Vehicle pursued by ICE agents crashes in St. Paul, large crowd gathers after 1 hurt

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Authorities say a vehicle believed to be pursued by federal agents crashed in St. Paul on Wednesday, leading to a large crowd gathering in the aftermath.

St. Paul crash involving federal agents

The backstory:

St. Paul police say they were called at about 9:39 a.m. Wednesday to the intersection of Western and Selby Avenues for a vehicle crash. Authorities say it was reported that a large crowd had formed in the area.

Police say preliminary information they received was that federal agents were pursuing a person in a vehicle when that vehicle crashed. Officers assisted at the scene of the crash, and are writing a crash report in its aftermath, police have said.

The person that was being pursued sustained non-life threatening injuries, and was taken to a local hospital.

Crowd forms near crash scene

What we know:

As has been the normal during Operation Metro Surge in the Twin Cities, a crowd gathered near the incident with several onlookers blowing whistles and recording the events on their phones.

FOX 9 was at the scene as people exercised their First Amendment rights. The situation did not escalate as first responders arrived to take the person away in an ambulance.

Video taken at the scene shows a red sedan with heavy damage to the passenger side being placed onto a tow truck before it’s hauled away.

St. Paul Mayor, Minnesota House representatives react

Mayor responds:

Newly-elected St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her released the following statement after the incident.

"The incident today at Selby and Western underscores the fact that ICE is still present, causing chaos, and putting residents at risk in Saint Paul. I want to thank those who continue to show up and keep watch over their neighbors. I also want to thank the Saint Paul Police for staying on the scene to clean up and ensure those impacted received assistance. 

 "Because of the reckless way that ICE is running their operation, one person ended up in the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, and several bystanders had their cars damaged. This is just another incident that tells us loud and clear: Operation Metro Surge needs to end immediately."

Lawmakers respond:

The Minnesota House Saint Paul Delegation released the following statement:  

"Border Czar Tom Homan attempted to sell Minnesotans on the idea that ICE and federal operations would be ‘targeted,’ suggesting they would tighten tactics to reduce the number of agents required. Instead, these operations are causing more damage and harm. While Republicans continue to downplay the ongoing chaos and lawlessness of federal agents, Minnesotans are witnessing daily how clearly undertrained these agents are as they utilize tactics that jeopardize the safety of every resident and community member in our neighborhoods. 

"We thank the St. Paul Police Department for their swift presence and for ensuring the scene was cleared. Taxpayers and our city are now on the hook for local police overtime just to clean up a federal mess. No one in our community will be safe until Operation Metro Surge is over and all ICE and federal immigration agents have left our state." 

Rep. Meg Luger-Nikolai (DFL-Saint Paul), who represents the area, shared the following statement:

"This is yet another example of ICE agents making everyone unsafe. Chasing cars at high speeds through a packed neighborhood and business district basically guarantees that crashes like this will happen. It is long past time for these people to leave."  

Department of Homeland Security response

The other side:

Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin shared the following statement on the incident: 

"On February 11, ICE officers attempted to conduct a targeted vehicle stop of Alexander Romero-Avila, an illegal alien from Honduras RELEASED into the country by the Biden administration in 2022.

"In a dangerous attempt to resist arrest, this illegal alien tried to evade law enforcement and began driving recklessly and ran red lights, endangering public safety and law enforcement. Romero-Avila crashed his vehicle into multiple vehicles and a ICE law enforcement vehicle. Law enforcement immediately called 911 to get medical assistance. No members of the public or ICE officers were injured in the crash. The illegal alien was taken to Regents Hospital for evaluation of injuries.

"These dangerous attempts to evade arrest have surged since sanctuary politicians have encouraged illegal aliens to evade arrest and provided guides advising illegal aliens how to recognize ICE, block entry, and defy arrest. Our officers are now facing a 3,200% increase in vehicle attacks."