ICE Unhinged: Door‑to‑Door Raids in St Paul Show a Frightening Escalation
Door‑to‑door raids come to Minnesota. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) deployed more than 2,000 federal agents to the Minneapolis–St Paul area in early January.
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TL;DR
“Metro Surge” in the Twin Cities: roughly 2,000 ICE/HSI personnel have been surged into Minneapolis–St. Paul, with door-to-door workplace checks and reports it’s spilling into neighborhoods.
Accountability showdown: after Renee Nicole Good was killed, Vice President J.D. Vance claimed federal officers have “absolute immunity”—legal experts say federal immunity is limited, not blanket.
Escalation pattern: immigration-enforcement shootings have spiked since July, and communities are responding in the streets.
What to do: don’t open the door without a judge-signed warrant, document from a safe distance, share this, and plug into legal observer / mutual-aid networks.
What’s happening in St Paul
Federal authorities recently launched Operation Metro Surge, sending up to 2,000 Homeland Security Investigation agents into the Minneapolis–St Paul area. Acting ICE director Todd Lyons admitted that agents are “going door to door” at companies suspected of hiring undocumented immigrants. Local reporters and residents say the operation has spilled into neighborhoods, with officers pounding on residential doors, brandishing long guns and demanding identification.
The stated goal is to investigate fraud, human‑smuggling rings and document forgery. Yet community members describe it as a mass intimidation campaign. People have been detained for hours while agents ransacked homes and offices. At least one business owner told a reported that agents demanded to see payroll records and threatened to arrest employees on the spot.
At the same time, DHS press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that the administration will continue door‑to‑door investigations of these alleged crimes. With this level of force, it’s hard not to see parallels to authoritarian crackdowns abroad.
“It looks like a war zone,” said a St Paul resident who watched agents in camo vests swarm a street. “My kids are terrified to open the door.”
Why this crackdown is unhinged
This administration is sending us a message that “We can show up at your door with guns and you can’t do anything about it.” The government’s narrative is that these raids target fraud, human trafficking/smuggling investigations, and employers suspected of hiring undocumented immigrants but the reality is a sweep across immigrant neighborhoods that instills fear and trauma. The operation occurs days after an ICE officer fatally shot Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis and months after ICE officers killed Silverio Villegas González during a traffic stop in suburban Chicago. Each death has been met with official spin or silence.
Vice President J.D. Vance, who said the ICE officer is “protected by absolute immunity” and was “doing his job” a claim that implies Minnesota prosecutors have no role here. In truth, Supremacy Clause immunity is not absolute: it generally applies only when a federal officer was acting within the scope of lawful federal authority (and, in practice, it’s heavily litigated). By proclaiming absolute impunity, Vance is signaling to ICE and CBP officers that there will be no consequences.
Communities are fighting back
Protests erupted almost immediately. In Minneapolis, residents and activists have confronted heavily armed agents during door-to-door operations screaming at them, honking car horns, banging drums, and blowing whistles in an effort to disrupt raids in residential neighborhoods. In St. Paul, enforcement has expanded on the East Side as well, including a large-scale raid on Payne Avenue that drew significant public attention. Activists across the Twin Cities have been running know-your-rights/raid-response efforts and deploying trained “constitutional observers” to enforcement activity within minutes. Churches have also been mobilizing, holding special services and organizing support for immigrant neighbors amid the crackdown.
Local officials have also pushed back. St. Paul mayor Melvin Carter called the raids a “carnival” and said, “This is not public safety”, it does not make the community safer. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison joined Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty in launching a state probe; Moriarty said the state has jurisdiction and that the ICE officer does not have “complete immunity,” directly undercutting Vance’s “absolute immunity” framing.
What are your thoughts on ICE’s tactics? How do you feel about Vance saying ICE gets absolute immunity? Let us know your predictions for the next few years.
Understanding immunity and accountability
Federal officers are not above the law. Under Supreme Court precedent and modern doctrine applying it, state prosecutions are generally barred only when a federal officer was performing an act he was authorized to do under federal law and, in doing so, used no more force than was “necessary and proper.” Conduct outside those bounds may be prosecuted (though the fight is often over whether immunity applies, and cases can be removed to federal court). Scholars have rejected Vance’s “absolute immunity” framing; law professor Eugene Volokh wrote that it’s “preposterous” to claim underlings have absolute immunity.
