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Minneapolis has seen an increase in 911 calls over the past few weeks as federal immigration agents descend on the Twin Cities to target the Somali community, raising questions about who can help when armed, masked men show up at homes and businesses unwilling to identify themselves.

Confusion and fear surrounding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity has many wondering about the role local police departments play, whether they can intervene and whether residents should call 911. 

“We have experienced reports in this city … where people call to say that there’s folks that are masked, that they’re not sure if they’re law enforcement, that they may be kidnapping people,” Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said during a news conference last week.

While some community members are turning to local police to report ICE activity, others are looking to local organizations due to police inaction in the past and police crowd control that some advocates say amounted to cooperation with federal officials.

Community members are rightfully concerned because many federal agents wear masks and are armed, and many arrests look like kidnappings, said Miguel Hernandez, an organizer with the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC). It makes sense that some people are turning to local police, he said, but others remain distrustful of police more than five years after Minneapolis police murdered George Floyd.

“A lot of people don’t feel like they can trust the police, and that [police] will just err on the side of federal agents,” Hernandez said. “I know those comments by the [Minneapolis] mayor and the chief of police sounded like they were on our side, that they were there for immigrants in the Somali community, but they have yet to prove that.”

Local police departments are receiving reports about federal agents confronting and arresting people as the Trump administration ramps up immigration enforcement targeting the local Somali community in “Operation Metro Surge.” Immigration officials have also confirmed the arrests of several Latino community members since the operation began last week.

“It’s a little overwhelming just the volume of stories we’re trying to sift through and figure out what’s true and what’s not and what may be happening,” O’Hara said at a Wednesday news conference involving the 

wrongful arrest of a Somali man and U.S. citizen, Mubashir

While O’Hara has made a few public comments about the 911 calls, he hasn’t discussed how his department is investigating the calls, or whether they’re responding to them in person. Minneapolis police did not return several messages from Sahan Journal seeking comment. St. Paul police also did not respond to requests for comment.

Burnsville police responded in person to two separate suspected immigration enforcement incidents on Saturday, Dec. 6: In one case, officers took a report from a resident at an apartment complex after federal authorities had already left. The other incident involved Burnsville police helping with traffic control at a federal immigration enforcement event, according to the statement. 

The city of Burnsville issued a public statement confirming the presence of federal immigration agents in the city. Burnsville police declined to answer questions about the incidents, and referred back to the city’s statement, which provided no details about local officers’ interaction with federal officers.

“We know this has created fear and uncertainty for many in our community,” the statement reads. “You should never hesitate to call 911 if you witness or are a victim of a crime, regardless of your immigration status. To everyone in our community, your safety and well-being are always our focus.”

The city said its officers do not assist federal agents with immigration enforcement, but has not ruled out providing crowd control to “ensure safety for everyone present” at protests of federal actions.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter and their respective police departments have also said their staff and police do not cooperate with immigration enforcement, but will provide crowd control at protests where safety becomes an issue. But many community members and some local politicians say local police have crossed the line. 

Last month, St. Paul officers were called in for crowd control as dozens of federal agents surrounded a home on the city’s East Side to arrest a man. Clashes with protesters led St. Paul officers to use tear gas and pepper balls on the public and media. 

St. Paul City Council Vice President Hwa Jeong Kim told Sahan Journal

 the police force was “abhorrent,” and the Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists issued a statement condemning police use of force against photojournalists at the scene, three of whom were injured by less-lethal munitions. Community members held a news conference Monday at St. Paul City Hall saying St. Paul police violated protesters’ First Amendment rights, and aided and abetted federal agents through their actions.

But the department maintains that officers were not cooperating with federal agents, and were only ensuring public safety.

“They say that they were not cooperating in the actual immigration enforcement, but the line gets a little blurry there,” said Virgil Wiebe, an immigration attorney and law professor at the University of St. Thomas.

Minneapolis police were criticized for similar action in June when officers held back protesters as federal agents executed a search warrant for drugs and money laundering at a Minneapolis taco restaurant on Lake Street. 

The Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution establishes federal law as “the supreme Law of the Land,” and 18 U.S.C. § 111 criminalizes impeding federal law enforcement officers from performing their duties. The combination of those provisions makes it illegal for local police to physically intervene during ICE enforcement actions, Wiebe said.

According to Wiebe: Local law enforcement can refuse to cooperate with ICE on immigration enforcement, but can carefully document what’s happening. Officers can ask federal agents questions about warrants and probable cause, and inform citizens of their rights, such as the right to remain silent. 

In limited circumstances, local police can also investigate federal agents after-the-fact for actions that appear unlawful, like a hit-and-run. 

“The bottom line is that federal agents do not have a license to act unlawfully, but the way for local law enforcement to respond to unlawful actions of federal agents is limited,” Wiebe told Sahan Journal. “It has to be after-the-fact. They can’t intervene or block or get in the way of an ICE enforcement action.”

Despite local police’s limited authority, O’Hara said during a news conference that his officers have a duty to intervene should they witness federal agents using excessive force. 

While local police have the right to intervene when they see excessive force because it’s against the law, they couldn’t interfere with the person being taken into immigration custody, said Emmanuel Mauleón, a University of Minnesota law professor. But Mauleón’s skeptical that local police would actually interrupt such a scenario. 

“It’s very rare that officers intervene in the excessive force of their own colleagues,” Mauleón said. “Part of my skepticism is that it feels even less likely that they’re going to intervene in the enforcement of an agency that they’re not connected to.”

O’Hara said at a news conference last week that community members should call 911 if they see someone who is masked or if they’re unsure whether someone is a law enforcement officer. 

Michelle Gross, president of Communities United Against Police Brutality, said past police inaction makes her skeptical about calling them on immigration agents, but “to the extent that the Minneapolis police have said they’re going to do something about this, [community members] can give them a chance.”

“[Minneapolis police] have every obligation to defend our community, and they should make it about their business doing that,” Gross said.

Gross also recommends that residents call local organizations, like the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC), which have developed rapid response networks.

Scores of community members report to MIRAC via Instagram, text message and the encrypted messaging app Telegram when they see possible immigration activity. MIRAC organizers, who number between 60 and 80 people, respond to the scene to vet public tips, then put out a call for observers to record video and collect details of the immigration activity, said Hernandez with MIRAC. 

“We want people to document the lack of due process that is happening with ICE and [Department of Homeland Security] and any enforcement of immigration, because they look like kidnappings,” Hernandez said. “We want details like, how many officers, what kind of equipment they have, how many vehicles, what time it is, if they’re still present … and try to get it out to our wider community.”

Hernandez said MIRAC volunteers try to document as much information as they can to assist the people who have been arrested and their families with their cases, as well as for use in reporting human rights violations.

At a Dec. 4 rally outside in the Target parking lot on E. Lake Street, several immigrant advocates recommended against calling the police to report potential ICE sightings. More than a hundred immigrant advocates gathered to demand that Target prohibit ICE from using their parking lots. They voiced concerns about trusting local police. 

Minnesotans should instead reach out to local immigrant advocacy groups, such as Monarca or MIRAC, said Luis Argueta, communications director at Unidos MN. 

He also said that Minneapolis and St. Paul police are working with immigrant advocacy groups.

Sahan Journal reporter Katelyn Vue contributed to this report.

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