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Federal immigration agents crashed into a Minnesota man’s car and then questioned his immigration status Monday just blocks from where Renee Good was shot and killed in Minneapolis.
Christian Molina, 40, was driving to his mechanics shop at about noon Monday when federal agents started following him and crashed into the back of his car.
“I was going to pull over, but before I pulled over they just hit me,” Molina said.
Molina told Sahan Journal that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents asked him if he was in the country legally and requested his ID, but he refused to comply. Molina told the agents he is a citizen, and that they’d have to call the police if they wanted him to show his ID.
“Because I look Latino, that’s it, I don’t look white or got blue eyes. They saw this mustache and this hat,” Molina said.
A crowd of observers quickly descended on the scene of Molina’s encounter with ICE on East 35th Street near Park Avenue, blowing whistles and honking horns. ICE deployed chemical irritants on the crowd. The incident happened two blocks from where ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed 37-year-old mother of three, Renee Nicole Good on Jan. 7.
Federal agents from ICE and U.S. Border Patrol are swarming across the Twin Cities in what the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is calling the largest immigration enforcement operation in American history. In Minneapolis, St. Paul and surrounding suburbs, masked agents have been documented asking Black and Latino residents about their immigration status at gas stations and grocery stores.
“People are terrified, people are scared. They don’t want to come out of their houses, they don’t want to go to work. They’re scared for their families, their kids, it can happen to anybody,” Molina said.
Molina and his wife, Lorena, live in Coon Rapids, but lived in south Minneapolis for years. The couple were meeting at their mechanics shop Monday when ICE rammed into his vehicle. Lorena Molina, 34, said she saw ICE agents surrounding the vehicle but didn’t realize it was her husband until she got closer.
“I was terrified, shaking, crying. I just wanted him to come home safely to our kids. We have four kids and they’re always on my mind. I just want them to have a dad and a mom. With the tragedy that happened last week with the lady getting shot and killed, that’s what I was fearing the most, that I was going to lose my husband today,” Lorena Molina told Sahan Journal.
The agents left without detaining Molina. Molina said an agent asked him to confirm his name before they left. The rear of Molina’s car was significantly damaged and he said an ICE officer told him the agency would cover the repairs, but the officer didn’t leave contact information
“Whose paying for my car?” Molina asked.
Molina initially said he was fine, but about 30 minutes after the crash, he started to feel pain in his lower back. He said he appreciated neighbors coming out to tell off ICE agents and document what was happening.
“That was great,” Molina said. “People were really supportive.”
Minneapolis City Council Member Jason Chavez arrived at the scene. He’s been hearing reports of multiple detentions and said several Latino community members have reported being stopped by ICE. Federal agents are so quick to racially profile people that they’re harming the community at large, he said.
“This has become normalized, and that’s just sad,” Chavez said, adding that Molina was the victim of a crime and the agents should be held accountable.
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Andrew Hazzard is a reporter with Sahan Journal who focuses on climate change and environmental justice issues. After starting his career in daily newspapers in Mississippi and North Dakota, Andrew returned… More by Andrew Hazzard
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