Minneapolis – A disturbing incident involving immigration agents in Minneapolis has drawn millions of views on social media and raised serious questions about enforcement practices. Aliya Rahman, a US citizen, was forcibly removed from her vehicle by immigration agents while en route to a medical appointment, according to a statement released Thursday. The incident highlights the intensifying immigration enforcement operations across the midwestern city and has sparked widespread concern about the tactics employed by federal authorities.
The Detention Incident Involving Immigration Agents
Rahman stated she was traveling to a routine appointment at the Traumatic Brain Injury Center when she encountered immigration agents at an intersection. Video footage shows immigration agents shouting commands over a cacophony of whistles, car horns, and screams from protesters gathered at the scene.
In the dramatic footage, one masked agent is seen smashing Rahman’s passenger side window while other immigration agents cut her seatbelt and drag her out of the car through the driver’s side door. Multiple guards then carried her by her arms and legs toward an ICE vehicle as she protested the treatment.
“I’m disabled trying to go to the doctor up there, that’s why I didn’t move,” Rahman said, gesturing down the street as officers pulled her arms behind her back. Her account contradicts the official narrative provided by federal authorities regarding the circumstances of her detention by immigration agents.
Legal Representation and Conflicting Accounts
Alexa Van Brunt, Rahman’s attorney and director of the MacArthur Justice Center, described Rahman as being caught in a “terrible and confusing position” with “no where to go.” Van Brunt explained that Rahman faced impossible choices when confronted by immigration agents.
“Her only options were to move her car forward in the direction of ICE officers and risk being accused of trying to harm them—which led to Renee Good’s death—or stay stationary, which in the end led to physical violence and abuse,” Van Brunt wrote in a statement.
However, the Department of Homeland Security disputed this account in an emailed statement Thursday. A spokesperson claimed Rahman was an agitator who “ignored multiple commands by an officer to move her vehicle away from the scene.” The immigration agents reportedly arrested Rahman along with six other people classified as agitators, one of whom was accused of jumping on an officer’s back.
The department did not specify whether Rahman was charged or respond to questions about her assertion that she was denied medical treatment while in custody of immigration agents.
Medical Emergency in Detention
Following her detention by immigration agents, Rahman said she was brought to a detention center where she repeatedly requested medical care. According to her statement, masked agents “dragged me from my car and bound me like an animal, even after I told them that I was disabled.”
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While in custody, Rahman said she repeatedly asked for a doctor but was instead taken to the detention center without receiving medical attention. “It was not until I lost consciousness in my cell that I was finally taken to a hospital,” Rahman stated.
Rahman was treated for injuries consistent with assault, according to her counsel, and has since been released from the hospital. She thanked the emergency department staff for their care, saying, “They gave me hope when I thought I was going to die.”
Wave of Viral Videos Documents Immigration Agents’ Activities
Rahman’s arrest is one of many incidents involving immigration agents that have garnered millions of views on social media in recent days. These videos have been scrutinized amid conflicting accounts from federal officials and civilian eyewitnesses, revealing an intensifying immigration crackdown across Minneapolis.
Local officials have likened the situation to a “federal invasion” as thousands of immigration agents execute arrests amid ongoing protests. The videos share common themes: protesters blowing whistles, yelling, or honking horns; immigration agents breaking vehicle windows, using pepper spray on protesters, and warning observers not to follow them through public spaces.
Additional Incidents Captured on Video
In one video, heavily armed immigration agents used a battering ram to break through the front door of Garrison Gibson’s Minneapolis home, where his wife and 9-year-old child were inside. The footage captures a woman’s voice asking, “Where is the warrant?” and “Can you put the guns down? There is kids in this house.”
Another video shows immigration agents, including Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino, detaining two employees at a Target store in Richfield, Minnesota. Both individuals are US citizens who were later released, according to social media posts from family members.
Community Response to Immigration Agents
Monica Bicking, 40, a nurse leaving the homeless shelter where she works, recorded video appearing to show a federal agent kneeing a man at least five times in the face while several other immigration agents pinned him facedown on the pavement in south Minneapolis.
Bicking noted that encountering immigration agents has “become commonplace in recent weeks.” She now carries a whistle in case she encounters them during her daily routine. “We’re hypervigilant every time we leave our houses, looking for ICE, trying to protect our neighbors, trying to support our neighbors, who are now just on lockdown,” Bicking said, reflecting the community’s heightened awareness of immigration agents’ presence.
