Minnesota Chiefs Say ICE Agents Racially Profiled Officers Of Color During Aggressive Traffic Stops

Top Minnesota police leaders say several officers of color have been racially profiled and aggressively stopped by armed federal immigration agents during traffic encounters tied to Operation Metro Surge.

Chiefs Describe Harrowing Encounters

Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley recounted a recent incident in which an off-duty female officer was boxed in by vehicles driven by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. According to Bruley, the agents approached with guns drawn and demanded immigration "paperwork" to prove she could legally be in the United States.

Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt, with Minneapolis police Chief Brian O'Hara, who has also been outspoken about ICE tactics in Minnesota. / Star Tribune via Getty Images / Carlos Gonzalez/Star Tribune via Getty Images

"She’s a U.S. citizen, and clearly would not have any paperwork," Bruley told reporters. He said an agent knocked the officer’s phone from her hand when she tried to record the confrontation, and the agents only backed off after she identified herself as law enforcement.

Bruley added that every off-duty officer targeted by ICE in Brooklyn Park over a recent two-week span has been a person of color. "If it is happening to our officers, it pains me to think how many of our community members are falling victim to this every day," he said.

Local Leaders Call For Lawful, Dignified Policing

Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt—Hennepin’s first Black woman sheriff—said she is receiving reports of U.S. citizens being stopped "solely because of the color of their skin," and warned that such tactics are eroding community trust in policing. "We demand lawful policing that respects human dignity," Witt said.

Saint Paul Chief of Police Axel Henry said ICE's tactics had major ramifications on normal people. / Saint Paul Police

St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry contrasted televised images of angry protests with what chiefs are seeing on the ground: residents who are "scared to death, that are afraid to go outside." He said people are being stopped based on their appearance and are increasingly fearful of leaving home.

Chiefs' Position On Immigration Enforcement

Bruley emphasized that the police chiefs are not calling for an end to immigration enforcement. "What you won’t hear from any of us today is rhetoric of ‘abolish ICE’ or that there shouldn’t be immigration enforcement," he said. "Immigration enforcement is necessary for national security and for local security, but how it’s done is extremely important." The chiefs said they convened the news conference to highlight what they described as a small segment of federal agents whose conduct has alarmed local law enforcement.

Federal agents in Minnesota have become a flashpoint in the government's deportation agenda. / OCTAVIO JONES / AFP via Getty Images

Context: Operation Metro Surge And Legal Pushback

The complaints arrive as thousands of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) personnel have been deployed to Minnesota under Operation Metro Surge, a Trump administration initiative launched in December 2025. State officials say more than 2,000 DHS immigration officers are operating in the state.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, joined by the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, filed a federal lawsuit seeking to halt the operation. The suit alleges DHS deployed "armed and masked" agents who carried out militarized raids at locations including schools and hospitals in ways the plaintiffs say violate the Constitution.

A demonstrator holds a sign with a photo of Renee Nicole Good, the 37-year-old mom fatally shot by an ICE officer. / ROBERTO SCHMIDT / ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP via Getty Images

Violent Incidents Fuel Public Outrage

Public outrage has grown after two violent encounters: on Jan. 7, an ICE officer, identified as Jonathan Ross, shot and killed Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother, during a Minneapolis protest over an immigration raid; and about a week later, an ICE agent shot and wounded an undocumented Venezuelan man in the leg during a traffic-stop arrest in north Minneapolis.

Federal Response

Homeland Security officials have repeatedly denied that agents are racially profiling residents, saying agents are asking people near enforcement scenes for identification. A DHS spokesperson told the Daily Beast the agency could not initially find a record of ICE or Border Patrol stopping and questioning a police officer but said it would continue to investigate the claims.

Why this matters: Local chiefs warn that aggressive tactics by a subset of federal agents risk deepening mistrust between communities and law enforcement, undermining public safety even as officials assert that lawful immigration enforcement remains necessary.