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Just after sunrise, as the smell of breakfast filled a home in Minneapolis, A.J. — who spoke to MPR News through a Spanish-language translator and asked that only her initials be used — stepped outside to take out the trash. Several unmarked cars were parked along the street in front of her house.

“ICE is here! ICE is here!” she shouted to her family as she ran back inside.

Within minutes, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents surrounded the family’s home. By the end of the morning, the couple’s 20-year-old son — a Venezuelan refugee with legal status, no criminal record and a pending green card application — was in handcuffs and driven away.

The young man has since been released, but the early-morning encounter has galvanized refugee advocates and underscored growing concern about a sweeping 

 in Minnesota that critics say targets resettled refugees who have already undergone extensive government vetting.

The family says the agents arrived in force. A.J. and her husband, J.J., say roughly 20 officers came in at least six cars, some pounding on the front door as their younger children huddled together in fear in the living room.

J.J. said he held up the family’s immigration documents through a window as agents continued banging. Although weapons were not pointed directly at the family, he said officers had their fingers on their triggers throughout the encounter.

They came to the U.S. to escape repression

The couple fled Caracas, Venezuela after political instability and repression, and entered the United States legally under refugee status. They said they complied with all required interviews, medical exams, vaccinations, fingerprinting and background checks when they resettled in Minnesota.

At the time agents arrived, their son was not home. He had stayed overnight at a friend’s house nearby. ICE officers asked for him by name and told A.J. they were there only to resolve a fingerprint issue, assuring her they would not detain him, she said.

Believing the matter to be administrative, A.J. called her son and asked him to return home. When he arrived, agents surrounded him, placed him in handcuffs and drove him away. The family’s daughter recorded the arrest on her phone.

A.J. said she feared she would never see her son again.

“My son is going to fight from the inside,” she said. “We have to fight on the outside.”

The young man, who has legal refugee status and a pending green card application, spent more than 48 hours in a holding facility at the Fort Snelling immigration court. He said detainees were held without beds and remained shackled. Though relieved to be home, he described feeling traumatized and said he now constantly watches the street, on edge.

On ICE enforcement in Minnesota

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DHS ‘re-examining’ immigration cases involving refugees

Federal officials say the detention was part of Operation PARRIS — Post-Admission Refugee Reverification and Integrity Strengthening — a Department of Homeland Security initiative aimed at re-examining the immigration cases of thousands of refugees living in Minnesota. DHS says the operation involves enhanced background checks and reinterviews of refugees who have not yet received permanent residency.

The initiative reportedly focuses on roughly 5,600 refugees in Minnesota “who have not yet been given lawful permanent resident status.” 

Advocates say the campaign is unprecedented and harmful, noting that refugees already undergo one of the most rigorous screening processes of any group entering the United States. Organizations including Refugee Council USA and World Relief have condemned what they describe as punitive and destabilizing enforcement actions against refugees who are legally present and have no criminal records.

Legal advocates and refugee support groups say the effort has generated widespread fear among immigrant communities across the state. Many refugees resettled in the U.S. fled persecution and warn that detention or deportation could place them in life-threatening situations if forced to return.

People with refugee status are asking the federal courts to free them.

Court documents show a number of refugees have filed habeas corpus petitions challenging the legality of their detentions.

That includes the case of a Somali woman who was detained last weekend. According to the petition, the woman was arrested by immigration agents in St. Cloud while she was running an errand. Her case has since been dismissed.

Another Somali citizen admitted as a refugee in 2023 was detained Jan. 13. At the time of the habeas filing, his attorney believed he was being held at a holding facility at Fort Snelling. He has since been released.

On Jan. 14, another Somali refugee who has been living in the U.S. since 2024 was detained while running errands in Minneapolis. That case remains pending.

Lawyers representing each of these individuals say their detentions violate due process rights guaranteed under the Fifth Amendment.

The family’s son has returned home, but the encounter continues to weigh heavily on him and his parents.

“We came here for safety and I thought we were safe,” J.J. said. “What is the difference between what’s happening in Venezuela and here?”

As Operation PARRIS continues, families like theirs are raising urgent questions about the balance between immigration enforcement and civil liberties in Minnesota’s refugee communities.

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to an MPR News request for comment.

Reporter Regina Medina contributed to this story.

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Immigration enforcement in Minnesota

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A Minneapolis family says U.S. immigration agents detained their son, an incident advocates say highlights a broader federal initiative that is fueling fear in legally present refugee communities.

‘ICE is here!’ Refugee family with legal status unsettled by early morning arrest

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