Democratic U.S. Reps. Angie Craig and Betty McCollum of Minnesota said Friday that they were denied entry to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility at the Whipple federal building in Minneapolis.
McCollum, of Minnesota’s 4th Congressional District, said she was told by federal officials that, because of a lawsuit, only 13 people are allowed in the facility, though she did not expand on the lawsuit she was referring to.
McCollum added that there’s language in the last appropriations bill that was passed that allows members of Congress to “fulfill their Congressional obligation for life, health and safety, and to make sure that people are treated in humane conditions.”
CBS News has reached out to federal agencies for clarity about why members of Congress were not allowed in, but has not yet heard back.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” McCollum said. “No president has ever behaved this way, breaking the law, breaking the constitution, and having his administration just decide what they wanna do and what they don’t wanna do. Whether it’s the Defense Department or the Department of Homeland Security, it’s out of control.”
Friday marked the second time Craig, who represents Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District, was denied access to the facility. She, Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, and Rep. Kelly Morrison, D-Minnesota’s 3rd Congressional District, were denied entry last month.
“We are bound by our duties as members of Congress to be able to check on their health, on their safety,” Craig said.
She added that she’s received reports from her constituents that some of the people detained have “serious medical issues” and that family members aren’t able to give prescription drugs to them.
Craig and McCollum in a joint written statement, said, “This will not be the last time we show up to conduct our oversight duties.”
Morrison calls for facility’s closure
Morrison, who was granted access to the Whipple building facility on Friday afternoon, says she saw about 40 people inside.
She says she’s worried about the spread of measles at the building and couldn’t get any information on plans to limit exposure.
“People are sleeping on concrete floors. They don’t have real blankets. They have those kind of tinfoil, temporary blankets. It’s a very, it’s a very disheartening scene and I think it’s beneath what we should expect in the United States of America,” Morrison said on Friday afternoon.
She said the facility should be shut down.
“People are very dejected. It’s horrifying to be present in that place,” Morrison said.
She added she was let in because she’s one of 13 members of Congress suing the Trump administration over policies restricting unannounced visits to ICE facilities.
Border czar Tom Homan said a drawdown in federal agents will happen when more Minnesota counties cooperate and if people stop interfering with federal agents.
“If you violate the law, you will be federally prosecuted,” Homan said during a press conference on Wednesday.
Homan says in the past month, 158 people have been arrested for impeding or assaulting federal officers, with 85 cases already accepted for prosecution.
The Department of Homeland Security posted photos of nine people on X, saying, “more agitators arrested in Minneapolis.”
One pictured in the post is Davis Redmond. Court documents say he was “driving aggressively” while following border patrol agents through Minneapolis before he “suddenly (accelerated) his car, colliding with the black GMC” driven by border patrol.
Redmond’s attorney said on Thursday the charges he faces were downgraded from a felony to a misdemeanor.
“The charges are bogus, and the decision to bring this case is outrageous,” the attorney said in an email to WCCO.
In a separate case, prosecutors claim Brittany Stallings assaulted a federal agent on Jan. 24, the day Alex Pretti was shot and killed. Court documents say Stallings shoved the agent and punched him in the face.
Timothy Catlett was also featured in the DHS post online. Prosecutors accused Catlett of “giving an officer the middle finger” during an operation in St. Cloud on Jan. 12. Court documents say when the officers tried to leave, Catlett pounded on the hood and kicked the side door of their car. On Thursday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed to dismiss the case.
It’s unclear if the number cited by Homan includes cases like Matt Allen, better known as Twin Cities rapper Nur-D. WCCO cameras captured his arrest on Jan. 24.
“So, I walk calmly, I walk slowly with my hands up,” Nur-D said. “I was just being grabbed by somebody and so I began to run, and as I was thrown to the ground, I was told I was under arrest for assaulting a federal officer.”
Nur-D claims he did nothing wrong and said his attorneys plan to pursue legal action against DHS.
WCCO reached out to attorneys for Catlett and Stallings for comment.
Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon calls for ICE to “surround the polls” in November – CBS News
Watch CBS News
Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon has called on President Trump to deploy ICE agents to voting sites during the midterm elections. CBS News White House reporter Aaron Navarro has more.
Two Minnesota school districts and the state’s largest teachers union on Wednesday sued to block federal immigration agents from showing up to school property, which educators say is distressing families and disrupting student learning.
Fridley Public Schools, Duluth Public Schools and Education Minnesota in the suit argue that the Department of Homeland Security didn’t follow proper rulemaking procedure under the law when the agency last year abruptly rescinded a policy designating schools as protected areas where immigration enforcement should be limited to very narrow circumstances.
The complaint, filed in federal court, asks a judge to block the new policy and prohibit agents from carrying out immigration operations within 1,000 feet of a school or school bus stop “absent a judicial warrant or genuinely exigent circumstances.”
“In recognition of this fundamental importance of public education, and of the disruptive effect on education that would occur if immigration authorities were to conduct enforcement operations in or near schools, the federal government has for more than 30 years restricted immigration enforcement near schools and other “sensitive locations,’” the filing says. “The federal government has long recognized that it could effectively enforce immigration laws without, in its words, ‘denying or limiting . . . children access to their schools.’”
The lawsuit cites more than a dozen instances across several districts where federal agents were spotted in school parking lots and near bus stops and along bus routes. It describes one incident in Apple Valley when a preschool teacher “was detained by ICE when she exited the school building after being tricked to come outside by a false claim that someone hit her car.”
Attendance has dropped by one-third in Fridley since the surge began. Brenda Lewis, the district’s superintendent, on Wednesday explained that earlier in the morning, elementary school students saw ICE agents in cars roaming outside of the building and that a mother—who is a U.S. citizen—arrived with her child and was followed by two ICE vehicles.
“Do you know why this is happening? Because I am telling the truth on behalf of our district. That is why this is happening. This is clear and present terror,” she Lewis said.
In a statement to WCCO, the Department of Homeland Security said agents are not going to schools to arrest children, but instead to protect them.
