ICE stopping off-duty officers in MN?
Local police say people of color being targeted, checked 'with no cause'
By: Christopher Cann
USA Today
..... Immigration agents have stopped off-duty police officers in Minnesota "solely because of the color of their skin," a group of local police chiefs alleged January 20, [2026] as concern continues over the handling of immigration enforcement in the state.
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U.S. citizens are being stopped on the street "with no cause and are being forced to produce paperwork to determine if they are here legally," said Mark Bruley, chief of the Brooklyn Park Police Department, a suburb north of Minneapolis.
..... Flaked by other local chiefs of police, Burley added that police officers "fell victim to this while off duty" and that the stops appeared to "target" people of color.
..... In one encounter, a Brooklyn Park Police officer was boxed in by U.S. Immigration and Costumes enforcement agents who "demanded her paperwork," Bruley said. Agents "had their guns drawn," he continued, and one knocked the police offer's point out of her hand when she tried to record the interaction.
..... "I wish I could tell you this was an isolated incident," Bruley said. "If it is happening to our officers, it pains me to think of how many of our community members are falling victim to this every day. It has to stop.
..... Axel Henry, chief of the St Paul Police Department, also raised concerns about federal agents' actions at the January 20 [2026] news conference.
..... "We're had employees for our city that have experienced some of the same things. thankfully not with firearms drawn, but traffic stops that were clearly outside the bounds of what federal agents are allowed to do, Henry said.
..... "These processes are clearly failing if American citizens are being grabbed or stopped or seized," Henry added. "This cant' happen.
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The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement, "DHS is able to find no record of ICE or Border Patrol stopping and questioning a police officer. Without a name, we cannot verify these claims. We will continue to look into these claims."
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About 3,000 immigration agents are in Minnesota as part of Operation Metro Surge, which federal authorities have described as the "largest immigration operations ever." According to DHS, at least 3,000 undocumented immigrants have been arrested since the peritoneal began in December. [2025] USA Today could not immediately verify those figures as the agency does not release the names of most detainees or the charges against them.
..... Scrutiny of those agents' tactics has heightened since the fetal shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis on January 7. [2026]
..... Trump administration officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, have defended the actions of federal agents in recent weeks, insighting that operations are targeted. Noem and other Homeland Security offices have said, however, that people near their alleged targets may be subject to questioning.
..... "In every situation, we are doing targeted enforcement," Noem said to reporters on January 15. [2026] "If we are on a target and doing an operation, there may be individuals surrounding that criminal who we may be asking who they are and why they're there and having them validate their identity."
..... Vice President JD Vance has defended the killing of Good, calling it "a tragedy of her own making" and alleging she was part of a vast left-wing extremist network. He is slated to visit Minneapolis on January 22, [2026] a person familiar with hos plans said.
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Since the fatal shooting of good, tens of thousands have taken to the streets to protest immigration enforcement in Minneapolis and other cities nationwide. Rapid response groups have fanned out across Minnesota, following masked agents and unmarked vans to record the enforcement operations.
..... Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has encounter people to protest peacefully and record federal agents for "future prosecution."
..... The local police leaders at the January 20 [2026] press conference stemmed to doubt any actions taken by federal immigration agents could lead to criminal charges, saying federal officers are largely immune form prosecution for actions taken as part of their official duties.
..... Bruley said he's been met by confusion and more questions when he's tried to the answers from federal officials.
..... "When you call ICE leadership or you call Border Patrol leadership ... They're unable to tell you what their people were doing that day," he said. "they like to give you a website to go file a complaint, but the complaint requires the identity of the agents. The agents don't have name tags on; they cover their faces."
.....Minnesota and the Win Cities have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration seeking to halt the ongoing immigration enforcement. A federal judge declined to issue an emergency injunction expelling the agents.
..... In a separate case, the same judge recently barred federal agents from using pepper spray on or arresting peaceful protesters in Minnesota, finding sufficient evidence that agents had used "intimidation tactics," such as the "drawing and pointing of weapons; the sue of pepper spray and other non-lethal munitions," according to an order filed in federal court.
..... Contributing: Francesca Chambers, USA Today