At 28th and Blaisdell, a Minnesota Star Tribune photographer captured a close-up of federal agents spraying an irritant in a person’s face. Around the same time, Border Patrol Cmdr. Greg Bovino was captured on video tossing a smoke canister.
The detention of a Columbia Heights 5-year-old comes after weeks of heightened concern and enforcement presence near and on Twin Cities schools’ property.
The family’s 6-month-old baby was unconscious and foaming at the mouth after federal agents threw tear gas and flash-bangs under their SUV, according to the child’s parents.
A federal operation launched on Jan. 9 focuses on refugees while a concurrent effort is detaining people who entered the country illegally. Both target Minnesota.
The federal government has identified only a fraction of the immigrants it has detained. Many have violent criminal records, but few were wanted by police.
The U.S. Department of Justice delivered subpoenas to offices of Gov. Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison and Minneapolis and St. Paul mayors Tuesday.