A U.S. citizen on her way to a medical appointment in Minneapolis was dragged out of her car and detained by immigration officers, according to a statement released by the woman on Thursday, after a video of her arrest drew millions of views on social media.
Aliya Rahman said she was brought to a detention centre where she was denied medical care and lost consciousness. The Department of Homeland Security said she was an agitator who was obstructing ICE agents conducting arrests in the area.
That video is the latest in a deluge of online content that documents an intensifying immigration crackdown across the midwestern city, as thousands of federal agents make arrests amid protests against what local officials have likened to a “federal invasion.”
Rahman says she was on her way to a routine appointment at the Traumatic Brain Injury Center when she encountered federal immigration agents at an intersection. Video appears to show agents shouting commands over a cacophony of whistles, car horns and screams from protesters.
Ok, I will say it: this is nothing new. Even the scale is not that new. During the protests after George Floyd murder we have seen police shoot rubber bullets at people indiscriminately, 20 people suffered serious eye injuries. In 2024 police killed 1200 people. Between 2022 and 2024 15.000 people died in prisons. We have seen police target random people for illegal stops all the time, they would arrest people under false pretenses (arresting only for resisting arrest for example) all the time, drag people out of their cars, beat them up and torture them all the time and they would almost never face any consequences. Yet watching videos from ICE raids it looks like people still believe the are somehow protected from violence, that ICE will respect their rights, that if they are US citizen they have some immunity to all this. Were people ignorant of all the police violence all this time? Don’t they realize ICE can and will simply kidnap them, beat them up and drop them off somewhere without consequences? Because they do look surprised when it happens when it’s the least surprising thing there is. It’s shocking, yes, police violence in US was always shocking, but it’s not surprising. Would you be surprised that a biker gang beat you up after you insulted them?
My point is that if you’re interacting with ICE you should be aware that they will murder you if then can find an excuse and that you don’t have any rights. If you’re protesting protest peacefully and avoid interactions. If you want to confront them do it like you would confront a violent street gang. It’s baffling that people get tough with ICE and then are surprised they got hurt.