AUSTIN, Minn. – An Austin man was arrested in a trap set up by federal immigration agents outside the Mower County Courthouse. The man’s daughter, who asked not to be named in news stories for her own safety, said her father had been told to report to the courthouse for a routine probation check-up on Thursday morning. It was a ruse, she said. Federal agents from the Immigration Customs Enforcement agents sprang from vehicles as he walked to the courthouse and took him away. The daughter said her father — his first name, she said, was Mongong — was a refugee from the African nation of South Sudan. She said he was in the United Sates legally in a protected status because his life was in danger in South Sudan. ICE appears not to be recognizing the protected status, she said. The regional ICE operations center in St. Paul ignored news media queries about the Austin operation. In Austin: Mower County Sheriff Steve Sandvik said his officers were not involved. So too, said Police Chief David McKichan. By state law, ICE cannot use local jails to hold detainees. Where ICE agents took Mongong was not known. ICE functions under the new Trump regime without the transparency to which Americans are accustomed with local policing. Nationwide it’s believed ICE has made 2,500 arrests on the past two weeks without local accountability.
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An ICE arrest. News reporters have been unable to find images of the ICE arrest in Austin, but it fits a pattern of ambush detentions around the country in recent weeks. This image is from Chicago.
Mower County Courthouse. Refugee immigrant arrested on sidewalk while walking into the building. Agents had no search warrant from a Mower County
Verbatim
To news media queries, ICE responds with a standard non-answer: “Due to operational tempo and the increased interest in our agency, we are not able to research and respond to rumors or specifics of routine daily operations for ICE.”