Two agents were injured while trying to apprehend a Cuban national, who allegedly struck the officers with his vehicle.
Two Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were injured during enforcement actions in St. Paul, Minnesota, as tensions mount between federal agents and local residents and officials.
According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the agents were injured on Dec. 21 during the apprehension of Cuban national Juan Carlos Rodrigues Romero.
The subject was identified and stopped in his vehicle. He was noncompliant and drove away, striking an officer in his escape attempt, according to the agency.
After a brief pursuit, the agency said Romero stopped near his residence, struck two parked cars, and rammed his SUV into an ICE vehicle, later striking a second ICE officer.
DHS said Romero was eventually arrested, but only after violent resistance, and driving his car into the front door of his apartment complex.
“Two officers sustained non-life threatening injuries and were taken to the hospital for evaluation. Romero was also taken to the hospital for evaluation. [Romero] is currently in ICE custody pending further charges,” the agency said.
The Cuban national was admitted into the United States via the CBP One app in 2024.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told The Epoch Times in response to questions about the state of immigration enforcement in Minnesota, saying, “Our officers are facing a more than 1,050 percent increase in assaults and an 8,000 percent increase in death threats.”
Local Resistance to Federal Enforcement
Meanwhile, local leaders continue to express their opposition to federal immigration operations.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Dec. 23 joined religious leaders, mayors, and public safety officials to address the increase in federal immigration enforcement activity in the Twin Cities.
“Minnesota takes public safety seriously,” said Walz. “Public safety is strongest when law enforcement can focus on real threats and when communities trust that they will be treated fairly and with dignity. What we are seeing from the Trump Administration is not about safety—it is political theater that creates fear and weakens trust.”
The governor said in his speech that he agreed immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility, but accused the operations in Minnesota of lacking coordination, professionalism, and communication from federal officials.
McLaughlin, in her statement to The Epoch Times, accused Walz of “trying to spread misinformation” and suggested that he “should focus on protecting American lives and thanking the brave men and women of … DHS law enforcement who are risking their lives to make communities in his state safer.”
The DHS assistant secretary also confirmed that U.S. citizens who “assault and obstruct law enforcement have been arrested,”
“Obstructing law enforcement is not protesting, it is a crime,” she said.
