Minneapolis mayor says Lake Street business raid not "immigration enforcement"
Protesters clashed with federal law enforcement during a raid on Tuesday at a south Minneapolis business.
WCCO reporter Reg Chapman and photojournalist Chris Cruz got caught in the middle of the chaos that began just before noon, when people who live near Bloomington Avenue and East Lake Street noticed federal agents gathering near Las Cuatro Milpas restaurant.
They quickly called for people to show up, and they did. Witness Brandon Bazile said the situation soon escalated.
"It just instantly got violent and people were trying to stop them," Bazile said."I don't think they realized the community would respond so quick and kind of create a human barrier, so you can kind of see them strategizing a plan to get people out."
The crowd grew within minutes, as did their calls for members of the Minneapolis Police Department and the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office on scene to leave.
The crowd moved whatever they could in the path of officers and deputies as they escorted federal agents down Lake Street. Some threw garbage cans, and some even threw tires. WCCO's crew at the scene saw pop bottles and bricks hurled at law enforcement and some responded with force.
"I got pepper sprayed a few times," Bazile said.
Protesters thought it was some sort of immigration raid, but Mayor Jacob Frey said in a statement that wasn't the case.
"This incident was related to a criminal search warrant for drugs and money laundering," Frey said.
Frey said the police department's only role was helping with crowd control and keeping the community safe. No arrests were made.
Minneapolis police and the sheriff's office also released statements echoing the same explanation. The sheriff's office says its partnership with federal officials includes "execution of multiple search warrants at multiple locations in the metro area."
"This incident was not related to any immigration enforcement. HCSO has no involvement in civil immigration. HCSO enforces criminal statutes and works on criminal investigations. We work with federal partners regularly on those criminal investigations," the sheriff's office said in a statement.
Police said on social media they didn't have "advance notice" of the federal operation, and "any claims to the contrary are false."
Immigrant advocacy groups respond
"The Minneapolis police should not be working with federal agents," said Erika Zurwoski, with the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee. "We are a sanctuary city, the community will not allow it."
Immigrant advocates say the sheer show of force from law enforcement in one of the most dense immigrant communities in the city puts people living there on edge.
"They're trying to scare communities. This affects businesses, this affects our neighbors. It's a trauma that our community doesn't need. People are welcome in Minneapolis, when they show up like that, fully militarized, that's not a good sign for our community," said Miguel Hernandez, with the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee. "A lot of people's doors are locked. Businesses are locking up because they're afraid — what are they looking for? Why are they here? They don't know.
"The amount of presence they showed today on Lake Street, it was a show of power," Luis Arguenta, with Unidos Minnesota, an immigrant advocacy group.
Arguenta said that he wished "more information had flowed a little freely this morning, even from some of the agents that were on the ground."
Rodrigo Cardoso, with InterAmerican Services, however, says he's tired of crime in his area.
"Hopefully the community understands and gets the point that we need to clean up," he said.
Several people in the crowd told WCCO they felt law enforcement were too aggressive.
"We saw them come back and assist by taping off the area and setting up police lines and pushing the community back," Zurwoski said.
The organization COPAL (Comunidades Organizando el Poder y la Acción Latina) released a statement on Tuesday afternoon saying its members came to the scene "to ensure that constitutional rights and legal due process are respected."
"In situations like the enforcement today, it's important that there are signed warrants in place, the right to peaceful assembly is protected, and that no Minnesotan, no human being is treated as 'collateral,'" said COPAL's Ryan Perez.
Jamie Holt, acting special agent in charge of Homeland Security investigations in Minnesota and the Dakotas, released this statement on the raid Tuesday afternoon:
"Federal investigators conducted a groundbreaking criminal operation today — Minnesota's first under the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) umbrella — marking a new chapter in how we confront complex, multidimensional threats. From drug smuggling to criminal labor trafficking, this operation showcases the breadth of our collective missions and the strength of a united front.
This HSI led investigation wouldn't have been possible without the extraordinary collaboration of our state partners and federal HSTF partners, including the U.S. Attorney's Office, FBI, IRS-CI, DEA, ERO, ATF, USMS, DSS, U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Coast Guard, TSA and local law enforcement. Together, we are safeguarding communities, protecting national security, and setting a new standard of joint enforcement efforts."
WCCO went to the courthouse and found federal search warrants connected to the raid, but they were sealed.
