ICE agents drew guns on off-duty officer in Minnesota, chief says
- - ICE agents drew guns on off-duty officer in Minnesota, chief says
Christopher Cann, USA TODAY January 21, 2026 at 11:14 AM
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Immigration agents have stopped off-duty officers in Minnesota "solely because of the color of their skin," a group of local police chiefs alleged, as concern grows over the handling of immigration enforcement in the state.
American citizens are being stopped on the streets "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, which operates in a suburb north of Minneapolis.
He added that police officers “fell victim to this while off duty” and that the stops appear to “target” people of color.
1 / 10Federal agents continue surge of immigration enforcement in MinnesotaUS Customs and Border Protection agents arrest a man after not providing documents proving he's a citizen of the United States while patrolling a neighborhood during immigration enforcement activity in Minneapolis in Minneapolis, Minn. on Jan. 11, 2026. A US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good on the streets of Minneapolis on Jan. 7, leading to huge protests and outrage from local leaders who rejected White House claims she was a domestic terrorist.
In one encounter, a Brooklyn Park police officer was boxed in by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who “demanded her paperwork,” Bruley said.
Agents “had their guns drawn,” he said, adding that one agent knocked the police officer’s phone out of her hand when she tried to record the interaction.
“I wish I could tell you this was an isolated incident,” Bruley said, flanked by other local chiefs of police. “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.”
Federal agents grab a woman to drag her away from her car, days after an ICE agent fatally shot Renee Nicole Good, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Jan.13, 2026.
In a statement to USA TODAY, the Department of Homeland Security said: "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.”
The remarks come amid heightened scrutiny of the tactics being employed by federal immigration agents after the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good on Jan. 7.
Trump administration officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, have defended the actions of federal agents in recent weeks, insisting that operations are targeted. Noem and other Homeland Security officials have said that people near their alleged targets may be subject to questioning.
"In every situation we are doing targeted enforcement," said Noem while speaking to reporters on Jan. 15. "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."
Axel Henry, chief of the Saint Paul Police Department, spoke at the Jan. 20 news conference and raised concerns about federal agents’ actions.
1 / 32See ICE protests around country sparked after Minnesota shooting deathPeople take part in a protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in New York on Jan. 7, 2026 after an ICE officer shot dead a woman in Minneapolis.
“We’ve 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 can’t happen."
About 3,000 immigration agents are in Minnesota as part of "Operation Metro Surge," which federal authorities have described as the "largest immigration operation ever." According to the Department of Homeland Security, at least 3,000 undocumented immigrants have been arrested since the operation began in December.
USA TODAY could not immediately verify those figures as the agency does not release the names of most detainees or their charges.
Since the fatal shooting of Good, tens of thousands have taken to the streets to protest the immigration enforcement in Minneapolis and cities nationwide. Rapid response groups have also fanned out across Minnesota, following masked agents and unmarked vans to record the enforcement operations.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz encouraged civilians to protest peacefully and record federal agents for "future prosecution."
Local police leaders seemed to doubt that any actions taken by federal immigration agents could lead to criminal charges, saying that federal officers are largely immune from prosecution for actions taken as part of their official duties.
Bruley, of Brooklyn Park, said he's been met by confusion and more questions when he's tried to get 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 nametags on, they cover their faces."
Bruley said while most federal agents are "doing focused, legitimate immigration work," it appears "there are groups that seem to have less supervision." He did not elaborate on the "groups" but said the most aggressive enforcement didn't begin until after the deadly shooting of Good.
Minnesota and the Twin Cities filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration seeking to halt the ongoing immigration enforcement. A judge declined to issue an emergency injunction expelling the agents.
In a separate case filed in December, the same judge barred federal agents from using pepper spray or arresting peaceful protesters in Minnesota, finding sufficient evidence that agents had used "intimidation tactics," such as the "drawing and pointing of weapons; the use of pepper spray and other non-lethal munitions," according to an order filed in federal court.
(This story was to add comment from the Department of Homeland Security.)
Christopher Cann is a national breaking news reporter for USA TODAY. Contact him via email at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Local cops among those targeted by immigration agents in Minnesota
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