MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota, USA (AP) — Federal agents conducting immigration arrests in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota, already shaken by the deadly shooting of a woman, broke down the door of a house on Sunday and burst inside, as part of what Homeland Security has called its largest law enforcement operation to date.
In a scene reminiscent of scenes seen across Minneapolis, agents detained a man inside the home minutes after spraying tear gas at protesters outside who had confronted the heavily armed federal officers. Along the residential street, protesters honked car horns, banged drums, and blew whistles in an attempt to disrupt the operation.
A video of the confrontation captured by The Associated Press showed some agents shoving protesters as a distressed woman exited the house with a document that the federal agents presented to arrest the man. Signed by an immigration officer, the document — unlike a warrant signed by a judge — does not authorize forced entry into a private residence. An immigration officer–signed warrant only authorizes the arrest in a public area.
Immigrant rights groups have conducted extensive “know your rights” campaigns urging people not to open their doors unless agents have a court-issued warrant signed by a judge.
But within minutes of breaking down the door in a quiet, single-family neighborhood, the handcuffed man was led away and quickly vanished.
More than 2,000 immigration arrests have been carried out in Minnesota since the enforcement operation began in early December, according to Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Fox News on Sunday that the Trump administration would send additional federal agents to Minnesota to protect immigration officers and continue enforcing the law.
The Twin Cities — the latest target in President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement push — are preparing for what comes next after 37-year-old Renee Good was shot and killed by an immigration agent on Wednesday.
“We’re seeing widespread immigration crackdowns across Minneapolis and the state, with federal agents simply invading our neighborhoods,” said Jason Chavez, a Minneapolis city council member. “They’re here for sure.”
Chavez, the son of Mexican immigrants who represents a district with a growing immigrant population, said he is closely monitoring and gathering information from chat groups about where residents are seeing agents operate.
People with whistles stood on street corners in the freezing cold Sunday in the neighborhood where Renee Good was shot, watching for any sign of federal agents.
More than 20,000 people have participated in a range of trainings to become “observers” of enforcement activities in Minnesota since the 2024 elections, said Luis Argueta, spokesman for Unidos MN, a local human rights group.
“It’s a role people choose to take on voluntarily, because they choose to look out for their neighbors,” Argueta said.
Protests have largely been peaceful, but residents remain anxious. On Monday, Minneapolis Public Schools will begin remote learning for the coming month in response to concerns that children may feel unsafe going out as tensions remain high.
Many schools closed last week after Good’s shooting and the unrest that followed.
As operations continued, two of the state’s top Democrats said on Sunday that the investigation into Renee Good’s death should not be overseen solely by the federal government.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and U.S. Senator Tina Smith said in separate Sunday interviews that state authorities should be involved in the probes because the federal government has already made clear what it believes happened.
“How can we trust that the federal government will conduct an objective, fair, and unbiased investigation when, at the outset of the inquiry, they have already stated exactly what they saw and what they think happened?” Smith said on ABC’s This Week.
The Trump administration has defended the agent who shot at Good in his car, saying he was protecting himself and his fellow officers and that Good had “turned his vehicle into a weapon.”
Todd Lyons, acting ICE director, defended the agent on Fox News’ The Sunday Briefing.
“That agent had milliseconds, if not a brief moment, to decide to save his life and that of his fellow officers,” he noted.
He added that the Minnesota operations would not be necessary “if local jurisdictions would work with us to hand over these criminal aliens who are already deemed a threat to public safety by locals.”
Good’s killing by an ICE agent and the shooting of two people by federal agents in Portland, Oregon, sparked dozens of protests nationwide over the weekend, including in New York, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. and Oakland, California.
