Federal agents use pepper spray on crowd in Somali neighborhood of Minneapolis amid Trump crackdown

Federal agents deployed pepper spray during a tense confrontation in a predominantly Somali neighborhood of Minneapolis on Tuesday, as they conducted identification checks amid the Trump administration’s intensified immigration enforcement actions targeting the community.

City Council Member Jamal Osman, a Somali American representing the neighborhood, witnessed the incident alongside an Associated Press videographer. The confrontation occurred as federal agents attempted to leave the area but were blocked by protesters who surrounded their vehicles.

Minnesota’s Somali community, the largest in the United States, has been experiencing heightened anxiety since Thanksgiving night when President Donald Trump announced on social media his intention to terminate their Temporary Protected Status. This announcement sent shockwaves through the community of approximately 84,000 Somalis living in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.

According to Osman, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents visited several East African restaurants in the neighborhood Tuesday, temporarily closing the establishments while demanding identification from patrons. The agents reportedly found only U.S. citizens during these checks and made no arrests at the restaurants.

“Luckily everyone had their passport, because I’ve been telling them to have their passport with them,” Osman explained, highlighting the precautionary measures community members have adopted.

After checking IDs of random pedestrians and briefly detaining at least one U.S. citizen, the agents proceeded in a convoy of seven to ten vehicles to a nearby city-owned senior housing complex. There, they encountered resistance from what Osman described as a group of “mostly white young people” who he called “heroes.” These protesters used whistles to alert residents and physically confronted the agents, who responded by deploying pepper spray.

“Thank God so many people showed up there,” Osman said. “The agents couldn’t get out of there because people showed up with their cars and whistles.”

Osman reported witnessing people suffering from the effects of the pepper spray. He also recounted speaking with a young Somali American who was forcibly detained and transported to an ICE detention center. According to Osman, after officials eventually examined the young man’s U.S. passport and fingerprinted him, they released him but told him to find his own way home, approximately six miles away in snowy conditions.

“I just don’t know what they accomplished today other than the chaos,” Osman remarked.

ICE officials stated via email that they made no arrests in the neighborhood Tuesday but provided no additional details about their operations.

Tensions escalated further last week when Trump referred to Somalis as “garbage” and expressed that he does not want them in the country. These remarks coincided with the launch of federal enforcement actions targeting Minnesota’s Somali population, drawing sharp criticism from community leaders and Democratic officials, including Governor Tim Walz, while top state Republicans have remained largely silent on the issue.

The demographic reality of Minnesota’s Somali community contrasts starkly with the current enforcement focus. Of the approximately 260,000 Somalis in the United States, about 84,000 reside in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. The overwhelming majority are U.S. citizens, with nearly 58% born in the United States and 87% of foreign-born Somalis having obtained naturalized citizenship.

The Department of Homeland Security recently launched a website listing at least six Somalis arrested in Minnesota in recent weeks, stating it aims to highlight “the worst of worst criminal aliens” to demonstrate how agents are “fulfilling President Trump’s promise and carrying out mass deportations.”

In a statement released Friday, ICE detailed arrests of three additional Somalis not featured on the website, along with individuals of other nationalities detained in Minneapolis as part of “Operation Metro Surge.” The agency claimed all those arrested had been convicted of crimes including sexual abuse of minors, robbery, and domestic assault.

The statement included pointed criticism of local leadership: “Governor Tim Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey protected these criminals at the expense of the safety of Americans. President Trump and Secretary Noem have a clear message for criminal illegal aliens: LEAVE NOW. If you don’t, we will find you, arrest you, and deport you.”