Human Impact Project

ICE agents visited El Tapatio, a Mexican restaurant in Willmar, Minnesota for lunch on January 14, 2026, then returned and detained the restaurant's owners and a dishwasher. According to DHS, agents were conducting surveillance of an undocumented immigrants from Mexico and apprehended three individuals total, including one with a final order of removal from an immigration judge. The restaurant closed early following the incident.

Border agents conducted an operation at a Target store in Richfield, Minnesota, resulting in the arrest of workers at the location. Video footage captured agents descending on the store during what appeared to be a drive-up operation.

ICE arrested a protester wearing a giraffe costume in Minneapolis. The incident involved law enforcement action against a demonstrator. Limited details are available from the provided article text.

Christina Rank, a 25-year-old U.S. citizen classroom assistant, was arrested by ICE agents outside Concord Education Center in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota on Monday, January 12, 2026, around 7:30 a.m. ICE agents claimed Rank rammed an agent's vehicle, but witnesses disputed this account, stating the agent ran into her white Honda and broke her window. Rank was held in custody at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building at Fort Snelling for almost 12 hours before being released. As of Monday afternoon, no charges had been filed against her. Her mother, Sarah Rank, questioned the purpose of ICE agents at the school and the use of force employed during the arrest.

Gage Diego Garcia, a U.S. citizen, was held for six hours on Monday after ICE officers approached him in an alleyway and demanded identification. When Garcia refused and began to blow a whistle, officers pushed him against a car, pointed a Taser at him, and accused him of assault by spitting. Video recorded by a friend documents the physical altercation. Officers told Garcia he was picked up because he "looked like someone who committed a crime" and said "we'll figure it out" when asked what crime. Officers later referenced a fatal shooting by another agent, saying "things could have gone really south for you like those agents did to Renee Good." The incident occurred as ICE has deployed approximately 3,000 officers to Minneapolis.

ICE agents arrested a woman in Minneapolis who was attempting to drive through a street where the agency was conducting a raid to reach her doctor's appointment. When the woman refused to move her car, agents broke her car window, cut her seatbelt, and dragged her out before arresting her. The incident occurred amid a broader ICE enforcement operation in the city.

Ryan Ecklund, a U.S. citizen and Twin Cities realtor, was detained by ICE agents for approximately 10 hours on Monday after following and recording their movements from his vehicle in Woodbury. According to Ecklund, five agents boxed in his vehicle, forcibly removed him, threw him to the ground, and one agent placed him in a chokehold. He was taken to the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building at Fort Snelling and released without charges.

A 19-year-old man from Ecuador applying for Special Immigrant Juvenile status and asylum was detained by Border Patrol agents outside a T-Mobile store in Minneapolis on January 13, 2026. He was transported to Texas and held for seven days without access to legal counsel. After attorney Kira Kelley filed a habeas petition, a court ordered his return to Minnesota and release from custody on January 20, 2026.

Legal observers in Minneapolis continue to follow and document federal ICE agents' enforcement activities, with Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara confirming that observing and recording federal agents is a protected legal right. Observers say they have faced violence, teargas, and arrests while monitoring operations, including an incident on January 21 when border patrol agents arrested two teenagers following a car crash in south Minneapolis. Despite these confrontations, the observers say they remain determined to keep showing up, arguing that accountability depends on their documentation.

ICE agents surrounded a family's home with weapons drawn and pointed guns at an unarmed mother and her children. Agents briefly detained a U.S. citizen teenager without a warrant before releasing him after realizing they lacked authority to arrest him. The incident involved armed agents at an unarmed family inside their own home.

Rob Potylo, an artist, comedian, director and activist known as Robby Roadsteamer on Instagram, was arrested on Monday during anti-ICE demonstrations in Minneapolis. He was detained in federal custody but has been released. Potylo is known for wearing a distinctive giraffe costume during anti-ICE protests, which has generated viral videos.

