ICE thwarted from entering Ecuador’s consulate in Minneapolis by employee | ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement)
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent attempted to enter Ecuador’s consulate in Minneapolis but was turned away by an employee, prompting a formal complaint to be filed with the US embassy in Quito, the country’s foreign ministry said.
Tuesday’s incident comes as ICE and other federal agencies continue their aggressive campaign to detain people suspected of being in the United States illegally in Minnesota’s largest city, despite outrage over the deaths of two U.S. citizens in the so-called “Metro Surge.”
“This morning, the Ecuadorian consul in Minneapolis reported at approximately 11:00 a.m. that an agent from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) attempted to enter the Consulate building,” Ecuador’s foreign ministry said in a statement released Tuesday evening. he said.
The statement continued: “Consular officials immediately prevented the ICE officer from entering the consulate headquarters, thus ensuring the protection of the Ecuadorians who were at the consular headquarters at the time.”
In response, Ecuador’s foreign minister “immediately submitted a note of protest to the U.S. Embassy in Ecuador to ensure that actions of this nature are not repeated in any of Ecuador’s consular offices in the United States.”
Video of the incident, confirmed by Reuters, shows an employee at the consulate telling the representative: “This is the Ecuadorian consulate, you are not allowed to enter.”
“Calm down, relax, I didn’t break in,” the agent replies, then tells the staff member: “Touch me and I’ll catch you.” The agent leaves shortly after.
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, and the State Department did not respond to a request for comment.
Greg Meeks, the top Democrat on the House foreign relations committee, called the incident “another outrageous and unacceptable disregard for the rule of law” by the Trump administration and a violation of diplomatic protocols.
“Diplomatic facilities are protected for a reason. Any attempt by U.S. law enforcement to trespass on another country’s diplomatic facilities is not only illegal, it risks setting an extremely dangerous precedent that could put American diplomats, service members, and their families abroad at risk,” Meeks said.
He called the intrusion attempt a sign that “ICE is completely out of control, operating without rules, restrictions or accountability.”
