In Minneapolis, ICE clashes with Minnesotans who want them out

Long before you could see the crowd, you could hear them. The whistles and shouting carried blocks from the residential street in Minneapolis, where more than 70 people lined the sidewalk recording on their phones and hurling insults — and the occasional snowball — at a handful of  U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and their vehicles.

An ICE agent then forced a protester to the ground. Then, a woman lunged at him and the agent raised a baton, the crowd then erupting in anger at the escalation. At some point during the confrontation, an ICE supervisor called the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office for assistance.

“I got officers getting attacked,” said the supervisor, whose name was beeped out in a recording around 1:13 p.m. that was posted to X by the sheriff’s office. “We have 60 to 70 agitators that are fighting us.”

The deputies arrived, lining the sidewalk and watched as the crowd and the ICE officers moved from one end of the block to the other, past a car stopped on the street with its window broken. Deputies looked on as an ICE agent fired a few rounds of pepper balls into the street, sending some protesters and observers back in search of water to rinse their eyes.

The Department of Homeland Security’s latest immigration push into Minnesota, Operation Metro Surge, began Dec. 1.  It’s been met with significant pushback in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, with citizens saying they are standing in solidarity with the Somali and wider immigrant community that they say have been targeted by the raids — and by derogatory comments from the U.S. president.

In a public post, the Hennepin County sheriff’s office stated its deputies didn’t witness any attacks or agents needing medical attention and noted it doesn’t take part in civil immigration enforcement.

Gov. Tim Walz, the mayors of Minneapolis and Saint Paul and the Minneapolis police chief voiced their concerns about the new crackdown, which began after U.S. President Donald Trump called the Somali community in the city “garbage” and said ”we don’t want them in the country.

Minnesota has the largest Somali population in the U.S., at roughly 80,000 people, and most are American citizens. 

In its first two weeks, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported it had arrested more than 400 people from different backgrounds including some Somalis. DHS said those arrested included “pedophiles, rapists and violent thugs." 

Among those taken into custody was a 20-year-old American-born Somali man named Mubashir who was arrested on a lunch break. Though Mubashir was later released, the mayor condemned the arrest, and the head of the Minneapolis Police, which is not assisting, apologized to the man and called it embarrassing.

The American Civil Liberties Union is now representing Mubashir. In a statement to CBC News he said he “repeatedly told the agents that I was a U.S. citizen.” He said he attempted to show them his identification, but they “refused to even look at it.” Mubashir said he was brought to a detention facility because he is Somali-American. 

“Their treatment of me was cruel, unnecessary and wrong.” 

The crackdown has had a chilling effect; Somali businesses and cafes that are normally bustling are quiet.

“There’s people that aren’t leaving their house, because they’re scared of being mistaken for someone else and being captured,” said Farah, a member of the Somali community who is an American citizen. CBC News is only using his first name because he fears repercussions for himself and his family.