Mpls council president says ICE officer shoved him while he observed stop
Minneapolis City Council President Elliott Payne says an ICE officer shoved him from behind on Central Avenue while he was lawfully observing a stop of a man waiting for a bus during this week’s immigration surge. Video Payne posted shows him on the sidewalk recording as an ICE agent walks up and pushes him aside; Payne says a second agent was simultaneously pointing a Taser at "every single individual" present, which he called reckless behavior. Payne says he identified himself as council president and was trying to talk to the agents to de‑escalate when he was pushed, and later warned on social media that if this is how ICE treats an elected official, residents should consider how others are being handled. The incident adds to mounting local allegations of heavy‑handed federal tactics on Minneapolis streets, including other recorded uses of force, and will likely feed ongoing legal and political fights over Operation Metro Surge and city efforts to restrict ICE staging and demand accountability.
📌 Key Facts
- City Council President Elliott Payne says an ICE officer shoved him on Central Avenue while he was observing an ICE stop of a man at a bus stop.
- Video shared by Payne shows an agent walking up and physically pushing him while he appears to be recording and talking to officers.
- Payne says he had introduced himself as council president, was trying to de‑escalate, and saw another agent pointing a Taser at everyone present, calling ICE’s conduct "reckless".
📊 Relevant Data
Operation Metro Surge is the largest immigration enforcement operation ever conducted by ICE, involving the deployment of 2,000 federal agents to the Minneapolis area to target noncitizens with criminal histories, including child abusers, drug traffickers, and domestic violence perpetrators.
2,000 federal agents sent to Minneapolis area to carry out 'largest immigration operation ever,' ICE says — PBS NewsHour
Minnesota has the largest Somali population in the United States, with 91,111 individuals of Somali descent in 2023, comprising 1.60% of the state's population.
Somali Americans - Wikipedia — Wikipedia
In Minnesota fraud-related cases, 85 out of 98 defendants charged by the DOJ are of Somali descent, representing a significant overrepresentation given that Somalis make up about 2% of the state's population.
Here's What the Trump Administration Is Doing to Crush Minnesota's Fraud Epidemic — The White House
The Feeding Our Future scandal in Minnesota, involving Somali immigrants, is described as the country's largest COVID-19-related fraud scheme, with federal prosecutors securing convictions tied to hundreds of millions of dollars in fraud.
5 things to know about the Somali community in Minnesota after Trump's attacks — PBS NewsHour
During President Trump's second term, federal immigration officials have shot at civilians 15 times, killing four and injuring five, indicating a pattern of use of force in enforcement operations.
The First Amendment protects the public's right to film ICE agents in public, but a federal judge found that DHS has adopted an unlawful policy suppressing these rights, leading to incidents where recording is prohibited.
ICE says it's illegal to record agents, but is DHS policy actually unlawful? — FOX 9
Somali immigration to Minnesota began in the 1990s through refugee resettlement programs, facilitated by organizations like Lutheran Social Services and Catholic Charities, attracted by job opportunities and existing community networks.
How did MN get the nation's largest Somali population? — Star Tribune
📰 Source Timeline (1)
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