ICE detained U.S. citizen Nasra Ahmed for two days in St. Paul; agent allegedly shoved her and used a racial slur

On January 14, 2026, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents conducting Operation Metro Surge enforcement in St. Paul, Minnesota detained Nasra Ahmed, a 23-year-old U.S. citizen born in the United States, after she encountered agents who were pursuing two men she did not know and was not the target of. Ahmed said the agents shoved her forcefully to the ground and that one used a racial slur before placing her in a vehicle; she sustained a concussion and scrapes that required a bandage. She was held for two days, first at the federal Whipple Building and then at Sherburne County jail, and was released on January 16 without explanation or charges. CBS News Minnesota (WCCO) reported it found no criminal record for Ahmed, and that ICE had not provided public data on U.S. citizens it has detained.

Ahmed's detention occurred amid Operation Metro Surge, the roughly 3,000-agent ICE and Border Patrol deployment to the Twin Cities that began in early January 2026 and produced a series of documented abuses against citizens and bystanders across the region. Appearing at a Minnesota State Capitol press briefing on January 21 while still wearing head bandages, Ahmed said she met another detained woman in ICE custody: "We were holding each other tight. I'll never forget the fear that we both felt."

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson responded to Ahmed's account the same day, stating that "anyone — including U.S. citizens — who assault law enforcement will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law" and alleging, without providing supporting evidence, that Ahmed had assaulted agents during the encounter. Minnesota state Rep. Samakab Hussein publicly backed Ahmed's account and characterized the detention as racial profiling; cell-phone video reported by FOX 9 appeared to show part of the encounter in the apartment complex parking lot.

Updates

2026-06-15 — Federal judge dismissed assault case against Ahmed with prejudice [4, 5]

Federal prosecutors had charged Ahmed with felony assault arising from the January 14 encounter, alleging she approached agents, yelled obscenities, threw an egg, and spat at an agent; the charge was later downgraded to a misdemeanor, and Ahmed pleaded not guilty in March 2026. After then-Attorney General Pam Bondi publicly posted Ahmed's name and photo despite a court sealing order, and after prosecutors declined to turn over discovery Ahmed's defense had requested, the U.S. Attorney's Office moved in May 2026 to dismiss the case without prejudice. U.S. District Judge John Tunheim instead dismissed it with prejudice on June 15, 2026, ruling it could not be refiled and writing that "the Government's actions in this case violated a Court order, likely violated the Department of Justice's own policies, and undermined the presumption of innocence." Ahmed's attorney, Jordan Kushner, said the government "brought the charges without having the case together."