“Criminals are no longer be able [sic] to hide in America’s schools to avoid arrest. The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement and instead trusts them to use common sense,” said Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of DHS. “If a dangerous illegal alien felon were to flee into a school, or a child sex offender is working as an employee, there may be a situation where an arrest is made to protect public safety. But this has not happened.”
Peg Nelson, an elementary school teacher in the district where Liam attends, said her school sees an average of 130 absences a day out of 570 students, a majority of whom are Hispanic.
“Our district recently began offering an online option for students who do not feel safe coming to school in person, but we don’t have enough resources to accommodate every request,” Nelson said. “I fear students will fall behind because they’re unable to safely attend classes.”
Kristen Sinicariello, a high school social studies teacher in the same Columbia Heights district, said one quarter of the student body is choosing remote learning. She explained that last week while driving to school, she saw ICE agents at a nearby park.
“A student in my AP World History class then arrived late to school only to let me know he had been pulled over by ICE on his way to school and was going to spend the class period in the office with the counselors,” she told reporters. “Today, this student has his head down all in class here for himself and his family have made him unable to learn.”
Lewis and John Magas, superintendent of Duluth Public Schools, said there is fear of retaliation among school leaders that is keeping other concerned districts from joining the lawsuit, too.
“They’re afraid of retribution because that’s the playbook these days. They’re afraid that federal funding will be taken away, or that there will be false allegations or investigations that are meant just to stop this type of thing,” he said.
Below is a transcript of the opening statements made by the Ganger brothers.
Luke Ganger
I was talking to my 4-year-old last week, when she noticed I was not doing well. I had to come here today and talk to some important people. She knows that her aunt died and that somebody caused it to happen.
She told me that there are no bad people, and that everyone makes mistakes. She has Nay’s spirit.
The deep distress our family feels because of Nay’s loss is in such a violent and unnecessary way is complicated by feelings of disbelief, distress and desperation for change.
In the last few weeks, our family took some consolation thinking that perhaps Nay’s death would bring about change in our country. And it has not.
The completely surreal scenes taking place on the streets of Minneapolis are beyond explanation. This is not just a bad day or a rough week or isolated incidents. These encounters with federal agents are changing the community and changing many lives — including ours — forever. And I still don’t know how to explain to my 4-year-old what these agents are doing when we pass by.
Our family is deeply grateful for the outpouring of love and support from the community in Minneapolis and from people across the country and around the world.
The prayers and words of support have truly brought us comfort and it is meaningful that these sentiments have come from people of all colors, faiths and ideals. That is a perfect reflection of Renee, who carried peace, patience and love for others wherever she went.
Our family is a very American blend. We vote differently, and we rarely completely agree on the finer details of what it means to be a citizen of this country. We attend various churches and some not at all. And despite those differences, we have always treated each other with love and respect, and we’ve gotten even closer during this very divided time in our country.
And we hope that our family can be even a small example to others, not to let political ideals divide us, to be good like Renee.
But the most important thing we can do today is to help this panel and our country understand who Nay is, and what a beautiful American we have lost: the sister, a daughter, mother, a partner and a friend.
I’d like to share some thoughts from the eulogy that I gave on my sister’s behalf this past Saturday.
When I think of Renee, I think of dandelions and sunlight. Dandelions don’t ask permission to grow. They push through cracks in the sidewalk, through hard soil, to places where you don’t expect beauty, and suddenly there they are — bright, alive, unapologetically hopeful.
That was Renee, and sunlight, warm, steady, lifegiving. Because when she walked in a room, things felt lighter, even on cloudy days.
Renee had a way of showing up in the world that made you believe things were going to be OK. Not because she ignored the hardship, but because she chose optimism anyway. She chose to look for what was good, what was possible and what was worth loving.
Nay loved fiercely, openly and without hesitation. As a mother, Renee poured herself into love, the kind of love that shows up every day, that sacrifices quietly, that cheers loudly, that believes deeply.
Her children were and are her heart, walking around outside her body, and she made sure they felt safe, valued and endlessly loved.
As a sister, she was constant. Someone you could lean on, laugh with or just sitting in silence beside. She had a way of making you feel understood even when you didn’t have the words yet. She didn’t just listen, she saw you. She believed in second chances. She believed tomorrow could be better than today. She believed that kindness mattered, and she lived that belief.
Even when things were hard, Nay looked for the light, and if she couldn’t find it, she became the light for somebody else. It was the excessively ordinary things that made Nay so beautiful.
There are billions of people who now know her name, and it would be so easy to fall into the false belief that great heroic things are required to overcome difficult things in the world.
But as Tolkien wrote, “it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay, small acts of kindness and love.” That’s why the image of dandelions feels so right. People try to pull them up, overlook them, dismiss them — but they keep coming back stronger, brighter, spreading seeds of hope everywhere they land.
Renee planted those seeds in all of us, in her children, in her family, in friends, co-workers and people who maybe didn’t even realize they needed her light at the time.
And sunlight, sunlight doesn’t ask for recognition, it just gives, it warms, it nurtures, it helps things grow. Renee did that for us. She helped us grow. She helped us believe in ourselves. She helped us see the good even when life felt heavy.
Renee is not gone from us. She’s in the light that finds us on hard days. She’s in the resilience we didn’t know we had until we needed it. She’s in the laughter, the memories, the love that continues to grow.
Below is a transcript of the opening statements made by the Ganger brothers.
Luke Ganger
I was talking to my 4-year-old last week, when she noticed I was not doing well. I had to come here today and talk to some important people. She knows that her aunt died and that somebody caused it to happen.
She told me that there are no bad people, and that everyone makes mistakes. She has Nay’s spirit.
The deep distress our family feels because of Nay’s loss is in such a violent and unnecessary way is complicated by feelings of disbelief, distress and desperation for change.
In the last few weeks, our family took some consolation thinking that perhaps Nay’s death would bring about change in our country. And it has not.