Minneapolis City Council President Elliott Payne was shoved from behind by an ICE officer on October 31, 2025, while legally observing an ICE enforcement action at a bus stop on Central Avenue. Payne was standing with fellow council member Jason Chavez when they witnessed ICE officers stop a person waiting for the bus. Video footage captured an ICE officer pushing Payne from behind as he was recording and attempting to speak with the agents. Payne said he introduced himself as the council president and tried to de-escalate the situation, calling the officer's behavior "reckless."

Newly emerged video shows Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICE nurse, shouting at federal agents, spitting toward them and kicking their vehicle's tail light during a January 13 Minneapolis protest before agents pushed and tackled him to the ground and fired gas into the crowd. A representative for Pretti's family confirmed he is the person in the video and said he was injured in the encounter but did not seek medical attention, though he told his family about the incident. The confrontation occurred 11 days before Pretti was shot and killed by Border Patrol officers on January 24. The family's attorney said the earlier assault could not justify his killing, and the Department of Homeland Security said its investigations unit is reviewing the video.

Abel, an undocumented immigrant who has lived in Minnesota for 29 years with his four U.S.-born children, was detained by immigration agents on January 13, 2026, while delivering groceries to families in hiding during Operation Metro Surge. Agents pulled over his vehicle in Burnsville and arrested him despite his pending green card approval. He was held at a detention center in El Paso, Texas, for two weeks before being released on January 29, 2026. His arrest forced his wife into hiding and left his sons to manage household responsibilities.

Hani Duglof, a 32-year-old with a rare genetic disorder (RDEB) that causes skin blistering, was detained by ICE after agents ran his license plate while he was driving. He was transferred to M Health Fairview Southdale Hospital after requesting medical attention, where he remains in ICE custody. His family and attorney are seeking his release, citing his severe medical condition and his pending asylum application that has been ongoing for over 10 years.

Two Minneapolis residents who monitor immigration officers' activities were detained by ICE for several hours without being charged. During their detention, they were held without access to phone calls and were pressured to provide information about protest organizers and undocumented immigrants.

Jonathan Aguilar Garcia, a 17-year-old U.S. citizen working at a Target store in Richfield, Minnesota, was tackled to the ground, handcuffed, and forced into a van by federal immigration agents on January 8, 2026, after being asked if he was a citizen. Video captured by Bring Me The News shows Garcia repeatedly shouting, "I'm literally a U.S. citizen," as he presented identification including a passport while being restrained. His sister said on Facebook that he hit his head during the confrontation but was otherwise safe. Garcia was released hours later with injuries at a Walmart parking lot after agents verified his citizenship. A coworker, Christian Miranda Romano, was also detained in the same incident and later released. The Department of Homeland Security said one of the two employees was arrested for assaulting a federal officer, though no charges have been filed. The detention occurred during Operation Metro Surge, an immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota that began December 1, 2025, and is among more than 500 cases ProPublica has documented of U.S. citizens detained by immigration agents under the Trump administration.

Kong Vang, a St. Paul resident, recorded federal immigration agents knocking on his door in the Frogtown neighborhood. Vang refused to open the door after agents did not explain the purpose of their visit, and they left after about 90 seconds. Vang said he lives with his son, parents, and sister, all U.S. citizens, and that his parents immigrated from Laos in the 1970s; he said he feared agents might detain him or his mother. The video was posted to Facebook and received over 400,000 views, as reports indicated the broader enforcement operation had initially been expected to focus on the Somali community.

Federal ICE agents raided a residential home in Minneapolis on Sunday, ramming the door to arrest a man inside. Agents pepper-sprayed protesters who had gathered outside the home to disrupt the operation. The raid occurred as part of a massive enforcement campaign in Minnesota that has resulted in more than 2,000 immigration arrests since early December, and took place in a city reeling from the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE officer on January 7.

ICE agents rammed into Christian Molina's car in south Minneapolis on January 12, 2026, then questioned him about his immigration status. Molina, a U.S. citizen, refused to comply and was not detained. The incident occurred two blocks from where an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Good on January 7.