ICE Detains Naturalised American Citizen in Minneapolis After Being Targeted for His 'Somali' Features

A naturalised American citizen living in Minneapolis said he was held in ICE detention for two hours solely because he appeared to be Somali. The 20-year-old, who moved to the United States as a young child, said he was detained for no apparent reason other than his ethnicity.

According to MPR, Mubashir was enjoying his lunch break on a sidewalk close to 4th Street and Cedar Avenue in the Cedar-Riverside area. Then out of nowhere, two men suddenly went to him.

Noticing danger, he quickly went into a restaurant. But that did not deter agents, who soon came after him. He, was then taken out by force and arrested against his will. Mubashir recounted that not only was he handcuffed, he was also shoved to the ground in the snow while one of them put him on a chokehold.

Reporting the incident on Wednesday, both Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Police Chief Brian O'Hara condemned the agents' actions.

ICE Arrested Someone by Racially Profiling Him

As per a CCTV footage, Mubashir kept yelling that he had his ID, but the officers didn't answer. He also mentioned that the officers didn't tell him they were from ICE. One vest had 'POLICE FEDERAL OFFICER' written on it, and the other 'POLICE ICE'. They forced him into a car without a license plate and requested that he take his photo.

'I declined, because how will a picture prove I'm a U.S. citizen?', Mubashir said. 'I told him I have my passport, it's in my phone. Can I open it and show you? He declined. I told him can I give you my name and my date of birth. He declined'.

Mubashir claimed that after he refused to take a photo, they held him for about an hour. They also attempted to take his fingerprints, but the digital scanner was broken.

While on his way to Fort Snelling, ICE seemed lost and unaware of the route. They admitted that it was their 'first time' taking someone in and kept switching from one road to another. Mubashir felt that they were trying to intimidate him.

The agents took him to the Whipple Federal Building, made him stand outside in the cold till he agreed to a face scan, which didn't work at first. A little later, when he was inside, it was a staff member who finally gave him permission to switch on his phone and show his ID, and then he was let go.

ICE's Move Was 'Unconstitutional'

Mayor and Attorney Jacob Frey condemned the agents' actions, saying they were being blatantly 'unconstitutional' by not knowing that what they were doing was 'violence and unwillingness to hear the simple truth'. The mayor was referring to Mubashir's repeated statement saying he's an American citizen, as proven by the CCTV footage as well.

Meanwhile, as a Police Chief, O'Hara also confessed that it was an embarrassing moment for the entire law enforcement profession when the agents donned vests with the inscription 'POLICE'. But most importantly, he's disappointed that American citizens who look 'Latino' or 'Somali' get stopped despite not being an illegal immigrant.

An ICE spokesman explained that they were in Minneapolis to investigate high levels of criminal activities among illegal immigrants, such as immigration violations. They called Mubashir a 'probable alien' and ran after him on reasonable suspicion. According to them, he also refused to answer questions, and a group of people came and threatened them.

On explaining their 2-hour detention, they said they were only holding him until he could finish their questioning. They later defended that their law enforcement did not engage in 'racial profling', calling it 'disgusting, reckless, and categorically FALSE'. They added that they use 'reasonable suspicion' for all their arrests. 'What makes someone a target for immigration enforcement is if they are illegally in the U.S. — NOT their skin color, race, or ethnicity', they said.