ICE agents forcibly detained man who says he is a naturalized U.S. citizen in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, leaving him hospitalized

On January 5, 2026, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents stopped Emmanuel Sackie, who says he is a Liberian-born naturalized U.S. citizen, in the parking lot of a Family Dollar store in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. Agents had approached Sackie's fiancee, Amanda Tuonyon, about their vehicle, which agents said was registered to someone named Joseph; Sackie said he did not know anyone by that name. When Sackie came outside and presented his driver's license, agents asked him for additional proof that he was a citizen, which he said he did not have on him.

Video recorded by Tuonyon captured the early part of the stop, including her repeated statements to agents that her fiance is a U.S. citizen. A second video, recorded by a bystander, shows the encounter escalating into a physical struggle between Sackie and the agents. Sackie was handcuffed and placed in a federal vehicle; he said he was taken to an undisclosed location before being released. He said he sustained significant bruising in the struggle and sought treatment at a hospital afterward.

Sackie, who said he immigrated to the United States legally and became a citizen, told WCCO News: "I am a legal citizen, and this is my first time being in handcuffs in my whole life." Describing the encounter, he said, "I was treated like an animal, and it really hurt me." WCCO sought comment from ICE; the agency had not responded as of publication.

The stop occurred amid Operation Metro Surge, the roughly 3,000-agent ICE and Border Patrol deployment to the Minneapolis-St. Paul area that began in early January 2026 and produced a series of other recorded incidents in the same metro area, including a January 20, 2026 stop in which agents drew guns on an off-duty Brooklyn Park police officer.