ICE Breaks Down Wrong Door, Detains US Citizen in Blue Shorts and Crocs During Minnesota Freeze

ChongLy Scott Thao was having a Sunday afternoon nap when his daughter-in-law woke him with alarming news. Federal agents were banging on the door of their St Paul home. He told her not to answer. Moments later, masked officers smashed through the door with guns drawn.

What happened next has become one of the most widely shared images from Minnesota's ongoing immigration crackdown. Thao, a 56-year-old US citizen, was dragged out into -12°C (10°F) weather wearing nothing but blue shorts and Crocs, a baby blanket thrown over his bare shoulders, his hands cuffed behind his back. 'I was scared, so I didn't know what was going on,' Thao said. 'I thought maybe they got the wrong person, and then they just told me to come out there and handcuffed me.' They had got the wrong person. Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers drove Thao around for about an hour, questioning and fingerprinting him, before eventually dropping him back home. No apology. No explanation.

Video Goes Viral as Neighbours Blow Whistles in Protest

Neighbours captured the Sunday afternoon scene on video. Multiple angles show at least a dozen federal agents in military-style gear surrounding Thao's home on the city's East Side whilst protesters blow whistles and honk horns. The footage spread across social media, with comedian Kathy Griffin sharing images of Thao's arrest alongside calls to abolish ICE.

'They just took me out there with no clothes on and then just covered with my grandson's blanket,' Thao said. 'Yeah, they just took me out there, and I was like, "Man, this is, this is embarrassing."'

The raid happened around 13:30 on 18 January. Thao's daughter-in-law, Malai Hang, was home with their four-year-old son when federal officers began yelling through the door, demanding identification. The family refused to respond.

The agents broke through. No warrant was shown, according to Thao and Hang. Guns pointed at the family as Thao's grandson slept on the sofa nearby. The child woke up crying. At least eight agents stormed inside the house whilst about seven others remained outside. When Thao asked if he could put on warmer clothes, 'they just don't care,' he recalled.

Thao asked his daughter-in-law to find his identification, but agents told him they didn't want to see it. Instead, they handcuffed him in front of his terrified grandson and marched him outside. 'I was shaking,' Thao said. 'They didn't show any warrant; they just broke down the door.'

Driven Around and Photographed in the Cold

Federal agents drove Thao around for about an hour, asking where he was born and whether he had a visa. At one point, they made him get out of the car in the frigid weather to photograph him. He feared they might beat him.

They took his fingerprints and searched what appeared to be a federal database on their laptops, but couldn't find information about him. That's because Thao became a naturalised US citizen about 20 years ago. Agents showed Thao photos of two men and asked for their address. He said he didn't know them. 'I just hoped that they wouldn't send me back to Laos,' Thao said. 'I just wanted to be brought back home safe.'

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Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin issued a statement confirming Thao is a US citizen and was not the intended target. She said he matched the description of two men with criminal convictions who had final orders of removal.

McLaughlin's statement claimed the two men targeted lived with him in the house. Thao said he didn't know the two men. His family has lived at the home for two years—just him, his son Chris, daughter-in-law Malai, and their four-year-old. Court records show Thao has no criminal history in Minnesota.

St Paul Mayor Kaohly Her, a Hmong American, visited the family and expressed outrage. 'ICE is not doing what they say they're doing,' she wrote. 'They're not going after hardened criminals. They're going after anyone and everyone in their path.'

Mother Was Legendary Secret War Nurse

What makes this case particularly painful is Thao's family history. His adoptive mother, Choua Thao, was one of the first Hmong nurses trained to help American forces during the CIA's Secret War in Laos from 1961 to 1975.

Choua was recruited at just 13 years old for nurse training. By age 22, she became head administrator of Sam Thong Hospital in Laos, which was run by the CIA. She oversaw 360 medics and staff, managing a hospital that treated over 500 patients daily—mostly wounded soldiers.

When communists took over Laos in the 1970s, Choua's life was in danger because of her work supporting Americans. The family fled to the United States as refugees in 1976, when ChongLy was four. Choua passed away just three weeks before her son's detention.

'Choua ensured all her children became naturalised US citizens,' Thao's sister-in-law Louansee Moua wrote on a GoFundMe page. 'She believed deeply in doing things the right way, in protecting life, dignity, and family.'

Moua is in contact with Minnesota's congressional offices, the state attorney general's office, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota to look into filing a lawsuit against the federal government. Thao now says he doesn't feel safe sleeping in his own home. 'I don't feel safe at all,' he said. 'What did I do wrong? I didn't do anything.'

The warrantless entry and treatment of a US citizen whose family served America has sparked outrage well beyond Minnesota's Hmong community, raising broader questions about immigration enforcement tactics during the current surge of federal operations in the Twin Cities.