The completely surreal scenes taking place on the streets of Minneapolis are beyond explanation. This is not just a bad day or a rough week or isolated incidents. These encounters with federal agents are changing the community and changing many lives — including ours — forever. And I still don’t know how to explain to my 4-year-old what these agents are doing when we pass by.
Our family is deeply grateful for the outpouring of love and support from the community in Minneapolis and from people across the country and around the world.
The prayers and words of support have truly brought us comfort and it is meaningful that these sentiments have come from people of all colors, faiths and ideals. That is a perfect reflection of Renee, who carried peace, patience and love for others wherever she went.
Our family is a very American blend. We vote differently, and we rarely completely agree on the finer details of what it means to be a citizen of this country. We attend various churches and some not at all. And despite those differences, we have always treated each other with love and respect, and we’ve gotten even closer during this very divided time in our country.
And we hope that our family can be even a small example to others, not to let political ideals divide us, to be good like Renee.
But the most important thing we can do today is to help this panel and our country understand who Nay is, and what a beautiful American we have lost: the sister, a daughter, mother, a partner and a friend.
I’d like to share some thoughts from the eulogy that I gave on my sister’s behalf this past Saturday.
When I think of Renee, I think of dandelions and sunlight. Dandelions don’t ask permission to grow. They push through cracks in the sidewalk, through hard soil, to places where you don’t expect beauty, and suddenly there they are — bright, alive, unapologetically hopeful.
That was Renee, and sunlight, warm, steady, lifegiving. Because when she walked in a room, things felt lighter, even on cloudy days.
Renee had a way of showing up in the world that made you believe things were going to be OK. Not because she ignored the hardship, but because she chose optimism anyway. She chose to look for what was good, what was possible and what was worth loving.
Nay loved fiercely, openly and without hesitation. As a mother, Renee poured herself into love, the kind of love that shows up every day, that sacrifices quietly, that cheers loudly, that believes deeply.
Her children were and are her heart, walking around outside her body, and she made sure they felt safe, valued and endlessly loved.
As a sister, she was constant. Someone you could lean on, laugh with or just sitting in silence beside. She had a way of making you feel understood even when you didn’t have the words yet. She didn’t just listen, she saw you. She believed in second chances. She believed tomorrow could be better than today. She believed that kindness mattered, and she lived that belief.
Even when things were hard, Nay looked for the light, and if she couldn’t find it, she became the light for somebody else. It was the excessively ordinary things that made Nay so beautiful.
There are billions of people who now know her name, and it would be so easy to fall into the false belief that great heroic things are required to overcome difficult things in the world.
But as Tolkien wrote, “it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay, small acts of kindness and love.” That’s why the image of dandelions feels so right. People try to pull them up, overlook them, dismiss them — but they keep coming back stronger, brighter, spreading seeds of hope everywhere they land.
Renee planted those seeds in all of us, in her children, in her family, in friends, co-workers and people who maybe didn’t even realize they needed her light at the time.
And sunlight, sunlight doesn’t ask for recognition, it just gives, it warms, it nurtures, it helps things grow. Renee did that for us. She helped us grow. She helped us believe in ourselves. She helped us see the good even when life felt heavy.
Renee is not gone from us. She’s in the light that finds us on hard days. She’s in the resilience we didn’t know we had until we needed it. She’s in the laughter, the memories, the love that continues to grow.
A judge in Oregon on Tuesday temporarily restricted federal officers from using tear gas at protests at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland, just days after agents launched gas at a crowd of demonstrators, including young children, that local officials described as peaceful.
U.S. District Judge Michael Simon ordered federal officers to not use chemical or projectile munitions unless the person targeted poses an imminent threat of physical harm. Simon also limited federal officers from firing munitions at the head, neck or torso “unless the officer is legally justified in using deadly force against that person.”
Simon, whose temporary restraining order is in effect for 14 days, wrote that the nation “is now at a crossroads.”
“In a well-functioning constitutional democratic republic, free speech, courageous newsgathering, and nonviolent protest are all permitted, respected, and even celebrated,” he wrote. “In helping our nation find its constitutional compass, an impartial and independent judiciary operating under the rule of law has a responsibility that it may not shirk.”
Federal agents deploys pepper balls, tear gas, and flashbang grenades on protesters outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland, Oregon, on Feb. 01, 2026.
Sean Bascom/Anadolu via Getty Images
The order applies to the use of “kinetic impact projectiles, pepper ball or paintball guns, pepper or oleoresin capsicum spray, tear gas or other chemical irritants, soft nose rounds, 40mm or 37mm launchers, less lethal shotguns, and flashbang, Stinger, or rubber ball grenades.”
The ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Oregon on behalf of protesters and freelance journalists covering demonstrations at the flashpoint U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building.
The suit names as defendants the Department of Homeland Security and its head Kristi Noem, as well as President Trump. It argues that federal officers’ use of chemical munitions and excessive force is a retaliation against protesters that chills their First Amendment rights.
The Department of Homeland Security said federal officers have “followed their training and used the minimum amount of force necessary to protect themselves, the public, and federal property.”
“The First Amendment protects speech and peaceful assembly — not rioting,” spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in an emailed statement in response to the ruling. “DHS is taking appropriate and constitutional measures to uphold the rule of law and protect our officers and the public from dangerous rioters.
Portland Mayor Keith Wilson said in a statement that the ruling “confirms what we’ve said from the beginning. Federal agents have used unconscionable levels of force against a community exercising their constitutional right to free expression.”
Judges elsewhere have also considered the issue of federal agents’ use of chemical munitions against protesters, as cities across the country have seen demonstrations against the federal immigration enforcement surge.
Last month, a federal appeals court suspended a decision that prohibited federal officers from using tear gas or pepper spray against peaceful protesters in Minnesota who aren’t obstructing law enforcement.
In November, an appeals court also halted a ruling from a federal judge in Chicago that restricted federal agents from using certain riot control weapons, such as tear gas and pepper balls, unless necessary to prevent an immediate threat. A similar lawsuit brought by the state is now before the same judge.
The Oregon complaint describes instances in which the plaintiffs — including a protester known for wearing a chicken costume, a married couple in their 80s and two freelance journalists — had chemical or “less-lethal” munitions used against them.
