Camilla Jessen
Video shows armed ICE arrests in Minneapolis.
Federal immigration enforcement is drawing renewed scrutiny after a series of arrests in Minneapolis this week.
Video footage and witness accounts have raised questions about how agents are operating and where legal boundaries lie.
Armed roadside arrests
Several activists were arrested on Tuesday in south Minneapolis after immigration officers stopped vehicles that had been following federal agents during enforcement activity.
According to accounts from the scene and state officials, officers ordered people out of a car at gunpoint.
Journalists who were nearby were told to stay back, with officers warning that pepper spray could be used. The arrests followed reports that immigration agents had been knocking on doors in nearby residential neighborhoods.
The incident occurred as activists were tracking Immigration and Customs Enforcement vehicles during what they believed were ongoing immigration operations.
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Quiet tactical shift
State officials and activist groups say federal agents have changed how they conduct operations. Large, visible actions in parking lots have given way to quieter, more targeted arrests in homes and neighborhoods.
Group chats that once focused on confirmed detentions now largely circulate sightings of federal vehicles. Convoys are harder to track, and enforcement appears more deliberate and less public.
Governor Tim Walz said the change has altered the mood across the state.
“There’s less smoke on the ground,” he said, referencing earlier crowd-control measures. “But I think it’s more chilling than it was last week because of the shift to the schools, the shift to the children.”
Surveillance and detention
Witnesses said activists followed federal vehicles after reports of agents knocking on doors. Officers later stopped those vehicles and detained the occupants, saying they had interfered with an arrest.
Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said the activists hindered efforts to arrest a man who was in the country illegally.
Authorities did not immediately say whether the activists were charged or released.
Video from the scene showed officers with weapons drawn, prompting concern among civil rights advocates and state leaders about escalating force.
Legal uncertainty
The arrests come amid unsettled legal questions. A federal judge ruled last month that safely following immigration agents does not, by itself, justify a vehicle stop.
That ruling was later set aside by an appeals court, granting officers broader discretion while litigation continues.
Legal experts say the conflicting decisions have left both activists and officers operating in a tense gray area.
Schools feel the impact
Education leaders say immigration enforcement is spreading fear beyond the streets. Governor Walz joined school officials at a news conference where they described anxiety among students and families.
Brenda Lewis, superintendent of Fridley Public Schools, said she has been followed twice by ICE agents since speaking publicly in January.
“Students are afraid to come to school, parents are afraid to drop them off,” she said.
School districts have increased security and mental health support as uncertainty continues.
Sources: State officials, Homeland Security statements, International Business Times
