Overview
- ICE says the Dec. 1 Twin Cities operation has resulted in about 2,000 detentions.
- Two Minneapolis observers say they were detained for about eight hours without charges, denied phone access at times, and pressed to identify protest organizers or undocumented people in exchange for money or legal protection.
- The pair describe agents spraying chemical irritants into a car’s vents, smashing windows, mocking a detainee, and referencing the recent fatal shooting of Renee Good; they say they were exposed to chemical agents again after release.
- They report crowded holding cells, people crying and wailing, apparent lack of medical attention, ignored requests for water or bathroom access, and a woman attempting to use a toilet while male agents watched.
- Additional accounts include a driver questioned at the airport about his accent and a parent stopped during a school drop-off as an agent peered at a Black tenth grader; reporters say DHS/ICE did not respond to requests for comment.