In October, 83-year-old Vietnam War veteran Richard Eckman and his 84-year-old wife Laurie Eckman joined a peaceful march to the ICE building. Federal officers then launched chemical munitions at the crowd, hitting Laurie Eckman in the head with a pepper ball and causing her to bleed, according to the complaint. With bloody clothes and hair, she sought treatment at a hospital, which gave her instructions for caring for a concussion. A munition also hit her husband’s walker, the complaint says.
Jack Dickinson, who frequently attends protests at the ICE building in a chicken suit, has had munitions aimed at him while posing no threat, according to the complaint. Federal officers have shot munitions at his face respirator and at his back, and launched a tear-gas canister that sparked next to his leg and burned a hole in his costume, the complaint says.
Freelance journalists Hugo Rios and Mason Lake have similarly been hit with pepper balls and tear gassed while marked as press, the complaint says.
“Defendants must be enjoined from gassing, shooting, hitting and arresting peaceful Portlanders and journalists willing to document federal abuses as if they are enemy combatants,” the complaint states. “Defendants’ actions have caused and continue to cause Plaintiffs irreparable harm, including physical injury, fear of arrest, and a chilling of their willingness to exercise rights of speech, press, and assembly.”
Local officials have also spoken out against the use of chemical munitions. Wilson demanded ICE leave the city after federal officers used such munitions Saturday at what he described as a “peaceful daytime protest where the vast majority of those present violated no laws, made no threat, and posed no danger to federal forces.”
The protest was one of many similar demonstrations nationwide against the immigration crackdown in cities like Minneapolis, where in recent weeks, federal agents killed two people, Alex Pretti and Renee Good.
Democratic California Rep. Robert Garcia, the ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, laid out four of the report’s key findings:
“The Trump Administration’s extreme policies, violent tactics, and culture of impunity led to the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.”
“The Trump Administration’s lies about the killings cannot cover up what the American people saw with their own eyes.”
“The available evidence suggests that the Trump Administration is attempting to cover up misconduct.”
“The Trump Administration is continuing its cover-up by impeding thorough and impartial investigations into the shootings.”
The report also highlights how evidence counters the administration’s initial claims that both victims were domestic terrorists aiming to harm federal law enforcement.
“Let’s be clear: the killings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti could have been prevented, and they should both still be alive,” Garcia wrote. “President Trump, [Homeland Security Secretary] Kristi Noem, and [the U.S. Department of Homeland Security] have lied over and over again and are now trying to cover up the truth. The Trump Administration needs to be held accountable.”
In a statement to WCCO, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson defended the work of federal officers.
“Federal law enforcement officers are heroically removing dangerous criminal illegal aliens from American communities – including murderers, rapists, and pedophiles. The Trump Administration is grateful for their important work,” Jackson said.
WCCO has also reached out to Homeland Security for comment.
The committee, chaired by Kentucky Republican Rep. James Comer, is currently comprised of 44 representatives: 24 Republicans and 20 Democrats.
Republican members include Reps. Jim Jordan, Paul Gosar, Virginia Foxx, Pete Sessions, Nancy Mace and Lauren Boebert. Its Democratic members include Reps. Eleanor Holmes Norton, Kwesisi Mfume, Shontel Brown, Jasmine Crockett, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib.
Good’s brothers, Brent and Luke Ganger, testified Tuesday at a public Congressional forum co-led by Garcia on “the violent tactics and disproportionate use of force by agents of the Department of Homeland Security.”
Grants open for small businesses affect by ICE surge
The Latino Economic Development Center says it is launching a grant for Latino-owned small businesses that are struggling amid Operation Metro Surge.
Small businesses on St. Paul’s east side have faced reduced foot traffic and revenue loss because workers and community members are afraid to leave their homes, the development center says.
Grant funds can be used to help with payroll, rent, loans and other operating expenses. Though it’s intended for businesses on St. Paul’s east side, the development center says it’s encouraging others to apply as well, as they’re looking for other opportunities to support businesses across the state.
As Columbia Heights students return to class, superintendent calls for ICE de-escalation
Gov. Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison to address impact of federal detention on children
Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison will join school leaders to discuss the impact of federal detention on children and families in Minnesota.
How to watch
What: Walz, Ellison address impact of federal detention of children
Who: Walz, Ellison, Department of Education Commissioner Willie Jett, education and health leaders
When: 12:45 p.m. Tuesday
How to watch: You can watch live in the player above or on YouTube.
Brothers of Renee Good to testify about federal agents’ use of force at Capitol Hill hearing
Renee Good’s brothers will be among those who testify at a hearing in Washington, D.C., Tuesday afternoon as part of an inquiry into federal agents and their use of force.
The hearing, which starts at 2 p.m., is organized by two Democrats: Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Rep. Robert Garcia of California.
Richfield observer’s encounter with Border Patrol leads to court filing alleging “retaliation”
As the immigration crackdown continues in Minnesota, Nicole Cleland, a resident of Richfield, Minnesota, believes federal agents identified her through facial recognition software.
Cleland has actively protested against the deployment of federal agents in the Twin Cities. She says she’s a trained observer, following officers of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as well as Customs and Border Protection. Her account is detailed in a lawsuit filed alongside other observers against the Department of Homeland Security
ICE claims that a man shattered his skull running into wall; Hennepin Healthcare doctors express skepticism
Intensive care nurses immediately doubted the word of federal immigration officers when they arrived at a Minneapolis hospital with a Mexican immigrant who had broken bones in his face and skull.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents initially claimed Alberto Castañeda Mondragón had tried to flee while handcuffed and “purposefully ran headfirst into a brick wall,” according to court documents filed by a lawyer seeking his release.
But staff members at Hennepin County Medical Center determined that could not possibly account for the fractures and bleeding throughout the 31-year-old’s brain, said three nurses familiar with the case.
Conditions inside Whipple Federal Building are “unacceptable,” Minnesota lawmaker says after visit
A Minnesota congresswoman got her first look inside the Whipple Federal Building, calling the conditions heartbreaking and unacceptable.
