Thousands march by downtown Minneapolis protesting in opposition to ICE as state staff maintain normal strike | USAEMALL.com

There’s growing concern over how U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents handled a situation involving a preschool student in Columbia Heights, Minnesota.

It’s an image that’s struck a chord across the country. The picture of 5-year-old Liam Ramos flanked by ICE agents shortly after they arrested his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo-Arrias. The federal agency said he abandoned his son in the car outside their home. Conejo-Arrias had just picked up his son from preschool.

The pair is now being held in Texas at what ICE calls its least restrictive holding facility for families.

ICE officials were asked Friday if Conejo-Arrias had a criminal history.

“He was in the United States illegally and I believe he had been ordered removed,” Charles said, before adding that the entire family entered the country illegally as a unit.

Mark Prokosch, the lawyer representing Conejo-Arrias’ family, said the father has no criminal record and that the family is in the process of seeking asylum. They came from Ecuador in 2024 and entered the U.S. through a port of entry using the U.S. Customs and Border Protection app. 

Given what happened to Conejo-Arrias, an immigration specialist wants other families seeking asylum in the U.S. to prepare themselves.

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A marching protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Minneapolis Friday afternoon happened as a widespread work stoppage across Minnesota, as organizers called for a day of no work, no school and no shopping.

An estimated 300 businesses closed for the day to send a message calling for ICE to leave the state. Some, however, chose to keep their doors open — not for business, but for community.

“We figured, you know, we open the doors and serve free food to the community today. Closing is one thing, but we wanted to make an impact, and we figured what better way to do that than to give people a warm bowl of soup,” Yoom Nguyen, who runs The Lotus in Minneapolis, said. 

Nguyen said offering food and warmth felt more meaningful than staying home with the restaurant closed.

“This is not about money for us,” Nguyen said. “We’ve been here since 1984. This community embraced our family when we were going through tough times, and (we) feel it’s our turn to return that favor, bring some hope and some joy and some warmth to people.”

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Organizers of a march and rally in Minneapolis on Friday called for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to leave Minnesota. 

Thousands of people marched roughly a mile from outside U.S. Bank Stadium to Target Center. 

A woman attending the protest told WCCO she’s a teacher who was showing up for her students.

“I’m a high school teacher. They’re scared. They are scared to wait at the bus. They are scared for their friends. Children of color are scared to be out on the streets and in their cars. They’ve been cornered. They’ve been detained. They’ve been questioned. Their families have been detained. They’re scared for their lives. They’re scared for their families,” the woman said.

Organizers expected around 50,000 people to show up, though it wasn’t known on Friday night how many attended. 

The 5-year-old immigrant boy taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement alongside his father in the Minneapolis area earlier this week has an active and pending case in immigration court and cannot be legally deported yet, according to government records reviewed by CBS News.

The ICE operation that led Liam Adrian Conejo Ramos and his father to be taken into government custody, captured on videos and photos that have gone viral, has garnered national attention and raised questions about who exactly the Trump administration is targeting in its mass deportation campaign.

Justice Department records reviewed by CBS News indicate Liam and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Ramos, have immigration court cases listed as “pending.” The records by the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review do not list any deportation orders in either case, indicating that an immigration judge still must consider Liam and his father’s claims before any deportation attempt. The information says the family’s immigration court case was docketed on Dec. 17, 2024.

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Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said that there is “no absolute immunity” for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who violate Minnesota law.

Moriarty shared the message in a short video posted on YouTube Friday afternoon.

“The Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution does not erase state criminal law,” she said. “State and local law enforcement still have jurisdiction to conduct investigations into potential criminal offenses by any federal agent, just as they would any other person who breaks Minnesota criminal law.”

Moriarty added that the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating the ICE shooting that happened in north Minneapolis on Jan. 14. Three U.S. officials told CBS News that an agent shot a man after allegedly being attacked by men with shovels during an arrest operation. 

