At a Glance
- ICE officers fatally shot Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis last week, sparking days of neighborhood confrontations
- DHS Secretary Kristi Noem plans to send more agents to Minnesota this week despite growing resident resistance
- President Trump defended the operation, claiming agents “took out killers, rapists and drug dealers”
- Why it matters: Federal immigration enforcement is escalating tensions in Minnesota neighborhoods as residents push back against aggressive tactics
Minnesota communities are confronting federal immigration officers in growing numbers as aggressive enforcement tactics spark confrontations, protests, and allegations of excessive force across Minneapolis neighborhoods.
The tension erupted after an ICE officer fatally shot Renee Nicole Good last week, triggering days of clashes between residents and federal agents. The confrontations have intensified as Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced plans to deploy additional agents to the state.
Neighborhood Confrontations Escalate
Resident Neph Sudduth broke down in tears as she witnessed immigration officers patrolling her neighborhood, just blocks from where Good was killed. “They will hurt you for real! They will hurt you for real!” she shouted at anti-ICE demonstrators, warning them to stay back from officers’ vehicles.
An immigration officer rolled down his window and sprayed a protester point-blank in the face with a chemical agent, according to News Of Losangeles‘s reporting.
“How dare they come back to this neighborhood,” Sudduth told Olivia M. Hartwell. “How forgone you have to be morally to come back here and stand up and do that with your faces covered?”
The highly charged confrontations have been captured across social media platforms, showing agents asking electric vehicle charging station users about their citizenship status and protesters screaming as an agent appears to kneel on a man’s neck during an arrest.
Federal Response Draws Criticism
President Trump defended the Minnesota operation on Tuesday, stating agents “have taken out killers, rapists and drug dealers, people from mental institutions that came in illegally.” ICE has posted on social media about arrests of people accused of sex crimes who they allege are in the country illegally.
Cary Wang, a medic with grassroots group 50/51, provided medical assistance Tuesday to several people affected by chemical agents deployed by immigration officers.
“I think it’s part of their strategy to intimidate and show that they’re immune to any type of repercussions,” Wang said. “The fact that they’re ramping up their enforcement officers – that they’re bringing more here when they already know it’s a volatile situation. It just doesn’t seem that they’re looking for things to cool down. It looks like they’re actually trying to escalate things.”
Community Resistance Intensifies
In Minneapolis Tuesday, the smell of tear gas lingered in a neighborhood following clashes between community members and immigration officers conducting operations in the area.
Jonathan Ross, the ICE officer who fatally shot Good, appears to have shot cell phone video obtained by News Of Losangeles.
Residents told Olivia M. Hartwell they came out with whistles to alert others about the operation and act as observers. Officers then began deploying pepper spray and throwing tear gas canisters, which remained on the ground Tuesday afternoon.
Sam Luhmann, a 16-year-old from Chicago, witnessed armed immigration officers “pounding on doors” and making arrests. “They started tackling protesters” and deployed what appeared to be tear gas and pepper balls, he told Olivia M. Hartwell. “It seemed like a war.”
Luhmann and his older brother drove to Minneapolis after Good’s death, wanting to help community members monitor immigration enforcement activity as they did during “Operation Midway Blitz” in Chicago last year.
Citizens Report Targeting
Christian Molina, 40, said immigration officers rear-ended his car before asking about his immigration status. “Luckily, they didn’t hurt me or shoot at me. But what if they did?” said Molina, a U.S. citizen and father of four.
“There’s no reason for them to just look at you and try to just chase you,” he added. DHS did not comment on the incident.
The crowd that gathered around Molina was later hit with tear gas and pepper spray.
Retail Store Arrests Spark Outrage
In Richfield, Minnesota, Border Patrol agents entered a Target store without a warrant and arrested two U.S. citizen employees, according to Democratic State Rep. Michael Howard.
“Yesterday in Richfield, federal agents, including Greg Bovino, senior commander of US Border Patrol, entered Target without a warrant, physically assaulted, and arrested two Target employees, both who are U.S. citizens. Madness,” Howard stated in a Friday news release.
Angela Oberfoell, who witnessed her co-workers’ arrests, called the experience “traumatic.” Video she provided to News Of Losangeles shows workers in disbelief and customers confronting Bovino and other agents.
A second video shows agents following an employee who was recording them before tackling him to the ground after he yelled an expletive.
DHS commented on the second arrest, stating: “This individual was arrested for assaulting federal law enforcement officers under 18 U.S.C 111, assaulting, resisting, or impeding federal officers.”
Both Target workers have been released “but sustained injuries and untold trauma while their rights were trampled for no reason whatsoever,” Howard said.
Legal Action Against Federal Deployment
Minnesota officials sued the federal government Monday to stop the deployment of thousands of immigration agents to the state.
“We continue to call on ICE to GET OUT of Minnesota,” Howard added.
The confrontations in Minnesota reflect broader resistance to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operations, which have triggered pushback in cities including Chicago, Los Angeles, and Charlotte, North Carolina.
