U.S. Congressional Leaders Discuss ICE Actions With Minnesota Residents

Minnesota’s attorney general, the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul, civil rights advocates and residents talked with Congressional leaders for several hours about the unconstitutional actions of federal immigration that is terrorizing communities, increasing costs for local governments, disrupting schools and businesses, and leading to the assaults and deaths of residents.

At a congressional hearing held in Saint Paul on January 16, officials talked about “Operation Metro Surge,” which has flooded the Twin Cities with more than 3,000 federal immigration agents. The hearing was led by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), who are conducting congressional oversight following the fatal shooting of Renee Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen and mother who was killed by federal agents in Minneapolis January 7 while she was in her car driving away from agents.

[UPDATE: A second U.S. citizen was shot and killed January 24 in Minneapolis; Alex Pretti, also 37, had no criminal charges other than some parking tickets, according to a news briefing by Minneapolis police chief Brian O’Hara.]

Congressional Democrats from Arizona, Maryland, California, Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin attended the hearing.

Several members of Congress accused the administration of immediately labeling Good a “domestic terrorist” before facts were known, and of denying her access to medical care after she was shot. 

Testimony From Residents and Observers

Residents described violent encounters with federal agents despite presenting proof of citizenship.

Patty O’Keefe, a 36-year-old U.S. citizen from Minneapolis, testified that she and a friend followed a vehicle with ICE agents “because we’d heard that the more eyes on ICE agents, the less likely they are to escalate to violence.” They followed agents in her car for 40 seconds, blowing whistles and honking the horn as warning to neighbors. The agents stopped their car, surrounded her car, and one of them pepper sprayed into the vents. They then smashed the front windows, dragged them out, and brought them to the federal building. She said during transport one of them said, “You guys got to stop obstructing us. That’s why the lesbian bitch is dead.”

Inside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, O’Keefe said she saw dozens of Hispanic and East African detainees packed into overcrowded holding cells — one held 40 to 50 people. “I heard wailing, screaming, crying from men, women, and children,” while agents engaged in small talk and laughter. “It was dehumanizing.”

She was not allowed to make a phone call. She and her friend were released nine hours later with no charges. Her friend was offered money and legal support “in exchange for names of undocumented people that he might know, or names of protest organizers.”

O’Keefe added that “two other people in my cell were Marine Corps veterans. One of them had scrapes, a swollen wrist, and a twisted ankle from being brutally handled during her arrest. She said she couldn’t believe that the first time a gun was turned on her was by her own government.”

A 20-year-old Somali American man, Mubashir Khalif Hussen, became a naturalized citizen with his family in 2019. He said during a lunch break from his job with a mental health services provider, agents tackled him outside a restaurant, put him in a headlock on the ground, ignored his citizenship documentation, and shackled him at the federal building before eventually releasing him because he is a U.S. citizen. He said he and his boss indicated Hussen was a documented legal citizen, but an agent said repeatedly that it didn’t matter. 

Jaylani Hussain, executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American Islami Relations (CAIR), immigrated with his family from Somalia in 1993. He testified about the ways Minnesotans are standing up every day for their neighbors. “Many people across this country do not know how great Minnesota is. My father always says that we came to a cold place, but we found a place with people with warm hearts. And that is true.”

Unidos Minnesota executive director Emilia González Avalos hugs Sen. Erin Murphy at a training the night Renee Good was killed. (photo by Sarah Whiting)

Emilia González Avalos of UNIDOS testified about the purpose of Monarca trainings to be constitutional observers, to document police conduct, including how to not cross into unlawful activity. “They are documenting things that can be used for future litigation, that can be used for public opinion, and to hold agents accountable.”

In replying to a question, she concurred that Latin, Somali, Eritrean, and other communities are growing strength and bonding together. “They 100 percent are our siblings.” 

One lawmaker cited data showing that 93 percent of those detained had no violent convictions and 65 percent had no criminal record at all. It also was noted by lawmakers that with 90 percent of federal investigators part of the ICE escalation, it is not protecting the country from cyber-attacks, energy infrastructure, human trafficking, and fentanyl pipelines. 

One noted that the White House is spending “a ridiculous amount of resources and manpower in a state that has a very low percentage of undocumented people.”