The building is a hub for federal agents in town and is supposed to be a temporary home for people detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“There were people in leg shackles. There were cold cement floors, no beds, no blankets; they did have showers, but told me no one had ever taken a shower,” Democratic Rep. Kelly Morrison said.
After an inspection and the publication of leasing advertisements for the proposed detention center in Elkridge, Howard County determined that the building would be used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and revoked the building permit.
Howard County, Maryland, has revoked the building permit for a private detention center that County Executive Calvin Ball said was going to be used by U.S. Immigration and Customs. And the county council has introduced emergency legislation to stop the project.
After a recent inspection and leasing advertisements for the proposed detention center, located at 6522 Meadowridge Road in Elkridge, the county determined “this privately owned building is intended for occupancy by ICE,” said Ball in a Monday news conference.
“The retrofitting of a private office buildings for detention use without transparency, without input, without clear oversight, is deeply troubling,” Ball said. “In this case, the proposed detention center sits in an existing office park in close proximity to health care providers, schools, parks and neighborhoods.”
According to Ball, the county wasn’t aware of specific lease agreements or contracts between the building owner and any federal agency.
The county’s director of inspections, licenses and permits and permits revoked the building permit, Ball said.
Later, Monday, the Howard County Council introduced two pieces of emergency legislation aimed at preventing private entities, rather than government agencies, from operating detention centers in the county.
The council voted to hold an emergency public hearing Wednesday, which could stretch into Thursday, followed by a vote on the bills by the five-person council.
“Since there are four cosponsors on the bill, it is about 99.99% likely to pass,” Council Chair Opel Jones told the audience, which responded with a standing ovation.
Jones asked audience members to “pack the house” for the public hearing, before encouraging participants to be concise in their statements, “so we can get right to the point, and vote this bill in.”
Howard County’s actions comes several days after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security purchased a warehouse near Hagerstown, Maryland, raising concerns that it would be retrofitted as an ICE detention center.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
Don Lemon says about a dozen federal agents came to his Los Angeles hotel to arrest him last week even though his attorney had told authorities he would turn himself in to face federal civil rights charges over his coverage of an anti-immigration enforcement protest that disrupted a service at a Minnesota church.
Lemon told ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel that sending the agents was a waste of resources because law enforcement wouldn’t have had to dispatch agents to follow him if he’d been allowed to surrender to authorities.
“I was walking up to the room and I pressed the elevator button and then all of a sudden I feel myself being jostled and people (were) trying to grab me and put me in handcuffs,” the independent journalist said Monday on the show on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
He asked the agents who they were and said they identified themselves. Lemon asked to see a warrant and was told they didn’t have it. The agents then summoned an FBI agent to come in from outside to show Lemon the warrant on a cell phone.
Don Lemon departs federal court on Jan. 30, 2026, in Los Angeles.
Mario Tama / Getty Images
The Department of Justice and FBI didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
Kimmel introduced Lemon, his first guest of the night, by saying he was “was arrested for committing journalism.”
Lemon’s attorney has said Lemon plans to plead not guilty. He told reporters “I will not be silenced” after he was released in response to a judge’s orders.
A grand jury in Minnesota indicted Lemon, another independent journalist, Georgia Fort, and others on charges of conspiracy and interfering with the First Amendment rights of worshippers during the Jan. 18 protest at the Cities Church in St. Paul, where a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official is a pastor.
Lemon, who was fired from CNN in 2023 following a bumpy run as a morning host, has said he had no affiliation to the group that disrupted the Sunday service by entering the church.
Lemon said he couldn’t say much about the case but he said he was not a protester.
“I went there to be a journalist. I went there to chronicle and document and record what was happening. I was following that one group around, and so that’s what I did. I reported on them,” Lemon said.
Abbe Lowell, Lemon’s lawyer, said after his arrest that, “This unprecedented attack on the First Amendment and transparent attempt to distract attention from the many crises facing this administration will not stand. Don will fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly in court.”
Lemon said he asked the arresting officers if they would let him make a phone call. He said he was told no and that he could talk to his attorney the next day. He tried to use Siri on his Apple Watch to call his husband and his attorney but neither picked up.
A diamond bracelet he was wearing kept getting caught on his handcuffs, which hurt, and the agents told Lemon they would take it off. Lemon said he asked if the agent would mind taking it up to Lemon’s husband in his hotel room and they agreed to do that.
“And that’s how my husband found out. Otherwise, no one would have known where I was,” Lemon said.
Lemon said he was kept in a holding room at the federal courthouse from midnight until 1 p.m. the following day.
Kimmel himself became a symbol of a fight against censorship last year, when ABC suspended “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” for remarks made following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr had pressured broadcasters to take Kimmel off the air shortly before that.
ABC lifted the suspension after a public outcry, and Kimmel returned to the air with much stronger ratings than he had before. In Congress, Democratic senators raised concerns that Carr’s actions had trampled on the First Amendment.
Protestors rallied outside of Target headquarters in Minneapolis, demanding the new CEO take a stand against the immigration crackdowns. Meanwhile, in suburban Minneapolis, schools are feeling the impact of escalating tensions. Omar Villafranca reports.
In a public letter addressed to the executive on Sunday, American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten criticized Target for what she called its “silence” on ICE’s activities in Minneapolis and demanded that the company “clearly state” that it wants federal immigration agents to leave the city.
“The AFT is deeply concerned about the company’s silence on ICE’s continuing operations in Minneapolis following ICE and Border Patrol agents’ murders of two Minneapolis residents,” she said. “As a company that employs 34,000 Minnesotans, many in critical headquarters positions, Target has deep roots in the Twin Cities and benefits substantially from a favorable relationship with that community.”
AFT’s membership, who include teachers, nurses and public employees, invests a total of roughly $4 trillion in pension funds that own 6.8 million shares of Target stock, while consumers are also “an important addressable market” for the company, Weingarten said.
