Human Impact Project

Gregory Bovino, a senior Border Patrol commander, appeared in Minneapolis in mid-January 2026 wearing a distinctive oversized green trench coat during ICE enforcement operations. Social media users posted comparisons of his attire to other uniforms, with videos showing crowds chanting. Bovino's presence coincided with federal enforcement following the January 7 shooting death of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE officer during immigration crackdown protests.

ICE agents conducted multiple enforcement activities in St. Paul, Minnesota involving immigrant communities. In one incident, agents knocked on a resident's door in the North End neighborhood and asked her to identify Hmong and Asian households, without clearly displaying badges. In a separate incident at a downtown bus stop on 6th Street and Jackson, ICE agents were photographed surrounding a man with his head covered by a black bag. These incidents occurred as part of broader ICE enforcement operations.

On January 13, 2026, ICE agents detained multiple enrolled members of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, including at least three to four Oglala Lakota men, during a sweep of a homeless encampment near the Little Earth housing complex in Minneapolis. Three detainees were transferred to an ICE facility at Fort Snelling. The Oglala Sioux Tribe asserted that enrolled members are U.S. citizens by statute and fall outside immigration jurisdiction. Federal officials refused to provide information about the detainees unless the tribe agreed to an immigration enforcement agreement with ICE and DHS. Tribal President Frank Star Comes Out and the tribe publicly rejected this condition, stating they would not compromise tribal sovereignty or authorize ICE operations on tribal land. The tribe contacted Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan to locate the detainees and issued guidance to members on asserting their citizenship rights.

Tenth grader Arnoldo Bazan, a 16-year-old U.S. citizen, and his father were stopped by immigration agents while getting McDonald's before school. During the encounter, agents slammed the father to the ground and put Arnoldo in a chokehold, causing him to struggle for breath. ProPublica found over 40 cases of immigration agents using banned chokeholds and other moves that restrict breathing.

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 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.

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.

Four men were charged in connection with an ICE raid at a Hardin Valley construction site on January 13, with charges filed in January and a superseding indictment in March. All four were accused of conspiring to conceal and harbor undocumented immigrants for financial gain. Three men, including one accused of using a pickup truck to block the site entrance and strike agents' vehicle, were also charged with conspiring to prevent federal officers from performing their duties.

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.

Luis Fernando Cabrera Chavarria, 18, a senior and varsity soccer goalie at Northeast Early College High School in Austin, was stopped by a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper on I-35 early Friday after finishing a night shift at Popeyes. The trooper, acting under a 287(g) agreement allowing local officers to enforce federal immigration law, could not verify his identity and contacted ICE, which took him into custody. He is now held at the Karnes County Immigration Processing Center and was set to graduate in June. According to ICE, he entered the U.S. with family in 2019; his sister said the family came from Honduras.

Nimco Omar, a Somali-American U.S. citizen, was stopped by multiple masked ICE officers while walking in her Minneapolis neighborhood. The officers demanded identification and proof of citizenship status. Omar refused to provide ID and asserted she was a U.S. citizen, but an officer threatened to place her in a vehicle and warned of federal charges if she was lying. Omar recorded the encounter on her phone out of fear. Legal experts noted that U.S. citizens have no legal obligation to provide identification while walking or standing in public. The encounter occurred as part of ICE's expanded enforcement operations in Minneapolis.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted enforcement operations across multiple Los Angeles neighborhoods over the weekend, resulting in the detention of at least a dozen people. Arrests occurred in Echo Park, Silver Lake, Downey, Eagle Rock, and Highland Park, with DHS confirming that 11 detainees were from Mexico and El Salvador. Community members witnessed and documented the incidents as federal immigration agents took people into custody. Some of those detained reportedly had valid documentation or long-term residence in the U.S., according to witnesses and local organizations including the Los Angeles Tenants Union.

ICE agents conducted a raid at and near a laundromat on Speedwell Avenue in Morristown, New Jersey, detaining 11 people. At least one father was taken into custody, leaving his 6-year-old daughter alone on the street. Those detained include a Morristown High School senior, identified through an online fundraiser set up to support him. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said all those arrested are either in removal proceedings or in the process of being removed from the United States. Morristown Mayor Tim Dougherty posted a video appealing for volunteer legal aid to assist those detained.

Adonay Mancia Rodríguez was detained by ICE agents near his home in Morristown, New Jersey on January 11, 2026, during an enforcement sweep while picking up a dinner delivery. His six-year-old daughter Annabella was found wandering the streets alone following his detention. According to DHS, ICE took 11 individuals into custody during the operation who were undocumented and facing deportation.

Jose Manuel De Paz Cruz, a 31-year-old father with no criminal record, was arrested by ICE agents in Sunset Park on January 10, 2026, while walking home from work to attend his step-son's birthday party. After being detained in Brooklyn, Cruz was transferred to multiple locations including Manhattan, New Jersey, Arizona, and California.

On Wednesday morning, ICE agents attempted to enter Little Earth, the first Native American community housing project in the United States, located on Minneapolis's southside. Property managers turned the agents away. Later that same morning, community members reported and documented video evidence of ICE agents removing at least three individuals from the facility. According to one community member, agents appeared to be targeting maintenance workers and parents dropping children off at the Little Earth Daycare center.

Ahmed Bin Hassan, a Somali American Uber driver and U.S. citizen, was accosted by over a dozen Border Patrol and ICE agents at Minneapolis-St. Paul airport. The agents approached him citing his accent, which Bin Hassan later characterized as evidence of racial profiling. During the viral confrontation, Bin Hassan remained defiant, refusing to provide identification and questioning the agents' authority, before they ultimately walked away.

A man named Julio, an ImmDef Law Center client and father of a U.S. military servicemember, died on February 25 after his health rapidly declined following ICE detention. Despite having a lawful pathway to permanent residency and being medically vulnerable, ICE refused to release him and he was handcuffed to a hospital bed during his final days. His attorney secured his release but the damage to his health was irreversible.

Pablo Nieves, a Venezuelan asylum seeker who legally entered the U.S. in 2018 with a work permit, was detained by ICE agents in a Home Depot parking lot in Plymouth, Minnesota on January 8, 2026. He was transferred to a detention center in El Paso, Texas, where he was held for two weeks before being released on bond after a court hearing. The detention occurred during Operation Metro Surge, a federal immigration enforcement initiative targeting asylum seekers with pending applications.