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By Andrew Stanton
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The police chief of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, said during a press conference on Tuesday that off-duty officers have been asked by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to provide proof of citizenship.
Newsweek reached out to ICE for comment via email.
Why It Matters
Minnesota has seen immigration enforcement ramped up in recent weeks as President Donald Trump’s administration moves to carry out mass deportations. The city has experienced growing unrest following the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent earlier in January.
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Local officials have called on ICE to leave the Twin Cities region amid concerns that they are exacerbating tension on the ground, while ICE has been accused of racial profiling amid the enforcement.
What To Know
A coalition of law enforcement officials from the Twin Cities area held a press conference on Tuesday to discuss ICE. Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley raised concerns that some of his officers were told by federal agents to show proof of their citizenship. He said his department has received citizen concerns about “civil rights violations.”
“What we're hearing is they're being stopped in traffic stops or on the street with no cause and being forced to [show] paperwork to determine if they are here legally,” he said. “As this went on over the past two weeks, we started hearing from our police officers the same complaints as they fell victim to this while off duty.”
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Every one of those individuals is a person of color, he said, adding that it “has to stop.”
One officer was stopped by ICE agents who “boxed her in” and demanded paperwork, Bruley said. However, she is an American citizen who “clearly” would not be carrying any, he said. She began to record the incident after becoming “concerned” about the rhetoric and way she was being treated, and her phone was “knocked out of her hands,” he said.
When the officer identified herself as law enforcement, the agents left without making any further comments or apologies, he said.
“I wish I could tell you that this was an isolated incident. In fact, many of the chiefs standing behind me have similar incidents with their off-duty officers,” he said. “This isn’t just important because it happened to off-duty police officers. But what it did do is—we know our officers know what the Constitution is. They know what right or wrong is. They know when people are being targeted, and that’s what they were.”
ICE Sued for Alleged Racial Profiling
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) announced a lawsuit against the Trump administration, accusing it of “racial profiling” in Minnesota.
“Federal agents’ conduct — sweeping up Minnesotans through racial profiling and unlawful arrests — is a grave violation of Minnesotans’ most fundamental rights, and it has spread fear among immigrant communities and neighborhoods. No one, including federal agents, is above the law,” Catherine Ahlin-Halverson, staff attorney with the ACLU of Minnesota, wrote in a statement announcing the lawsuit.
A similar lawsuit was filed on September 25, 2025, by four Washington, D.C., residents and the nonprofit CASA.
Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin previously told Newsweek that ICE does not engage in racial profiling.
“Allegations that ICE engages in ‘racial profiling’ are disgusting, reckless and categorically FALSE. This type of garbage is contributing to our officers facing a more than 1300% increase in assaults against them. A person’s immigration status makes them a target for enforcement, not their skin color, race or ethnicity. Law enforcement uses ‘reasonable suspicion’ to make arrests, as allowed under the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,” McLaughlin said.
What People Are Saying
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said last week: “If we are on a target, there may be individuals surrounding that criminal that we may be asking who they are and why they're there and having them validate their identity.”
Journalist David J. Lynch responded to Chief Mark Bruley's remarks on X: “ICE is now pulling over off-duty Minneapolis cops and demanding proof of citizenship.”
Political commentator Joe Walsh wrote on X: “This must stop. ICE must get the hell out of Minneapolis. And then ICE must be abolished.”
What Happens Next
Minneapolis and its surrounding communities remain on edge amid heightened immigration enforcement, as the administration has not signaled any plans to slow its policies.
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