St. Paul, Minn. — ICE agents forcibly entered a St. Paul home this week and detained six residents, including a 12-year-old boy, according to neighbors and family friends. The raid has raised serious questions about the legitimacy of the search and the treatment of those taken into custody.
Neighbors who spoke with someone inside the home said ICE agents claimed to have a search warrant during the raid but never presented one. A document described as a warrant appeared on the home’s doorstep the following day, raising further concerns about its authenticity and timing.
The warrant was reportedly issued by a state court, not a federal one, and signed by a judge in Ramsey County. However, neighbors said the document did not resemble a standard state warrant and lacked key identifiers such as a case number or file stamp. There was also no immediate record of it being filed with the court, though officials note that filings are not always entered into the system right away.
Residents inside the home were allegedly told the raid was part of a narcotics investigation. Surveillance footage captured ICE agents moving room to room inside the house. One woman seen holding an infant was not detained after showing state-issued identification, neighbors said.
“They started banging the door, kicked the door in,” said neighbor Jeffrey Jones, who witnessed the raid. “It’s different when it hits so close to home, right next door to you and actually having a relationship with these people.”
Frances Clatworthy, a family friend, said she went to a federal building near Minneapolis on Friday to try to retrieve the detained boy. She was told the child had already been transported to an immigration detention center in San Antonio, Texas. The locations of the other five detained residents were not immediately disclosed.
Clatworthy said the family immigrated to the United States from Venezuela in 2023. She noted that each of the adults taken into custody holds a valid work permit and state-issued identification.
Another neighbor, Sean Piette, questioned claims that the raid was connected to drug enforcement. His outdoor security camera recorded a package delivery to the home just minutes before ICE agents arrived.
“The ICE agents inside were telling them there were drugs in it,” Piette said, “and if no one inside claimed that package, they were going to take everybody in the house.”
As of publication, ICE had not publicly commented on the raid or the status of those detained.
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