Federal agents make a chaotic arrest at downtown Minneapolis courthouse amid swarm of lawyers, observers

As anger and concern grow in the Twin Cities legal community over federal immigration enforcement at county courthouses, unidentified federal agents executed a chaotic arrest in the lobby of the Hennepin County Government Center in downtown Minneapolis on Tuesday morning amid a sea of lawyers and observers.

One of the agents, who declined to identify himself when approached by a reporter with the Minnesota Star Tribune, moved from floor to floor inside the courthouse throughout the morning while other agents spent their time in the lobby and near the elevator banks where people enter and exit the building to attend court hearings. Lawyers tracked their every move.

At 11:45 a.m., a young man, later identified as Junior de Jesus Herrera Berrios, an 18-year-old from Burnsville, sprinted through the lobby with federal agents on his heels. He went around a large, shallow fountain in the center of the lobby. Two of the agents, who had been waiting in the lobby, closed off his path and slammed Herrera Berrios to the ground and pinned him against the marble base of the fountain. A crowd of approximately two dozen people swarmed the officers while whistles and screams echoed through the building and curses were hurled at the officers. The officers handcuffed Herrera Berrios and propped him up on his feet.

Officers led him down the escalators and through the outdoor plaza where a Subaru Outback was waiting. Lawyers and observers gave chase and screamed demands to see a warrant. They surrounded the Subaru, which had Illinois plates, with one woman standing in front of the car with her hands firmly planted on the hood. Others told her to not get hurt. She moved backward as the car moved forward, completed a U-turn and drove away down 3rd Avenue S.

The other agents climbed into another waiting vehicle and left.

Herrera Berrios was making a 9 a.m. court appearance after being charged last month with first-degree drug possession for allegedly driving a vehicle with several other occupants that had 57 pounds of methamphetamine in the trunk. On two occasions, an officer was observed on the 10th floor of the Government Center near the courtroom where Herrera Berrios was scheduled to appear.

Herrera Berrios, who turned 18 in January, has no other criminal charges in Minnesota, and he was a co-defendant in this drug case with two other men. He posted $50,000 bail and was released to electronic home monitoring with an order to come to all future court appearances in January.

The spokesperson said agitators had approached ICE officers in the government center asking them to identify themselves, and then an agitator alerted Herrera Berrios to the presence of federal agents, which led to the foot chase.

“This is why we need cooperation of local law enforcement,” the statement continued. “Since President Trump took office, Minnesota sanctuary politicians have refused to cooperate with ICE and released nearly 470 criminal illegal aliens back onto the streets of Minnesota."

Since his arrival in late January, White House border czar Tom Homan has said that federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota was going to be carried out in a more targeted manner. Homan has made the argument, several times, that arrests at courthouses and jails can be made with fewer agents and less risk to the public.

The increased targeting of courthouses for immigration enforcement in recent weeks has become a lightning rod for Minnesota’s legal community, as lawyers on every side of the prosecutorial equation say it is undermining their ability to work cases.

Hennepin County Chief Public Defender Mike Berger, whose clients have been at the center of targeted ICE enforcement, said the tactics deployed by federal agents are turning courthouses into “hunting grounds for the most vulnerable in our community” and eliminating due process for people “availing themselves to our courts and actively participating in [Minnesota’s] system of justice.”

“Using local government courthouses for federal civil immigration enforcement interferes with the administration of justice, prevents witnesses from testifying and robs victims of their opportunity to seek justice,” Moriarty said. “ICE agents arrested a man who was making a court appearance in a case we charged.”

Courthouses were one of the first areas to be targeted for increased immigration enforcement by the Trump administration when he began his second term in January 2025.

That same month, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, Ramsey County Attorney John Choi, Moriarty, Minneapolis City Attorney Kristyn Anderson and St. Paul City Attorney Lyndsey Olson sent a letter to Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Natalie Hudson.

They asked the Minnesota Judicial Branch to “use its inherent authority” to protect courthouses by enacting a policy to prevent or limit immigration enforcement at state courthouses, noting that 11 state supreme courts had already done so. Two months later, Hudson responded and said, “While the court understands the concerns raised, at this time the court is not developing any new policy or issuing any statewide orders in response to these requests.”

She added, “The court has confidence in each county sheriff’s dedication to maintaining the safety and security of the state’s courtrooms and courthouses.”

“Under federal law, ICE agents have the authority to enforce immigration laws anywhere within the United States,” Marinan said. “Hennepin County facilities, including courthouses, include spaces that are open to the public, including federal, state, and local law enforcement agents who may be performing their official duties.”

Marinan added that the county expects the agencies to “respect the rights and dignity” of those who use the courthouse.

The Star Tribune approached three men inside the Government Center on Tuesday. All declined to answer whether they were federal agents.

One man said he could refer a reporter to his press office. When asked which department he worked for, the man replied, “You know which one.”

Another man was standing in a corner of the lobby. A lawyer, who declined to identify herself, followed him everywhere he went. The man said he could not verify he was a federal agent but said, “There’s a reason she’s been following me for four hours,” while pointing at the lawyer.

Two of the three men were later seen taking Herrera Berrios out of the building and placing him into the back of the Subaru.