Human Impact Project

Individuals held at the Whipple Federal Building immigration detention facility reported experiencing poor conditions and lack of basic humanitarian treatment. Detainees described their firsthand experiences of the conditions at the facility. Activists called for the closure of the detention site and demanded ICE's departure from the location.

Teenage brothers Ben and Sam Luhmann, legal observers from Chicago, documented federal immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota and Illinois for months. They witnessed ICE raids including one in Shakopee where agents arrested someone in front of his children, and say their observations contradicted DHS public statements. The brothers compared the scale and tactics of operations between the two states, noting Minnesota had significantly more agents deployed.

Animal rescue organizations across Minnesota's Twin Cities continue to see a surge in pets needing care amid immigration enforcement, with Pet Haven in St. Paul processing roughly 360 animals and Animal Humane Society in Golden Valley documenting 7 surrendered pets. Two German Shepherds were left behind when a woman in Elk River was detained and transported to Texas, and veterinary appointment no-show rates have jumped from 20% to 40%. Pet Haven reports a recent uptick in surrendered animals from suburbs including Eagan, Apple Valley, Inver Grove Heights, Bloomington and Anoka, and says at least 237 families, mostly on the east side of the metro, have been sheltering with their pets without easy access to food or support. One dog, later named Otto, was found after surviving a month alone in an abandoned car in subzero cold.

Elizabeth Zuna Caisaguano, a 10-year-old fourth-grader from Columbia Heights Public School District in suburban Minneapolis, was detained by ICE agents on January 6, 2026, along with her mother Rosa Elena Caisaguano Cajilema while being driven to her school bus stop. Agents told Elizabeth they would take her to school but instead transported both of them 1,200 miles to the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas. The family had fled Ecuador and sought asylum in 2020; their asylum application was denied in September 2025, but they had a pending appeal. Both developed illnesses during their month-long detention—Elizabeth with flu-like symptoms and her mother with hives—with limited medical care provided. At least six other children from the same school district were sent to the Dilley detention center over the following weeks as part of Operation Metro Surge. After a habeas corpus petition was filed, U.S. District Judge Fred Biery ruled on February 2 that they could not be deported while their case proceeds. Elizabeth and her mother were released on February 3 and returned to Minnesota with their asylum appeal remaining pending.

An 11-year-old girl's mother from Ecuador was detained by federal immigration agents on February 5, 2026, after leaving her apartment for the first time in over a month to buy groceries. She was transferred to a detention facility in Texas approximately 1,400 miles away before attorney John Hayden secured a federal court order demanding her return to Minnesota. She was returned to a Minneapolis detention facility on Friday morning. The mother had applied for asylum in the U.S. and was later transferred to a jail in Willmar, Minnesota.

ICE agent Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr. drove an unmarked SUV on a highway shoulder, pulled up next to another vehicle, and pointed his gun at the heads of two civilians inside. The driver called 911. Morgan was charged with felony second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon.

Beth Jackson, a Twin Cities resident, was detained by federal officers and faced subsequent action after documenting ICE agents. The detention occurred while she was recording immigration enforcement activities.

Cristian, a Colombian immigrant with an asylum claim, was detained by ICE agents on February 4 while heading to a new job in St. Paul. He was transferred to detention centers in Texas and Louisiana before self-deporting to Colombia. His wife Alejandra was left as the sole provider for their two young sons and is now trying to save money for plane tickets to return to Colombia, saying their experience made clear they are not welcomed in the United States.

Immigration officers with guns drawn arrested activists who were following their vehicles in south Minneapolis on Tuesday. At least one person wearing anti-ICE clothing was handcuffed face-down on the ground.

Elizabeth Zuna Caisaguano, a 10-year-old fourth-grade student, and her mother were released from the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas after nearly a month in ICE detention. The child and her mother were taken by immigration agents in early January. They walked free on Tuesday night and are returning home to reunite with Elizabeth's father. School officials and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz had called for their release at a news conference on February 3, 2026.

