A traffic stop. A fleeing suspect. Gunfire in a residential street—tensions over ICE spill into St. Paul.
A federal immigration agent was struck by a vehicle and fired their weapon during an arrest in St. Paul on Sunday morning, amid heightened tensions over federal immigration enforcement in the Twin Cities, police said.
According to the St. Paul Police Department, officers responded to the incident around 8:20 a.m. in the 1300 block of Westminster Street. The department said the injured federal agent sustained non-life-threatening injuries, while the suspect was not wounded. St. Paul police were not involved in the arrest or the use of force.
Federal agents took the suspect into custody at the scene.
The Department of Homeland Security identified the suspect as an undocumented immigrant from Cuba. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the individual was “noncompliant” during a traffic stop and attempted to flee, striking two Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers with the vehicle.
After being hit, one officer fired two shots, McLaughlin said. Both officers were transported to a hospital for evaluation.
“Every use of force incident and any discharge of an ICE firearm must be properly reported and reviewed by the agency in accordance with policy,” McLaughlin said, adding that the shooting will undergo both an external law enforcement review and an internal ICE investigation.
The incident comes against a backdrop of escalating friction between federal immigration authorities and local officials. On Friday, St. Paul city leaders sent a cease-and-desist letter to DHS, ordering federal agents to stop using city-owned parking lots to stage vehicles and personnel.
Just one day earlier, thousands of demonstrators marched in Minneapolis, crossing the river toward St. Paul to protest ICE operations across the Twin Cities.
Since the administration of Donald Trump ordered a surge of federal immigration agents into Minnesota earlier this month, DHS says more than 400 people have been arrested. Authorities have not disclosed how many remain in custody or have been transferred out of state.
The St. Paul shooting adds to growing concerns among residents and officials that aggressive enforcement tactics are pushing routine encounters into volatile territory, further inflaming an already polarized debate over immigration enforcement in the region.
