Chanhassen ICE raid: Crowd formed as agents attempted to carry out arrests

ICE raid in Chanhassen prompts large community response

An ICE raid in a Chanhassen neighborhood prompted a large response from the community. FOX 9's Leon Purvis has more.

CHANHASSEN, MINN. (FOX 9) - A large crowd surrounded and confronted ICE agents who were trying to detain two men at a construction site in Chanhassen, leading to a heavy local law enforcement response.

One of the men was taken away in an ambulance, while the other man stayed on the roof until ICE agents left after being given blankets, warm drink and food from people in the crowd.

Chanhassen ICE raid

What we know:

Chanhassen ICE raid: City councilmember speaks

Chanhassen City Councilmember Mark Von Oven was at the ICE raid in the city Saturday and spoke to the crowd.

Witnesses say ICE agents tried to arrest two workers at a house that is under construction.

A crowd then formed when the workers would not come down from the roof around 11 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 13.

One worker was later taken away by ambulance, but another was allowed to leave when ICE agents withdrew from the area.

Some people in the crowd provided the worker on the roof with blankets, a warm drink and food to help him wait out the agents.

The Carver County Sheriff's Department says that this was a federal operation, and sheriff's deputies responded to the scene to "maintain peace" and "ensure emergency services" could get into the neighborhood.

The sheriff's office did not have any detentions or make any arrests during this operation.

There was a confrontation when a young man or teenager arrived wearing a Trump "Make America Great Again" hat. Footage shows he was pushed and chased away by protesters.

No injuries among the crowd or law enforcement personnel were reported.

ICE raid in Chanhassen: Crowd confronts agents [RAW]

A crowd surrounded ICE agents in Chanhassen as they attempted to arrest two men who were working on a house that was under construction.

What they're saying:

"It's mind-blowing that people are out here, -20 plus degree weather, building houses for our community members, and they’re being targeted by ICE," said Jenna Cruz of Chaska.

"Consistently, we were asking for a judicial warrant; they did not have that. They said that they had an administrative warrant. But they refuse to show that to us as well. But that’s not anything constitutionally binding," said Minnesota State Representative, Alex Falconer. "There was a couple of small altercations overall; everything seemed to be relatively calm. In a situation like that, it could have devolved easily."

ICE agents are not required to show warrants to people who are not named in the warrant or anyone who is uninvolved in the operation.

"It was scary, it was really scary. It was just something you never think that’s going to happen," said Miranda, a community activist who only gave FOX 9 her first name.