Ta Eh Doh Lah, a Burmese refugee mother of four lawfully admitted to the U.S. in November 2024, was arrested by ICE agents at her St. Paul apartment on January 10, 2026, while breastfeeding her five-month-old baby. The arrest occurred one day after USCIS announced Operation PARRIS to re-examine refugee cases. She was immediately transferred to Texas despite having a pending adjustment of status application and no criminal record. Ta Eh Doh Lah has congenital heart disease requiring expert medical care. A federal magistrate judge found her detention was not authorized under federal law and recommended her release. The federal court ordered her immediate transfer back to Minnesota and release, and blocked Operation PARRIS across Minnesota, preventing the arrest or detention of refugees solely because they are awaiting status adjustment.

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.

Federal immigration agents detained an employee at NATIFS, an Indigenous-focused nonprofit restaurant in Minneapolis owned by chef Sean Sherman, outside the restaurant on February 2, 2026. Agents blocked a vehicle carrying staff members, pulled the employee from the car at gunpoint, and stated they were checking paperwork. The employee was transferred to Texas overnight without access to needed medication and without the family being notified in advance. Chef Sherman stated the employee had legal documentation and characterized the armed enforcement as inappropriate.

Steven Saari, a Marine Corps veteran, was detained by federal immigration agents at the scene of Alex Pretti's killing in Minneapolis on February 3, 2026. During his six-hour detention at a federal building, agents collected his biometric data, forced a DNA sample, and copied his cell phone without a warrant or authorization. Saari was denied access to an attorney despite repeated requests and was released without charges.

ICE agents smashed the windows of a car and arrested a man without a warrant while his wife held their crying baby and pleaded with the agents. During the arrest, the man briefly escaped from the ICE van while still wearing handcuffs.

Jose Lozano, a 28-year-old Worthington resident with a valid temporary permit allowing him to remain in the U.S. for five years, was detained by ICE agents on February 1, 2026, while attempting to jumpstart his minivan. Lozano, who arrived from El Salvador as an asylum seeker ten years ago, was working as a mechanic and attending college when detained. He was being held in a Minneapolis detention center with a hearing scheduled for February 28, 2026, though an earlier bond hearing was possible.

During ICE's Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota, Isabel, a 41-year-old Honduran woman with a pending asylum case and valid five-year work permit, was arrested at her monthly immigration check-in in Bloomington and detained for four days across three locations. After a federal judge ordered her release, she was given back a mostly empty bag missing her work permit, state ID, daughter's passport, and two uncashed checks worth over $700. Immigration lawyers report this is a widespread pattern: one attorney estimates 35 of her clients lost documents in detention, with another describing it as "more the rule than the exception" that people are not returned their belongings. A federal judge found a Trump administration attorney in civil contempt of court for failing to return documents to another detainee, Rigoberto Soto Jimenez, and imposed daily fines until documents were returned via overnight mail. The seizure and non-return of documents from people not in removal proceedings affects immigrants with work permits, pending visas, U-visas, and refugees with legal entry status.

An ICE enforcement action resulted in the detention of a father in Hopkins, Minnesota, in front of his three children at their apartment building. The incident disrupted the family, with his wife Estefany Escobar going to work at a Minnesota hospital an hour after the arrest.

The police chief of St. Peter intervened with federal agents to prevent the detention of a local resident who was observing ICE enforcement actions. This intervention by local police in Minnesota occurred during ICE and border patrol operations in the state.

Elena, a Venezuelan asylum seeker with a pending case and work authorization, gave birth prematurely in early January and was forced to remain at her infant daughter's hospital bedside for 13 days due to fear of encountering ICE agents during travel to and from the facility. While recovering from a C-section, she had little rest, coordinated rides from trusted community members for frequent follow-up appointments, and moved her own care to telehealth. Her husband was unable to work during this period; he later traveled to Wisconsin for two weeks to work as a rideshare driver to pay rent and afford groceries. The family continues to shelter in place and lives in fear of detention despite Elena's open asylum case and work authorization, having witnessed others with similar immigration status being detained.