Federal immigration enforcement in and around Minneapolis is drawing new scrutiny after residents shared videos showing officers stopping people in public spaces and demanding proof of citizenship, including from U.S. citizens.
The encounters, which surfaced across social media over the past week, show officers approaching individuals without clear explanations, repeatedly asking for identification and citizenship status. One of the most serious incidents involves Gage Diego Garcia, who says he was detained for six hours on Monday following an encounter in an alley in Columbia Heights, Minnesota. Garcia told NBC News the situation escalated quickly after officers demanded identification.
“They came off pretty aggressive and asking for my ID. I refused because I had done nothing wrong,” Garcia said.
Video recorded by a friend shows officers pushing Garcia against a car and aiming a Taser at him. Garcia said officers grabbed him when he tried to blow a whistle he was wearing. An officer accused him of assault by spitting, which Garcia denies.
“All I needed was your f**king ID,” a masked officer is heard saying. As officers searched him, one found a firearm. Garcia responded, saying it was “a fully registered firearm ‘cause I’m a U.S. citizen.” Another officer later said, “You are a f**king citizen, you shouldn’t have done that.”
Garcia said officers told him he was detained because he looked like someone involved in a crime. “When I asked what crime, I was told, ‘we’ll figure it out,’” he said. He also claims officers told him, “I could have f**king smoked you,” referencing the recent fatal shooting of Renee Good, a U.S. citizen killed during a law enforcement encounter in Minneapolis.
Other residents have reported similar stops. Nimco Omar said she was questioned about her citizenship while walking in her neighborhood, an interaction she recorded after fearing she was being “kidnapped.”
The Department of Homeland Security rejected claims of misconduct, saying officers are facing increased assaults and are acting within the law. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said Garcia fled and became “extremely hostile,” citing “reasonable suspicion” under the Fourth Amendment.
Legal experts disagree. Hamline University professor David Schultz said U.S. citizens are not required to carry identification in public. “We don’t have any requirement in our society to prove who we are to walk the streets,” he said.
The administration has deployed roughly 3,000 officers to Minneapolis, intensifying debate over civil liberties, racial profiling, and the limits of immigration enforcement.
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