Immigration enforcement in Minnesota

Brooklyn Park man 'lured' outside his home by ICE agents deported to Mexico

Border patrol agents at a gas station
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents wait for a flat tire to be fixed on one of their vehicles in Minneapolis on Jan. 21.
Ben Hovland | MPR News

The Brooklyn Park man who was detained by U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents last month after he tried to help two apparently stranded motorists has been deported to Mexico. 

According to his attorney John Hayden, the two women who knocked on the man’s door to ask for help with their car were ICE agents. The man, who is an auto mechanic, was surrounded by agents after he left his home to offer assistance.

Hayden said four days after his arrest, the man was walking back across the border from the U.S. to Mexico, where he is a citizen. The DHS social media account says the man is a former gang member and has previously re-entered the country after being removed, which is a felony. 

Hayden said he’s found no evidence of gang activity in the man’s background, and he said his client has been a law-abiding family man. However, it became apparent that efforts to keep him in the US would not be successful and he decided to withdraw his court petition challenging the man’s detention. 

“His six kids are now without their father,” said Hayden.