One of the individuals questioned was Joel Keleekai, who was approached while charging his Tesla in a parking lot. Border Patrol agents questioned Keleekai and other drivers who were also charging their vehicles. All of the individuals questioned were people of color, and all were ultimately able to demonstrate they were legally in the United States after providing documentation. Keleekai, a permanent U.S. resident, told NPR that he was not surprised by the encounter given the number of immigration agents deployed across the state and the amount of time he spends driving.
“We don’t want this to escalate. As you see, ICE is going around and people are getting killed,” Keleekai said. “We just gotta do our best out here to make sure that we live to see tomorrow.”
McLaughlin responded to such accounts by stating that Immigration and Customs Enforcement does not conduct random arrests or operations without specific objectives. “ICE does not randomly arrest people or conduct operations without specific objectives. Nor does federal law enforcement execute operations without undergoing proper procedure, such as securing warrants when necessary,” she said.
Observers have noted that these enforcement tactics differ from past approaches. Historically, immigration agencies focused on targeted operations, but the Trump administration appears to have broadened its methods. In Minnesota, the current enforcement push has been described as particularly aggressive. Vice President JD Vance said during a recent press conference that immigration agents were also going door to door in efforts to locate undocumented immigrants.
The intensified enforcement has prompted strong reactions from local officials and residents in Minneapolis. Community members have organized group chats to track immigration agents’ movements, with some following agents in vehicles, honking horns, and alerting neighbors to ICE activity while also informing migrants of their rights.
In another incident observed by an NPR reporter, a man on his way to work was briefly detained and questioned about his legal status. The man, identified only by his initials M.A. due to safety concerns, said he was born in Somalia but is a U.S. citizen. He was released after the encounter. “I know my rights here — I’m a U.S. citizen, I’m legal here, I’ve been over 25 years here,” M.A. said.
Conditions across the Minneapolis area appeared tense and disorganized on Monday, with immigration agents operating in numerous locations and often traveling in unmarked vehicles. One particularly tense encounter occurred in south Minneapolis when a vehicle driven by immigration officers rear-ended a resident’s car. An NPR reporter arrived shortly after the incident and observed damage to the rear left side of the vehicle.
