The ICE crackdown in Minneapolis is escalating rapidly. So is the local reaction.

TWIN CITIES, Minn. — Four days after an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Good, federal agents in St. Paul limited airflow to a man’s neck until he fell unconscious.

Orbin Mauricio Henríquez Serrano, a Honduran national, was on a circuit Sunday afternoon when a dozen masked Border Patrol agents suddenly invaded his vehicle. They demanded that he roll down the window and show his papers. When he did not obey, they broke the window and dragged him out. pressing him to the ground until his body became inert. They loaded him into a dark, unmarked van and drove away.

Watching the video of his arrest on Monday, his sister Consuelo was sure he was dead. It wasn’t until a day later that he was able to confirm that he had survived and had been sent to a infamous Texas detention tent camp. She told News themezone that she was able to talk to him for “a few seconds” on the phone.

“He just managed to tell me that he is very hurt,” he said. A friend who helped set up a GoFundMe page The family shared photos with News themezone showing the aftermath of the incident: Serrano’s car, with broken windows, parked in a suburban driveway.

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In the week since Good’s murder, federal agents have continued to arrive in Minnesota. The State calls it “invasion.” The Trump administration has deployed an enormous amount of force to Minneapolis: 800 Border Patrol agents and 2,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, which is five times the size of the Minneapolis police force. President Donald Trump has threatened further by invoking the Insurrection Act, which would send the US military to police the streets. On Wednesday night, federal agents shot a man in the leg during what they said was an immigration enforcement operation.

“To us, these are red coats,” Chris Lund, an attorney working to free a community member who had been arrested and detained at the Whipple Federal Building, told me as federal agents watched us from across the way. “These are imperial agents who are here to harm us.”

Despite the impressive force deployed against them, Minnesotans are fighting back. When federal agents arrive in a neighborhood, residents harass them. The almost constant use of chemical agents and physical violence does not stop these efforts. The orange stain from the pepper spray has become something of a mark of pride among locals: evidence that they have stood up for their neighbors. Many of these neighbors are too afraid to leave their homes; When they do, they bring proof of citizenship.

One volunteer, Elanor, said there are some telltale signs of federal vehicles: masked men, of course. License plates from other states, especially those covered in snow, real or fake. “Reckless driving” is another trademark, he said: “running red lights, driving well over the speed limit.” (Many people who spoke to News themezone asked to be identified only by their first name or to remain anonymous given the possibility of retaliation from authorities or employers.)

Group chats buzz, directing concerned residents to places where they might confront officers. In the Twin Cities, dozens of volunteers (some in neon vests, others more incognito, behind masks and hats) track the movements of vehicles they suspect could belong to the federal mission.

Several times when News themezone was present, immigration agents gave the middle finger to observers gathered outside the Whipple Building as they walked away. One couple made a coordinated “6-7” meme. One agent made a distinctive “A-OK” shape with his hand.

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Although ICE is the largest force, the Border Patrol and its field commander Gregory Bovino carry out many of the most brutal operations.

Bovino, the public face of the federal occupation in Minnesota, a roving Border Patrol commander, has a well-earned reputation for police brutality and racial profiling. Federal judges have issued rulings that attempt to curb his behavior in California and Illinois. But his practice in this administration of jumping from one state to another, as well as support from conservatives on the Supreme Courtwhich embraced racial discrimination, has allowed it to operate effectively with impunity.

After Ross shot and killed Good, Bovino said: “I take off my hat” to the killer, and in response to a tweet saying that the Department of Homeland Security had killed a US citizen, Bovino’s account responded: “Provoked a lot?”

Bovino expresses disdain for people who get in his way. In an interview Monday with Twin Cities News affiliate WCCO, he said warned that “weaker-minded people” could “fall victim” to people like Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, or “a community activist who has an agenda.”

That same day, videos showed two Target workers, both US citizens, mocking bovine and several other agents. “Hey, are you guys American citizens?” Bovine asked, walking towards them. “It’s none of your business,” they responded. “Fuck you.” Shortly after, an agent ran after the couple and addressed them to the ground. Department of Homeland Security reclaimed then it was for the crime of “impeding federal officials.” Instead of imprisoning the young men and putting them before a judge, at least one of them was simply He fell several miles away, sobbing and bleeding..

“I’m not well!” he cried. “They threw me to the fucking ground!”

