Federal immigration agents were hounded Wednesday by bystanders after arresting three workers at a Mexican restaurant in Minnesota, and just hours after those same agents had dined at the eatery.
Minnesota Star Tribune reporter Reid Forgrave reported Thursday that four Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents had dined Wednesday at El Tapatio, a family-owned Mexican restaurant in Willmar, a small city about 80 miles west of Minneapolis.
An eyewitness who spoke with the Minnesota Star Tribune under the condition of anonymity told the outlet that the ICE agents dined at El Tapatio just before 3 p.m. Wednesday, and that the staff at the restaurant were “frightened.” Less than six hours later, ICE agents reportedly followed El Tapatio staff after they’d left work, and arrested three of them less than a mile away from the restaurant.
A crowd of bystanders formed as the ICE agents were making arrests according to the Minnesota Star Tribune, blowing whistles and shouting.
“Would your mama be proud of you right now?” one of the bystanders shouted, the outlet reported.
The immigration status of the arrested individuals is unknown, and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Minnesota Star Tribune.
Minnesota has been swarming with thousands of ICE officials after being deployed by the Trump administration in response to an alleged mass fraud scandal, sparked by the controversial investigation by MAGA influencer Nick Shirley into Somali daycares. Tensions in Minnesota between residents and ICE agents have only risen since the fatal ICE shooting of Minnesota woman Renee Good last week.
President Donald Trump’s mass deportation policy has proved wildly unpopular with Americans, with new internal and private GOP polling showing that 60% of independents disapprove of Trump’s immigration policy, which has resulted in the arrest of more than 328,000 migrants, more than 73% of whom have no criminal record, and in spite of Trump’s pledge to only target the “worst of the worst.”