A man who fled federal immigration agents and took refuge in a Bloomington office building, where the agents were refused entry, was ultimately arrested Tuesday following an hours-long standoff.
The man was stopped by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents near the Walmart in Bloomington while driving to work, said his girlfriend, Michelle Zarazua. He then fled on foot and ran into the Wilderness Inquiry building, a nearby outdoors travel company, shortly before 9 a.m., the company’s employees told Sahan Journal.
“He called me and he told me that he was in this building because he was scared and he didn’t know what to do,” Zarazua said. “So I came from my job and tried to help.”
The arrest comes days after more immigration officers were reportedly sent to Minnesota in a surge of enforcement that continues the work of Operation Metro Surge that began in December. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was seen taking part in an early morning raid in St. Paul on Tuesday amid the expanded enforcement efforts.
Wilderness Inquiry said in a written statement that the man came into their building in distress as ICE was attempting to apprehend him. The company’s staff let the man stay in their vestibule where he was visible to ICE agents, but did not let agents in the building as they consulted their legal counsel about what to do.
What followed was a back-and-forth through an interpreter between the man, who was inside the office, and immigration agents and Bloomington police, who were outside.
“I am proud of the Wilderness Inquiry team, who showed composure and compassion during a very difficult situation today,” Wilderness Inquiry’s Executive Director Erika Rivers said in the statement.
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ICE agents can make arrests in public spaces without a warrant signed by a judge, but need a judicial warrant in order to gain entry and make arrests in private spaces like homes and businesses.
Reached for comment, ICE declined to provide details about the incident or detainee. Bloomington police declined to comment on the arrest, and said their involvement was “limited to helping maintain the peace and ensure the safety of all individuals involved.”
More than two dozen bystanders watched the incident unfold. Zarazua said ICE agents tried to intimidate her into coaxing her boyfriend out, but she refused and demanded to see a judicial warrant.
“I told them they need an arrest warrant signed by a federal judge to do this,” she said. “And they said, ‘No, I don’t need that, I’m going to arrest him no matter what.’”
Law enforcement ultimately presented a felony arrest warrant about two hours after the man arrived at the building, prompting him to voluntarily surrender.
Reports of ICE activity in the Twin Cities proliferated across social media Tuesday. Several videos showed the arrest of an Ecuadorian man in St. Paul, where Noem was present.
“What’s happening right now in Minnesota with all of the immigration officers that are coming is just so unfair,” Zarazua said through tears. “[They’re] separating people from their loved ones.”