Bovino was also present at the gas station on Sunday, growling at protesters to step back while his men took the wind out of Serrano.

Once they loaded the unconscious man into their truck, the Border Patrol convoy took Serrano to their base of operations: the massive, newly fortified Whipple Federal Building.

There, over the next few hours, officers lobbed pepper balls, gas and stun grenades into a crowd of angry protesters. They pushed them and arrested them.

Officers take that same stance on the streets of Minneapolis.

Recently, the door of a house was broken down despite not have a search warrant. They often approach people on the street and simply demand to see his papersthreatening prolonged detention if they do not comply. they have chemical irritants deployed in a school. On the other hand, they dragged a woman, who saying She was on her way to a doctor’s appointment, out the window of her sedan. “I’m autistic and have a brain injury. Put me down!” the woman shout while the officers carried her by her limbs. “I am disabled and need accommodations!”

On Monday, Border Patrol agents attempted to force their way into a neighborhood pizzeria that recently increase more than $83,000 to help families affected by the surge of immigration agents in the area. When a crowd gathered to confront the officers, one of them deployed a tear gas canister and left.

After this story was published, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement: “ICE law enforcement officers are trained to use the minimum amount of force necessary to resolve dangerous situations to prioritize the safety of the public and our officers. Officers are highly trained in de-escalation tactics and regularly receive ongoing use-of-force training. The agency’s current use-of-force policy is the same as it was in 2023 under President Biden’s administration.”

Terrified by their own government, many people have abandoned public life altogether. Some pregnant patients are too afraid to come for prenatal care, a registered nurse said. Kids ask what to do if ICE shows up at school, one school administrator lamented. Most stalls were closed Sunday at the Mercado Central, a colorful indoor market selling food, toys and clothing.

“People don’t want to go out,” a man working at a flat grill said in Spanish. “People don’t come to the market. Sales are very low and that affects us.”

For some, the increase in immigration agents is bringing to light decades-old trauma.

Josefina Catalán, now 51, said her mother was deported when she was 3 years old. She stayed with a caregiver whose husband abused her, she recalled. Catalan was legalized thanks to the Reagan administration amnesty program.

“I understand the kids’ feelings right now,” he said, referring to Good’s children, including a 6-year-old son. “They are going through the nightmare that I went through when I was a child.”

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At the makeshift memorial on Portland Avenue where Good was killed, a group of Somali women handed out free sambusas and tea to the crowd. Trump flooded the Twin Cities with DHS agents apparently because of a viral video of a conservative influencer smearing Somalis. The women were among many residents who now carry their documents with them everywhere, with the intention of being able to prove they are citizens if federal agents stop them. Sometimes, it’s not enough.

Abdirhman Ahmed Hassan and Ahmed Ahmed, American-born cousins ​​and both 21, said ICE had “pulled” their uncle out of his car and pointed a gun at him, even though he presented a valid passport.

When asked how Minneapolis has been feeling in recent weeks, Hassan responded with one word: “Germany.”

“People stop you for random nonsense,” he said. “It’s terrifying.”

One Ojibwe woman said encountering immigration agents would be terrifying, even if she could show them her tribal ID.

“They’d probably end up shooting me because it would scare me, you know?”

At the Whipple Federal Building, protesters gather daily to translate their neighbors’ fears into outrage. The street outside the main gate, which immigration agents pass daily, has become the closest thing to a plaza that Twin Cities residents have to air their grievances with the provisional local government.

One recent night, heidi Leaf, a project manager, was one of several people who used megaphones there to full effect, not only to give the agents what she thought but, as she told me, to curse them for their actions.

“His lineage ends with “You!” he sang, over and over again. (“The main curse is much longer,” he noted.)

James McGuiggan, a retired Air Force sergeant wearing an Operation Enduring Freedom veteran’s cap and a T-shirt that said “No One Is Illegal on Stolen Land,” smoked nearby and gave a middle finger.

“This is fucked up… This is a land of immigrants,” McGuiggan said. He was the only one in the crowd who didn’t flinch when the federal agents suddenly deployed another round of stun grenades in the air above us. “Oh, fuck you!” he shouted instead.

“I was fucking around at Andrews [Air Force Base]protecting the damn presidents, Air Force One, and I never thought this would happen,” he said, gesturing around.

“Everything I feel like I did was in vain, because now they’re doing this shit to people: shooting American citizens just for trying to protect people.”