Target appointed Fiddelke, who started his career at the company as an intern, as CEO last summer, and this week marks his first time at the helm of the company. In a statement on Monday, Fiddelke outlined Target’s business priorities, but he refrained from specifically commenting on ICE’s activities in Minneapolis.
Such reticence could backfire for Target, Weingarten said, adding that Fiddelke’s “response to the current crisis will define your time as CEO” of the company.
Fiddelke was one of more than 60 CEOs of Minnesota-based companies who signed a joint letter in January demanding the “immediate de-escalation of tensions.” But they omitted any reference to ICE or its tactics after two border patrol fatally shot Minneapolis resident Alex Pretti.
Weingarten called the letter a “productive first step,” but said “it falls far short of showing real leadership to end ICE’s occupation in Minnesota.”
Target didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.
Alison Taylor, a professor of Business and Society at NYU Stern School of Business, told CBS News that the business community is likely to come under continuing pressure related to the events in Minneapolis.
“Everyone who is angry about this wanted to see condemnation, names of victims, and a stronger callout that this should stop, and I don’t think anybody saw that,” she said.
ICE agents have staged operations in Target parking lots, making them a popular site of demonstrations for anti-ICE activists. ICE last month also detained two Target employees at one of its Minneapolis store.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement halted “all movement” at a detention center in Texas for families and quarantined some migrants there after medical staff confirmed two detainees had “active measles infections,” the Department of Homeland Security said Sunday.
The measles cases at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center were detected Friday, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to CBS News. The ICE facility houses parents and children taken into federal custody over alleged violations of immigration law. It is located in south Texas, roughly an hour drive from San Antonio.
“ICE Health Services Corps immediately took steps to quarantine and control further spread and infection, ceasing all movement within the facility and quarantining all individuals suspected of making contact with the infected,” McLaughlin said.
McLaughlin said medical officials were monitoring detainees and taking “appropriate and active steps to prevent further infection.”
“All detainees are being provided with proper medical care,” she added.
Before McLaughlin’s statement on Sunday, immigration lawyers had reported concerns about a potential measles outbreak at the Dilley center.
Neha Desai, a lawyer for the California-based National Center of Youth Law, which represents children in U.S. immigration custody, said she hopes the measles infections at Dilley are not used to “unnecessarily” prevent lawmakers and attorneys from inspecting the detention center in the near future, citing broader concerns about the facility.
“In the meantime, we are deeply concerned for the physical and the mental health of every family detained at Dilley,” Desai said. “It is important to remember that no family needs to be detained — this is a choice that the administration is making.”
Dilley is the detention complex where ICE had been holding 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, both detained in Minnesota during an operation that garnered widespread outcry, until the family was released over the weekend due to a court ruling. Liam and his father returned to Minnesota on Sunday.
ICE’s detention population has ballooned under the second Trump administration, which has vowed to stage a deportation crackdown of unprecedented proportions.
ICE is currently holding more than 70,000 individuals facing deportation in detention centers across the U.S., according to government data obtained by CBS News. The vast majority are single adults accused of being in the U.S. illegally. The number is a massive jump from a year ago, when ICE was holding around 40,000 detainees.
The state of Minnesota is vowing to continue the legal battle after it and twelve cities, including St Paul and Minneapolis, were denied a temporary restraining order that would have shut down Operation Metro Surge.
In her ruling, Judge Kate Menendez said that the state had not proved that Operation Metro Surge had crossed a constitutional line, “and had not met the burden of proof needed” for her to issue a temporary restraining order.
“We fight on, so it’s important for your viewers to know we didn’t get the temporary emergency action we wanted, but that doesn’t stop the case. The case continues on, the lawsuit continues on,” Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem celebrated the ruling, saying, “This is a win for public safety and law and order.”
“I am praying that nobody gets hurt or killed tonight or tomorrow morning, or no 5-year-olds get snatched up again in the next 48 or 72 hours,” Ellison said on Sunday. “I am deeply concerned about that, but I am not going to stop.”
Ellison believes communication between federal and state officials is improving.
After Commander Greg Bovino was replaced, the acting director of ICE, Tom Homan, took over. The attorney general met with Homan in what both parties say was a productive meeting.
“Kristi Noem never called, never wanted to talk; Bovino never called, never wanted to talk, so at least now we are having adult conversations with administration leaders. We didn’t agree on everything, but we did agree on some things,” Ellison said.
So, the legal case will now continue and so will Operation Metro Surge.
You can watch WCCO Sunday Morning with Esme Murphy and Adam Del Rosso every Sunday at 6 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.
“Who can you kill?” and “When can you kill them?” Those are questions Republican Senator Rand Paul is asking after the death of two people in Minneapolis at the hands of federal immigration officers. He’s calling for an independent investigation. Scott Pelley reports, tonight.
Federal judge Kate Menendez denied Minnesota’s motion for a temporary restraining order to halt “Operation Metro Surge” on Saturday. The court documents, filed on Saturday, say that Minnesota and its cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul have not met their burden of proof.
The argument to halt operations, in part, stated that the federal operation is “causing harm to the Twin Cities and State themselves, as well as their residents.” Lawyers with the U.S. Department of Justice have called the lawsuit “legally frivolous.”
In the court documents, Menendez cited another recent case where the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals recently vacated the preliminary injunction ruling that restricted the force federal agents can use on peaceful protesters, saying that court case had “much more settled precedent” in that case and that “the Court of Appeals determined that the injunction would cause irreparable harm to the government because it would hamper their efforts to enforce federal law.” Menendez also wrote, “If that injunction went too far, then halting the entire operation certainly would.”
“Because there is evidence supporting both sides’ arguments as to motivation and the relative merits of each side’s competing positions are unclear, the Court is reluctant to find that the likelihood-of-success factor weighs sufficiently in favor of granting a preliminary injunction,” the judge said in the ruling.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey released a statement after Menendez’s ruling that stated in part:
“Of course, we’re disappointed. This decision doesn’t change what people here have lived through — fear, disruption, and harm caused by a federal operation that never belonged in Minneapolis in the first place. This operation has not brought public safety. It’s brought the opposite and has detracted from the order we need for a working city. It’s an invasion, and it needs to stop.”
