, attendance at the Spanish Mass dropped by half from over 400 people, and parishioners expressed fear of attending worship. Church leadership and Hopkins Mayor Patrick Hanlon stated that ICE's presence outside the church violated the constitutional right to free exercise of religion.

During Operation Metro Surge from December 2025 through February 2026, ICE arrested over 4,000 people in Minneapolis under a reinterpretation of a 1996 law requiring detention without bond. Federal judges, including U.S. District Judge Patrick J. Schiltz, found that ICE violated court orders in at least 113 cases involving 77 people by January 28, 2026, and the violations continued thereafter. Of 66 cases examined by The Washington Post, 52 involved immigrants with pending applications for asylum or other legal status, none with final deportation orders; most were not criminals and over one-third had lived in the United States for more than a decade. The operation targeted immigrants with valid work permits, pending asylum applications, and temporary protected status despite government claims of prioritizing serious criminals.

ICE agents arrested Cesar Ramos-Alcala, 48, and Marcelino Tapia-Lucas, 25, outside courtrooms at the Ridgedale Service Center in Minnetonka on Monday. ICE alleged that Ramos-Alcala is in Minnesota illegally and that Tapia-Lucas entered the U.S. illegally at age 16 and has prior arrests. The arrests occurred in a secure, controlled courthouse environment.