DHS disputes Augsburg’s account of ICE arrest on campus, claims agents were obstructed

Federal immigration officials are contradicting key elements of Augsburg University’s account of a weekend arrest on its Minneapolis campus, saying their officers had a warrant and were obstructed by a university administrator and campus security during the encounter.

The Department of Homeland Security’s Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said in an emailed statement that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers arrested Jesus Saucedo-Portillo, whom she described as an unauthorized immigrant, on Dec. 6 while he was getting into his vehicle in a campus parking lot.

McLaughlin said Saucedo-Portillo “is a registered sex offender and has a previous arrest for driving while intoxicated.” A search of Minnesota court records by the Star Tribune found no record of a DWI case under that name, and Saucedo-Portillo does not appear in the national sex-offender registry.

An Augsburg community member not authorized to speak publicly said Saucedo-Portillo is an education major.

“He’s being horribly misrepresented,” they said. “He’s a normal college student. Not the worst of the worst. He’s the best of the best.”

Augsburg officials say they stand by their original account of the incident.

“The university’s previous statements about the incident remain unchanged,” a spokesperson said Tuesday. “When asked to provide a judicial warrant, the agents refused to produce and stated they did not have one, despite being on private property.”

McLaughlin said officers warned that blocking the vehicle could constitute obstructing justice and used “the minimum amount of force necessary to clear the area.”

Augsburg Provost Paula O’Loughlin said in an email Saturday that ICE agents pointed weapons at students and staff who were recording the encounter and were “pushing witnesses back” as the incident unfolded in a private campus lot adjacent to two residence halls.

Though the arrest happened outside, Augsburg President Paul Pribbenow reiterated Monday that the parking lot is still private property owned by the university.

The conflicting accounts have raised unresolved questions about what kind of warrant officers carried. According to the National Immigration Law Center, a judicial warrant, signed by a federal judge, is required for officers to enter private property or detain someone there. By contrast, most ICE arrest warrants are administrative documents signed by immigration officials and do not authorize entry into private areas without consent.

The incident has shaken many Augsburg students, particularly those from immigrant and East African backgrounds. Asma Muhumed, a 19-year-old freshman who grew up in Minneapolis and is an Ethiopian-born, naturalized American citizen, said she was at work Saturday when her father called to warn her to carry her passport.

The advice stunned her.

“I barely even use my passport to travel,” Muhumed said. “Now I have to carry it in my home state.”

She said she and her classmates have been rattled by the videos circulating online and have noticed fewer students in class since the arrest. On Tuesday morning, only a scattering of students slipped in and out of Augsburg’s academic buildings, their breath hanging in the air as they crossed snow-dusted walkways. University public safety vehicles were visible across campus.