In a widely circulated video recorded in Minneapolis, Aliya Rahman, a United States citizen, was captured being extracted from her vehicle by federal immigration enforcers amid a heightened enforcement operation in the city. Rahman was reportedly traveling to a medical appointment at the Traumatic Brain Injury Center when she encountered immigration agents stationed at a traffic intersection.
The footage shows a chaotic environment with loud whistles, car horns, and shouts from nearby protesters, as immigration agents in masks forcibly removed Rahman. One officer appears to break the passenger side window, while others filtered through the driver's side door, unfastening her seatbelt and hauling her by the limbs toward an ICE vehicle parked close by.
Rahman has stated that despite informing officers of a disability, she was physically restrained, arrested, and subsequently transported to a detention facility. She alleges she was denied access to medical care during her detention and eventually lost consciousness before being transferred to a hospital for treatment of injuries she asserts were due to assault. Following hospitalization, she was released and expressed gratitude to the medical personnel who aided her recovery.
Corresponding with Rahman’s claims, Alexa Van Brunt, her legal representative from the MacArthur Justice Center, described her as trapped in an untenable situation. Van Brunt asserted Rahman had no safe option to comply without risking either accusations of endangering law enforcement—as had occurred in another fatal incident involving an ICE officer—or enduring physical abuse by remaining immobile.
Contrarily, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson contested these assertions in a statement, labeling Rahman an agitator who disregarded repeated commands to move her vehicle away from the officers. The department reported that six additional individuals were detained alongside Rahman, citing aggressive behavior by some detainees but did not clarify charges or the provision of medical care to Rahman.
This incident is part of an escalating federal immigration enforcement campaign across Minneapolis, capturing a surge of viral videos documenting confrontations between immigration authorities and civilians. Scenes common to these recordings include officers breaking vehicle windows, deployment of pepper spray against demonstrators, explicit instructions to observers to maintain distance, and numerous arrests of immigrants and citizens from various public and private locations.
One particularly striking video shows armed officers using a battering ram to force entry into a Minneapolis residence occupied by a family including a young child. The audio captures residents querying the officers about warrants and pleading for them to lower their weapons, underscoring the tense nature of these raids.
Other videos depict ICE officials detaining employees inside local establishments, such as a Target store in nearby Richfield, where two U.S. citizens were held temporarily before release. Monica Bicking, a nurse and community member, shared footage indicating physical force by officers during detainment incidents, noting an increased need to carry protective items like whistles when conducting daily activities due to a climate of fear and vigilance instigated by the enforcement operations.
As these enforcement activities have become pervasive, affected individuals and observers alike voice concerns about the humanitarian and legal implications of what local authorities have termed a "federal invasion." The tension between federal enforcement agencies and community members highlights a complex and contentious chapter in regional immigration policy enforcement.