The Basics in Police Training 

Chief Kelly McCarthy of the Mendota Heights Police Department testified that local officers are legally barred from assisting ICE in civil immigration enforcement but are increasingly diverted to deal with the consequences of ICE actions. “We are diverting resources from our core duties to deal with the aftermath of ICE actions, ranging from reports of suspicious activity and abandoned vehicles to unsafe driving complaints,” McCarthy said. She warned that aggressive federal tactics are eroding public trust in law enforcement. “Our efforts to rebuild trust after the murder of George Floyd are being undone.”

Police Chief Kelly McCarthy (from a 2023 story, photo Sarah Whiting)

McCarthy testified that leaving vehicles running during arrests, failing to secure scenes, and denying medical aid violate standard police training. Responding to questions from legislators, she pointed out that it is forbidden for an officer to hide their identity and not give name and badge number when asked. She said de-escalation training makes it clear that you don’t move from talking to pointing guns at people who are not armed — or holding a phone to film the interaction in the other hand. After an officer-involved shooting, there is no comment immediately made about why the shooting might have occurred, to avoid impacting an investigation.

Representative Val Hoyle from Oregon indicated that ICE agents have perhaps two months of training, with limited background checks, before being thrown into highly charged situations. She asked Chief McCarthy the training required of police officers. The answer: A two-year degree in law enforcement or criminal justice, or a four year degree; a skills-based program supervised by the state for three to six months; psychological and background checks; a training period up to six months, and a minimum of one-year probationary period.

Civil Rights Violations

ACLU of Minnesota Executive Director Deepinder Singh Mayell said parts of Minneapolis now resemble “a ghost town,” with immigrant residents avoiding groceries, work and medical care. He cited ongoing litigation involving legal observers who were arrested, pepper sprayed and held without charge. “The First Amendment demands better,” he said. 

He noted that the majority of Somali, Latino and Hmong individuals in Minnesota are U.S. citizens, and that Native Americans also were being unfairly targeted. He said local schools changed their attendance policies — including closing for several days — after federal agents pepper sprayed, tackled, and handcuffed people at a high school. After Sue Tincher asked agents if they were ICE — recorded on video — forced her to the ground, handcuffed her, and took her to a federal building where her wedding ring was cut off and she was shackled for several hours before being released with no charges.

Mayell pointed out that the Department of Homeland Security has indicated that its law enforcement can use “reasonable suspicion to make arrests. And that’s just a misstatement of the law.” The Fourth Amendment of the Constitution indicates the law requires “probable cause.”

He noted in response to a question that it is legal to blow whistles and honk horns and record ICE action.

Panelists indicated the First Amendment gives Americans the right to photograph and video-record operations, which provides evidence that will be used in future lawsuits. It was noted that the statute of limitations for violations of federal laws is five years.

Rep. Kelly Morrison (D-Minn.), who is a doctor, said it was painful that ICE agents denied Renee Good access to medical care, and that a family had to have three children hospitalized after agents threw tear gas in their neighborhood as they were returning home; their six-month old baby lost consciousness. 

She called the situation “beyond partisanship” and urged Republicans to join oversight efforts. “This is about humanity,” she said. I” think of [Minnesota House] speaker Melissa Hortman every day, especially during these challenging times. She would say this is a moment when we have to take off our red jerseys and take off our blue jerseys and put on our Minnesota jerseys. I extend an urgent plea to Minnesota’s Congressional Republicans to finally side with the people of Minnesota, stand up to this President, protect our communities, and restore peace.”

Rep. Angie Craig commented that in her Minnesota district, a father was pulled from his car in Northfield — filmed by “his distraught son. ICE used excessive force, smashing the car window and dragging the man across the ground in close vicinity of a school and church.” She noted that a special education teacher in her district — a U.S. citizen in a parking lot — also had her car window smashed by ICE and was detained 12 hours before being released. “Parents, teachers, and students being targeted by ICE are not criminals. But this administration isn’t looking for criminals. They are looking for Black and brown neighbors, and the Supreme Court of the United States is complicit.”

Morrison, Omar, and Craig had attempted a legal Congressional oversight visit to the Whipple federal building but were turned away by ICE officials. 

Comments From Out-State Congressional Leaders

Pennsylvania’s Mary Gay Scanlon commented that it was horrifying that before the facts were known in Good’s shooting, “the Trump White House pronounced that the woman was a domestic terrorist and that her killing was justified. … My colleagues and I are here because it’s important for all Americans to know the facts, to understand the gravity of what’s happening here, and why we should all be concerned the White House — using federal agencies and taxpayer dollars — is spreading division and despair, bringing madness to Main Streets.”