The state of Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul have sought a temporary restraining order in their lawsuit against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and other Trump administration officials.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi took to social media Saturday to laud the ruling, calling it “another HUGE” legal win for the Justice Department on X.
Minnesota’s argument
The state filed the lawsuit claiming the Trump administration has “violated the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution,” through infringement of police power and unlawful coercion. Minnesota alleges it “has been singled out and targeted by ICE in a way that no other state has experienced.”
In the court filing, Minnesota argues that the operation is not motivated by “a legitimate law-enforcement purpose” but rather serves as a “pretext for leveraging demands and punishing political leaders within the State and Twin Cities who oppose the Trump administration’s immigration policies.”
Court documents also state that the large-scale presence of federal agents has disrupted the healthcare industry, affected local businesses and stopped residents from going to religious services. The state also claims that “federal officers’ use of force and being detained on their way to and from school had had ‘negative impacts on attendance and student focus’” forcing several school districts to temporarily close.
Trump administration’s argument
The Trump administration argues Operation Metro Surge was launched “to address the dangers arising from the presence of illegal aliens in the Twin Cities.” The administration also argues the dangers are exacerbated by Minnesota, Minneapolis and St. Paul’s sanctuary city policies.
The Trump administration also claims that Operation Metro Surge has “strictly been in furtherance of “the enforcement of federal law,” in line with President Trump’s campaign promises.”
Federal judge Kate Menendez denied Minnesota’s motion for a temporary restraining order to halt “Operation Metro Surge” on Saturday. The court documents, filed on Saturday, say that Minnesota and its cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul have not met their burden of proof.
The argument to halt operations, in part, stated that the federal operation is “causing harm to the Twin Cities and State themselves, as well as their residents.” Lawyers with the U.S. Department of Justice have called the lawsuit “legally frivolous.”
In the court documents, Menendez cited another recent case where the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals recently vacated the preliminary injunction ruling that restricted the force federal agents can use on peaceful protesters, saying that court case had “much more settled precedent” in that case and that “the Court of Appeals determined that the injunction would cause irreparable harm to the government because it would hamper their efforts to enforce federal law.” Menendez also wrote, “If that injunction went too far, then halting the entire operation certainly would.”
“Because there is evidence supporting both sides’ arguments as to motivation and the relative merits of each side’s competing positions are unclear, the Court is reluctant to find that the likelihood-of-success factor weighs sufficiently in favor of granting a preliminary injunction,” the judge said in the ruling.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey released a statement after Menendez’s ruling that stated in part:
“Of course, we’re disappointed. This decision doesn’t change what people here have lived through — fear, disruption, and harm caused by a federal operation that never belonged in Minneapolis in the first place. This operation has not brought public safety. It’s brought the opposite and has detracted from the order we need for a working city. It’s an invasion, and it needs to stop.”
The state of Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul have sought a temporary restraining order in their lawsuit against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and other Trump administration officials.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi took to social media Saturday to laud the ruling, calling it “another HUGE” legal win for the Justice Department on X.
Minnesota’s argument
The state filed the lawsuit claiming the Trump administration has “violated the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution,” through infringement of police power and unlawful coercion. Minnesota alleges it “has been singled out and targeted by ICE in a way that no other state has experienced.”
In the court filing, Minnesota argues that the operation is not motivated by “a legitimate law-enforcement purpose” but rather serves as a “pretext for leveraging demands and punishing political leaders within the State and Twin Cities who oppose the Trump administration’s immigration policies.”
Court documents also state that the large-scale presence of federal agents has disrupted the healthcare industry, affected local businesses and stopped residents from going to religious services. The state also claims that “federal officers’ use of force and being detained on their way to and from school had had ‘negative impacts on attendance and student focus’” forcing several school districts to temporarily close.
Trump administration’s argument
The Trump administration argues Operation Metro Surge was launched “to address the dangers arising from the presence of illegal aliens in the Twin Cities.” The administration also argues the dangers are exacerbated by Minnesota, Minneapolis and St. Paul’s sanctuary city policies.
The Trump administration also claims that Operation Metro Surge has “strictly been in furtherance of “the enforcement of federal law,” in line with President Trump’s campaign promises.”
Jose Huerta Chuma is a man in hiding — and he’s also a man in distress. He’s been replaying the fatal shooting of Minneapolis resident Alex Pretti over and over again in his mind, wondering if he could have done something differently and if there’s something that “would have saved that life.”
The 41-year-old immigrant from Ecuador, who said he has been in the U.S. for over two decades, described witnessing the shooting after hiding inside a local business. The Department of Homeland Security has described Huerta Chuma as a criminal living in the U.S. illegally who was the target of the Border Patrol operation that led to the encounter with Pretti on Saturday, Jan. 24.
“I think, maybe if I hadn’t gone to that place, or I don’t know, a little later or a little earlier, I mean, that never would have happened,” Huerta Chuma told CBS News during a phone interview conducted in Spanish.
Asked if he feels some sense of guilt, he said, while crying, his voice fraught with emotion: “I do feel guilty, I do feel bad. I saw stories about the man and I saw a very good person.”
DHS officials have described Huerta Chuma as a “violent criminal illegal alien” on the loose. Documents reviewed by CBS News indicate Huerta Chuma’s record includes traffic violations, and that he pleaded guilty to a disorderly conduct misdemeanor offense in 2018. The New York Times reported, citing Minnesota court documents, that the plea was linked to a domestic violence arrest, and that the offense was later expunged.
Huerta Chuma said the domestic violence case stemmed from an argument with his partner at the time. The Minnesota Department of Corrections said in a statement that Huerta Chuma has never been in the state’s prison system and that it did not find felony convictions in his case.
CBS News reached out to representatives for DHS seeking comment about Huerta Chuma’s record and whether officials are still pursuing him.