“When that investigation is submitted to our office, we will review it for potential charging,” Moriarty said. 

The BCA is also continuing to collect evidence in the fatal shooting of Renee Good.

A 2-year-old named Chloe was detained with her father as they drove home from a grocery store in South Minneapolis on Thursday, according to a benefit page created by Minneapolis city council member Jason Chavez.

Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that Border Patrol arrested Elvis Tipan Echeverria of Ecuador and that the toddler’s mother refused to take her so she was reunited with her father at a federal detention facility.

According to an emergency petition filed in federal court, a district judge granted an emergency injunction ordering Chloe’s release into the custody of her lawyer. The child, a citizen of Ecuador who was brought to Minneapolis as a newborn, has a pending asylum application and is not subject to a final order of removal.

Crowds continue to grow in number in downtown Minneapolis Friday afternoon as protesters take to the streets to demand ICE forces withdraw from the Twin Cities metro area and Greater Minnesota.

Three activists arrested in connection to a protest at a church where the leader of a local Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office serves as a pastor were released from custody on Friday afternoon.

The protest happened Sunday, as a group joined the Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, before chanting “ICE out” and “justice for Renee Good.” 

Former Twin Cities NAACP president Nekima Levy Armstrong, St. Paul School Board member Chauntyll Louisa Allen and William Kelly were arrested Thursday, according to Attorney General Pam Bondi.

CBS News learned that Levy Armstrong and Allen were released from law enforcement custody at the Sherburne County Jail in Elk River, Minnesota, on Friday.  

Kelly, according to attorneys, was also released on Friday.

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Demonstrators are now marching through downtown Minneapolis, protesting the surge of federal immigration agents in Minnesota. 

The march is heading from The Commons near U.S. Bank Stadium and will conclude at Target Center, where a rally will be held inside. 

WCCO’s Frankie McLister is following the march and will have more on the rally later. 

Dozens of faith leaders were arrested while protesting at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport Friday, organizers say, as part of an effort to call for an end to Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests in the area.

The protesters were calling on airlines, particularly Delta and Signature Aviation, to “stand with Minnesotans in calling for ICE to immediately end its surge in the state.” 

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Hundreds of people gathered at Temple Israel on Friday morning in Minneapolis for a multi-faith prayer service.

Faith leaders held the service to promote unity and dignity during a time of fear and uncertainty.

People from neighboring states even joined, saying it was a chance to come together and show support for immigrant communities in Minnesota. 

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The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office says it issued dispersal orders at the Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis on Friday afternoon for what it called an “unlawful protest” in the area. 

Deputies for the “last few hours” were asking protesters to unblock an access road, though the group “was clear” they would not move, according to the sheriff’s office. 

Ice chunks have been thrown at “multiple vehicles,” leading to broken windows, the sheriff’s office said. 

Deputies at the federal building have since given three dispersal orders.

“Individuals who do not comply with orders and those who continue unlawful behavior have been and will continue to be arrested,” the sheriff’s office said. “Please avoid the area.”

The Minnesota State Patrol said it’s responding to the facility and said “arrests will be made as necessary to address unlawful behavior and maintain public safety.”

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a social media post on Friday night that two people were detained and are facing “potential criminal charges.”

The Whipple building holds the region’s federal immigration court.   

A man being targeted by federal immigration enforcement agents earlier this week, when they instead detained a U.S. citizen in his underwear amid frigid Minnesota conditions, was already in prison, according to the Minnesota Department of Corrections.

ChongLy Scott Thao says ICE burst into his home on Sunday without a warrant. Videos of the arrest quickly spread on social media.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency says they were looking for two men accused of sex crimes, one of which was Lue Moua. The DHS earlier told the public Moua was at large, but MN DOC says that Moua has been in prison since 2024 on a kidnapping charge. Officials with the state’s corrections department say that ICE should have known that Moua was being held.

According to DOC records, Moua is currently scheduled for release in January 2027, and has an active ICE detainer. DHS officials sought to blame the apparent confusion on the actions of Minnesota officials.

Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon shared a video on social media showing an ICE agent chasing and detaining a child, calling it “a cruel disgrace.”

The Associated Press independently verified the video, taken by Minneapolis resident Skylar Fehlen, who told the AP the teenager was in a car that hit a tree before the foot chase.

Fehlen said the teen was yelling for help before the ICE agent tackled and arrested him.

“ICE agents in Minneapolis chase, tackle, and handcuff a child in the freezing cold and snow while he yells ‘I’m legal! I’m legal!'” Simon wrote on X. “How does this make us safer? How does this target ‘the worst of the worst?’ Horrifying and shameful.”

An independent autopsy showed that Renee Good was shot three times by an ICE officer earlier this month — in the forearm, breast and head. 

Good’s family requested the independent autopsy, according to their attorneys. 

The preliminary conclusions indicated that two of the gunshots — the forearm and breast wounds — were not immediately life-threatening. The forearm wound caused soft tissue hemorrhage while the one on her right breast didn’t penetrate any major organs. 

A third gunshot wound entered the left side of her head and exited the right side, the autopsy concluded. There was also a fourth wound, which was a graze “consistent with a firearm injury” but did not penetrate her body.

“We believe the evidence we are gathering and will continue to gather in our investigation will suffice to prove our case. The video evidence depicting the events of January 7, 2026, is clear, particularly when viewed through the standards of reasonable policing and totality of circumstances. Additionally, our legal team will continue its unwavering and proactive advocacy for Renee’s life and her family,” said Antonio Romanucci, the lead attorney on the case.

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner determined that Good’s manner of death was a homicide, caused by multiple gunshot wounds.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey spoke out on insinuations shared Thursday by Vice President JD Vance and U.S. Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino that local law enforcement representatives are deliberately not cooperating with federal forces.

“If this was about safety, then there would be a whole lot of opportunity to partner and do it. But this is not about safety. It’s not even about immigration. What we are seeing right now is that this is political retribution. It’s about causing chaos on our streets,” Frey told CNN’s Sara Sidner. “(We) are getting targeted for doing one of the most basic things that we are required to perform as public servants. And for me, that’s speaking on behalf of my constituents. That is a responsibility that I have, an obligation that I have that is written into our city charter.”

Frey also responded to reporting about an obtained internal ICE memo, which suggests immigration agents have been entering people’s homes without a warrant and empowers them to do so. While Frey said he didn’t have enough information on that reporting to address it specifically, asked if he would agree that an administrative warrant is enough to warrant entering private residences, Frey said, “I’d say that it isn’t.”

“The guidance that we have given to people in the city of Minneapolis in the Know Your Rights campaign that we are running. And what we are telling people is that if they are going to enter a home — a private residence, what they need is a judicial warrant, which is a warrant that is signed by a judge — and the administrative warrant is not enough,” Frey said.

Many businesses will close their doors in protest Friday, but one business is doing much more than just shutting down to protest ICE.  

Sitting in the heart of northeast Minneapolis’s business district, Pillar Forum Cafe and Commodities has become a hub for people opposing ICE.  

On Friday, Pillar Forum will join hundreds of others taking part in a “ICE Out of Minnesota: Day of Truth and Freedom,” with its own take.

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In his visit to Minnesota, Vance appeared to acknowledge that the Minnesota Department of Corrections, overseen by Gov. Tim Walz, was cooperating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  

“Look, if I was going to list the five agencies locally and statewide I’m most worried about, I wouldn’t put the Department of Corrections on that list,” Vance said in a news conference when asked by CBS News if the state was cooperating. “I think that while there are certain things we’d like to see more from them, they’ve hardly been the worst offenders.”

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Pastor Sergio Amezcua, who serves the congregation of Dios Habla Hoy, put out a call on social media for help for his community after ICE agents surged into Minnesota.

Thousands of people responded asking for help — and thousands more stepped up to provide it.

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