An agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) opened fire on a Cuban immigrant living in the country without legal authorization after the man struck two agents with his pickup truck in St. Paul, Minnesota, the Department of Homeland Security reported.
The man also bit an ICE agent while being subdued outside his St. Paul apartment after attempting to flee on foot, Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin said in an email.
The man was not injured, and the agents who were struck by the vehicle sustained non-life-threatening injuries, though both the detainee and the ICE agents were taken to a hospital for evaluation, McLaughlin said.
Tensions have been rising in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area as federal authorities continue their immigration crackdown. ICE agents and protesters clashed last week in Minneapolis.
McLaughlin noted that the man arrested on Sunday, December 21, entered the United States in 2024 through a now-discontinued program implemented by the administration of former President Joe Biden. This program allowed undocumented migrants to enter the country while their asylum claims were being processed.
The incident occurred Sunday morning. St. Paul police said in a statement that they were called to the area after receiving reports of shots fired, only to learn that the ICE agent was responsible.
How did the confrontation unfold?
Immigration agents saw the man get into his SUV, identified themselves, and approached him, McLaughlin said. When the man refused to roll down his window, they told him they would break it if he didn’t comply, he added.
The man drove away, striking an agent, and headed to the parking lot of his apartment complex, where agents stopped him again and ordered him out of the vehicle, McLaughlin explained. He then drove his pickup truck toward an ICE vehicle, hitting a second agent, which prompted the agent to fire his weapon, though he missed the suspect, he added.
After ramming another ICE vehicle, the man got out of his truck and tried to flee toward his apartment, but was tackled by agents, McLaughlin said.