A shooting witnessed from a hiding spot
In his first public comments, Huerta Chuma told CBS News he immigrated from Ecuador in the early 2000s, in his twenties. Before Pretti’s shooting upended his life, he was raising his American-born children while working as a rideshare driver.
“I’m not a criminal. I just was working that day,” he said. “I was going to pick up the delivery.”
Huerta Chuma said he was on his way to pick up a delivery order around 8:18 a.m. on Jan. 24 in south Minneapolis. (He showed CBS News screenshots of the route from that morning indicating he was in the area where the shooting happened.) It was a routine delivery, similar to the almost 20,000 rides he had done over nearly six years.
As he was driving down Nicollet Avenue, Huerta Chuma said he passed a car driving in the opposite direction.
“One agent was staring at me, but I just blinked my eyes and said, ‘God, they’re immigration,’” Huerta Chuma recalled.
“So, when I looked in the mirror, they turned around immediately.”
Huerta Chuma said the agents, who were in a red car without license plates, started to follow him.
“I didn’t run or anything, I left very calm,” he said. “I saw they were with ICE. I knew in my head they were ICE because they turned around so quickly when they [saw] my face.”
Huerta Chuma said he parked his car, got out, and left the vehicle running. He said federal agents started to follow him, and a man at a local business let him inside,locking the door behind him. Huerta Chuma said he hid there for about 4 hours.
Huerta Chuma said he saw Pretti show up and start filming, and he saw a Border Patrol agent push a woman nearby. He said he saw the agents tackle Pretti to the ground and take his gun.
“It all happened so fast,” he said, noting he did not see Pretti trying to hurt the agents or reach for his firearm.
Then he described the rapid-fire shots: “Tac, tac, tac, tac, tac, tac.”
Huerta Chuma said he watched the ambulance arrive, but knew it was too late. He said he saw federal agents write down his license plate. Then he left.
“It felt horrible. To be watching and not being able to do anything,” Huerta Chuma said. “I don’t know how long I will be like this.”
Initial public statements at odds with evidence, official report
Immediately after the shooting Huerta Chuma witnessed, DHS officials made sweeping statements about Pretti and his actions, some of which have since been directly contradicted by videos, witness accounts and a preliminary government report.
DHS initially said one Border Patrol agent fired “defensive shots” after Pretti “approached” agents with his firearm. The department suggested, without citing concrete evidence, that Pretti intended to “massacre” federal agents.
A report to Congress obtained by CBS News earlier this week found that two U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents fired their weapons during the Jan. 24 shooting. The report, based on a “preliminary review” by CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility, also did not mention Pretti reaching for his firearm.
Video analyzed by CBS News shows an agent had removed the gun from Pretti’s waistband one second before another agent fired the first shot.
Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino, who has since been reassigned following the bipartisan backlash triggered by Pretti’s killing, described Huerta Chuma as an “illegal alien” during a press conference hours after the deadly shooting. Pointing to a booking photo, Bovino said Huerta Chuma’s record included “domestic assault,” “disorderly conduct” and “driving without a license.”
In a statement two days later, DHS branded Huerta Chuma a “violent criminal illegal alien” who remained “at large,” asking the public to call a government hotline with any tips regarding his whereabouts.
Huerta Chuma said the government was displaying an older picture from after he was arrested in 2018 during an altercation with his wife.
Out of work and on the run
Huerta Chuma did not reveal his whereabouts to CBS News. He said he was worried about his safety, his work and what would happen to his three children born in the U.S. Huerta Chuma said he has two children, ages 11 and 15, who live with him, and another child, a 3-year-old, who lives with the mother. CBS News attempted to reach the children’s mother but did not receive a response.
Information accessed through the Justice Department’s immigration court system says Huerta Chuma’s deportation case was administratively closed in May 2022. The immigration court records do not list a deportation order. Huerta Chuma said he has since applied for a “U visa,” designed to protect immigrants who are victims of crimes and who have assisted law enforcement investigations.
It’s unclear exactly when and how Huerta Chuma first entered the U.S. Huerta Chuma said he has another child living in Ecuador. Court records indicate that Huerta Chuma does not have a criminal record in his native country.
Huerta Chuma said he started working as a rideshare driver so he could have a flexible schedule and be available for his children. But since the shooting, he said, he hasn’t worked, and is rarely eating or sleeping. He said he is continuing to hide.
Though he’s scared about getting arrested, Huerta Chuma said the main source of his consternation is Pretti’s death.
“I’m very devastated, spiritually. Why did they kill the man? He didn’t do anything,” he said. “I was there. I was there. I saw everything.”
For many, February rent is due in two days, and increased U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity is keeping some from going to work.
Help lines at the Greater Twin Cities United Way are seeing a surge in need. Housing assistance calls are up 60%, overwhelming organizations trying to respond.
Denia is a single mother of three. Fear has taken over her life. She hasn’t worked since December, not because she doesn’t want to, but because leaving home feels dangerous.
“We feel desperate, locked in. We are afraid even to take out the trash or check the mail,” Denia said in Spanish.
She asked WCCO not to show her face due to her immigration status. Without income, she’s constantly worried about rent and keeping food in the fridge.
Advocates say her story reflects a growing crisis. Families are calling in for help in unprecedented numbers.
Shannon Smith Jones with Greater Twin Cities United Way says calls to 211, the confidential 24/7 call center that connects people with locally available help, have skyrocketed.
“We took in over 6,000 calls in a week. Our housing has increased by over 140%,” Jones said.
Calls for food assistance are up 120%. And in one day, the Spanish-speaking line reached 1,000 calls, that’s up from 65 on an average day.
“The need is exploding, and we are doing our best to keep up with demand,” Jones said.
Greater Twin Cities United Way continues to work to meet the need. In January alone, the nonprofit distributed nearly $200,000 in resources.
Jones said they are working to expand their language lines and adjusting staffing levels to keep up.
Families in need are encouraged to reach out to local nonprofit organizations or call 211 to get routed to the right organization.
For Denia, she says her dream is to go back to work again and live freely with her children.
For more information on Greater Twin Cities United Way, click here.