Community volunteers monitoring immigration enforcement in Minneapolis say they are facing escalating violence, arrests and intimidation by federal agents, yet remain determined to continue documenting operations they believe lack accountability.
Brandon Sigüenza said he encountered his first federal immigration agent only moments before being arrested by one. Sigüenza and a friend, Patty O’Keefe, were following Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers after receiving an alert that agents were operating nearby.
Shortly after arriving, Sigüenza said an agent approached their car, sprayed chemical irritants through the vehicle’s vents and began shouting. He said he raised his hands after being told he was under arrest but was not instructed to exit the car. Agents then shattered the front windows, pulled him from an unlocked door and slammed him against the vehicle.
“I told him my passport was in my pocket,” said Sigüenza, a US citizen. “He told me to shut up.”
Sigüenza and O’Keefe were taken separately to the BH Whipple federal building in south Minneapolis, where immigration detainees and arrested bystanders are processed. They were held for several hours before being released without charges.
The arrest followed the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by a federal officer last weekend, less than three weeks after another bystander, Renee Good, was killed during an immigration enforcement operation. The deaths have drawn renewed attention to the risks faced by residents who observe and record federal agents’ actions during raids.
Volunteer observers told the Guardian they have faced aggressive tactics since the launch of Operation Metro Surge in early December, a large-scale enforcement effort that has deployed thousands of immigration officers across the Twin Cities.
Several observers said they were detained without charges and denied medical care, phone calls or access to lawyers. Despite this, Sigüenza said he plans to continue documenting federal enforcement.
“If we don’t film federal agents, they can shoot someone and claim anything happened,” he said. He added that video evidence captured by community members had been crucial in challenging official accounts of recent shootings. “There will be absolutely no accountability unless people are documenting.”
Observers described the use of so-called “less lethal” weapons, including chemical irritants and projectiles, against bystanders. One observer, identified as RM, said agents smashed their car window and sprayed chemicals inside during a raid on the same day Good was killed.
RM said they were handcuffed, dragged from the vehicle using a pain-inducing restraint that injured their wrist, and taken to the Whipple building. They alleged agents used transphobic slurs, denied them water for more than an hour and withheld medical assistance. RM was released without charges after several hours.
“The whole incident was painful and humiliating,” RM said, adding that washing off the chemical irritant took nearly an hour and caused severe burning.
In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said “rioters and terrorists have assaulted law enforcement” and claimed agents used the minimum force necessary. The agency did not directly address allegations of chemical use against observers or the destruction of vehicles.
Other volunteers reported similar encounters. Jac Kovarik, who has monitored enforcement activity for nearly two months, said agents have attempted to intimidate them, including by photographing their home and car.
Kovarik said they were arrested in December, denied a phone call and held at Whipple for about seven hours before being released without charges. On another occasion, agents reportedly drew weapons on Kovarik and a friend near a private residence.
Attorneys told the Guardian that DHS has repeatedly denied lawyers access to detainees held at the Whipple building, which has become a central processing site during the enforcement surge. A class-action lawsuit filed this week alleges a pattern of denying confidential legal access at Minnesota detention facilities.
DHS denied the allegations, saying detainees at Whipple are able to contact attorneys.
Sigüenza said he eventually met with a lawyer, but agents were able to overhear the conversation. He also alleged that agents pressured him to provide information about protest organizers and undocumented residents, implying potential immigration benefits for family members abroad.
Another pair of observers, Tippy Amundson and Heather Zemien, said they were arrested after alerting residents to the presence of federal agents by honking their car horn. During transport, one agent suffered seizures, and the two women said they assisted until emergency services arrived.
After helping the agent and contacting a state legislator, Amundson and Zemien were released within three hours and cited for impeding federal officers.
Despite the arrests, violence and intimidation, observers said they will continue monitoring immigration enforcement activity.
