An off-duty cop was surrounded by ICE agents with guns drawn, and police leaders are furious

An off-duty police officer in Minnesota was surrounded by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents with guns drawn during a recent encounter, according to local law enforcement officials, raising serious concerns about civil rights violations during a large-scale federal enforcement surge. The incident came to light through reporting by The Washington Post.

Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley described the encounter at a Tuesday news conference, saying ICE agents boxed in the officer’s vehicle and immediately demanded documentation proving she was legally in the United States. The officer is a U.S. citizen and did not have immigration paperwork on hand.

When she tried to record the interaction on her phone, an agent knocked the device out of her hand, Bruley said. After she identified herself as a police officer, the agents left the scene without further explanation.

Police chiefs say the encounters point to a troubling pattern

Bruley said the incident was not isolated, noting that every off-duty officer in his city who has been stopped by ICE during the current surge has been a person of color. This concern echoes broader federal enforcement debates, such as the discussion about abolishing ICE. He said the pattern raises broader concerns about how enforcement actions are being carried out and who is being targeted.

Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt echoed those concerns, saying people are being stopped, questioned, and harassed based solely on the color of their skin. She said those actions damage trust between communities and law enforcement, particularly in areas already struggling with strained relationships.

St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry said city employees have been subjected to traffic stops that he believes fall outside the legal authority of federal agents. He added that many residents are afraid to leave their homes, not because of their immigration status, but because they fear being stopped based on their appearance, a fear reflected in other local incidents of overreach from higher-ups, where people have publicly protested mistreatment.

The encounters are occurring amid Operation Metro Surge, which began in December and was described by the Department of Homeland Security as its largest immigration enforcement operation to date. Data reviewed by The Washington Post indicates the Trump administration has increasingly focused enforcement on unauthorized immigrants without criminal records.

When asked about the specific incident involving the off-duty officer, DHS said Wednesday morning that it had no record of ICE or Border Patrol stopping or questioning a police officer and could not verify the account without a name. DHS officials added that agents do not engage in racial profiling and only ask for identification from people near enforcement operations.

Border Patrol official Greg Bovino, who is overseeing the operation, defended the actions as professional and appropriate. He blamed local Democratic leaders, including Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, for what he described as interference, saying public calls to dial 911 when agents are nearby have overwhelmed emergency systems with unnecessary calls.

Minnesota officials have since filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of the operation, arguing that armed and masked DHS agents have conducted militarized raids at sensitive locations such as hospitals and schools.