When ICE and CBP kill civilians, there must be accountability. Allowing agents to claim impunity would encourage more reckless raids and lethal force. Minnesota officials have launched a parallel state probe into Good’s death. In Illinois, the killing of Silverio González has drawn scrutiny and calls for an independent investigation amid transparency concerns. We should demand similar independent oversight for all deaths linked to immigration enforcement.
What you can do
Document everything. If you witness a raid, film from a safe distance and upload your footage to secure channels.
Know your rights. Remind your neighbors that they don’t have to open the door unless officers produce a warrant signed by a judge. Have a plan for how to respond.
Pressure officials. Call your city council, state legislators and members of Congress. Demand that they oppose militarized raids and challenge claims of absolute immunity.
Share. Use the share button below to email, text or post this article to your networks. Silence enables authoritarianism.
Organize. Join or support local mutual‑aid groups and immigrant‑rights organizations. Collective action can shield vulnerable communities.
ICE Out For Good: There were over 1,000 Protests between the 10th and 11th
When Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, the coalition response was activated. Within 48 hours dozens of organizations and groups organized over 1,000 vigils, protests, and marches nationwide under the banner “ICE Out For Good Weekend of Action.” Indivisible said that in less than 24 hours after the announcement, there were already 1,000 events anticipated nationwide planned.
Protesters showed up where pressure could be applied. In Tucson, they lined up outside Congressman Juan Ciscomani’s office. In Stuart, Florida, they assembled at Representative Brian Mast’s who publicly defended the shooting. Philadelphia activists mapped a deliberate route from City Hall to the federal detention center. In Fairfield, Connecticut, more than 100 people chose a Home Depot parking lot, a pointed reference to the commercial spaces where ICE operations frequently target day laborers.
Minneapolis drew tens of thousands marching through city streets. Manhattan crowds pushed through rain under umbrellas. Several North Carolina cities held concurrent rallies, Durham, Raleigh(Raw-lee), and smaller municipalities (Mune isss ip al iii teee) where national movements often fail to reach. Events were planned from Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, to Machias in eastern Maine, evidence that organizing networks now extend well beyond coastal activist hubs.
The operational choices reveal strategic thinking. Organizers explicitly emphasized nonviolent, lawful, and community-led actions. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said about 29 people were arrested Friday night after some demonstrators damaged property, but emphasized the primary demonstrations remained nonviolent. Portland saw six arrests following a separate Border Patrol incident. Given the scale of participation, those numbers reflect discipline.
Leah Greenberg of Indivisible framed the weekend as a response to “the pattern of harm that ICE’s violence represents”, systemic critique, not isolated grief. Amy Aponte of the Party for Socialism and Liberation offered a blunter assessment in Raleigh: if federal agents can kill a white woman like Renee Good in broad daylight, “they can kill you.”
Protesters carried signs reading “Stop Looking Away” and “It’s ICE Cold in America.” They chanted “ICE has got to go” and “No fascist USA,” and many called to abolish ICE. But the weekend’s real message wasn’t on the signs. It was in the speed, the spread, and the steadiness of it all to defend our neighbors and to look out for each other.
The resistance infrastructure that organizations have spent years building just demonstrated what it can do under pressure.
Sources
The Guardian (Jan. 6, 2026): “door to door” at companies + escalation details and political context
Vox (Jan. 2026): explainer on Supremacy Clause immunity—not absolute; “necessary and proper” standard; cites Neagle + Martin
Cornell LII: In re Neagle (1890) full text (core federal-officer immunity precedent)
ACLU national press release (Jan. 2026): Day One recap; cites 1,000+ actions and coalition framing
Indivisible statement: coalition announcement + nationwide weekend of action framing
OPB (Jan. 2026): Border Patrol shooting in Portland; DHS IDs; 6 arrested in protests
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Renee Good’s murder is the last straw. It has motivated a group of us to organize a “Free America Walkout” in West Hartford CT on January 20! WALKOUT FOR RENEE and others killed by ICE and CBP
I’ve watched all of the videos at least 50 times. The ICE agent who murdered Renee Good must be charged with 2nd Degree Murder, be arrested, and be put on trial. We cannot allow murder (by ANYONE) to happen with no accountability!