Vermont’s Becca Balint said, “I want to start by saying what so many of you have said. This is not about immigration enforcement. This is about terror. This is about retribution. This is about punishment. This is about vindictiveness. This is about giving a pretext to incite the Insurrection Act. And I want to say you are giving us inspiration. As one of the senators from Minnesota said, you are the center of America’s heartbreak right now, and you are also the center of America’s courage. All of the people who are witnessing and showing up and documenting, they are doing this not just for Minnesotans. They are standing up for all of our rights.”

Representative Jasmine Crockett of Texas, a civil rights lawyer, said some people “want to pretend as if this is right or left, but this is about right or wrong.” She indicated that an elementary school education teaches us the difference between right and wrong — that it is wrong to arrest someone because of the color of their skin, because of their accent, because they were exercising their constitutional rights, or “because they simply disagree with you. … This is pure racism.”

Alluding to Anne Frank during the Holocaust, she said requiring people to hide from governmental authorities should sound familiar. She added that we are experiencing the pattern as well of living with an abuser. 

Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine said her state has been on alert for ICE agents. She asked what advice the panelists had for preparing a community for an occupation by federal agents.

O’Keefe answered, “I would encourage people to start talking to their neighbors. Get organized on the hyper-local level. Start donating to mutual aid funds to get supplies and food to people sheltering in place. Start getting people to do patrols around each other’s schools.”

New Jersey’s Rob Menendez said, “Renee Good’s killing did not happen in isolation. … When you greenlight the use of aggressive force, when you shield immigration officers from the law and from oversight, and when you treat immigration enforcement like a blank check to target political foes without regard for public safety, you create the conditions for this kind of tragedy.”

Representative Yassamin Ansari said her district in Arizona is highly diverse. She said has learned of the torture and abuse of women inside the local detention center, and is concerned about the cases of domestic abuse that will go unreported because of fear of authorities.

Representative Dave Min of Orange County in California said the scenes on our streets evoke Nazi Germany or Stalinist Russia. “What is happening right now in America is fundamentally un-American. It is evil and it is completely illegal.” He noted that the federal government cannot pardon anyone for state crimes like murder and assault.

Others who were in Saint Paul for the conversation: Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN), and Representatives Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Jesús G. “Chuy” García (IL-04), Adelita Grijalva (AZ-07), Glenn Ivey (MD-04), Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr. (GA-04), Ted Lieu (CA-36), April McClain Delaney (MD-06), Betty McCollum (MN-04), Gwen Moore (WI-04), Kelly Morrison (MN-03), Emily Randall (WA-06), Luz Rivas (CA-29), Lateefah Simon (CA-12), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), and James Walkinshaw (VA-11).

Comments From Attorney General and Mayors

Saint Paul Mayor Kaoly Her, newly sworn in at the time of the operation, described reports of agents going door to door asking where immigrants live. As in Minneapolis, she said, Saint Paul schools were offering online learning to ensure family safety — kids and parents were being targeted at bus stops and outside schools. [Days later, a 5-year-old was flown to a Texas detention center with his father; his family came to the U.S. in 2024 from Ecuador and has an active asylum case for legal residency.] 

“My parents told me they haven’t opened their blinds in days,” Her said. “They’ve postponed doctor visits because they’re afraid to leave their home.” She said immigrant-owned businesses had seen revenue drops of up to 60 percent. “If this were about safety, federal agents would be going after people who are truly a threat to our community.” 

Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey said that of four shootings in Minneapolis that month, two were by ICE agents. He said they have left cars abandoned on streets after breaking into them, in one case leaving it running and in motion after dragging the owner out.

“This is not about public safety. It’s not about fraud. It’s not even about immigration enforcement,” Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said. “This is about vindictiveness and political retribution.”

Minnesota, Minneapolis, and Saint Paul are jointly suing the federal government, arguing that ICE agents have conducted warrantless arrests, excessive use of force and unlawful detentions — including of U.S. citizens — while leaving dangerous conditions in their wake. “We are not suing because ICE is in Minnesota,” Ellison said. “They were here last year. They were here 10 years ago. We’re suing because this activity is unjustified, unconstitutional, and damaging to our state.”

He indicated the suit is on behalf of “everyone who’s been thrown to the ground, beaten, arrested in a warrantless search.”

General images shared on social media in recent days of ICE arrests

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