ICE Agents Try To Enter Ecuadorian Consulate in Minneapolis
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents attempted to enter the Ecuadorian consulate in Minneapolis on Tuesday, prompting the country’s secretary of state to protest at the U.S. Embassy in Ecuador.
The video of the incident was published on the internet. The photo shows consulate staff running to the door to prevent the agents from entering. “Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!” a man shouted. “This is the Ecuadorian consulate. You are not allowed to enter.”
Ecuador’s foreign ministry issued a statement expression about the incident in Spanish. The English translation of the statement is below:
ABOUT THE ATTEMPT TO ATTACK THE ECUADOR CONSULATE IN MINNEAPOLIS BY ICE AGENTS
This morning, the Ecuadorian Consulate in Minneapolis reported that at approximately 11:00 a.m., an agent from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) attempted to enter the Consulate building.
By immediately preventing the ICE officer from entering the consular office, consular officials ensured the protection of Ecuadorian citizens who were in the consulate at the time and invoked emergency protocols issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility.
Therefore, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic immediately submitted a letter of protest to the US Embassy in Ecuador to ensure that such actions are not repeated in any of Ecuador’s consular offices in the US.
REPUBLIC OF ECUADOR
Generally speaking, host country officials need permission from consular staff to enter the building. Vienna Convention on Consular Relations to which the United States is a party states“The authorities of the receiving State shall not enter that part of the consular premises used exclusively for the purpose of consular work, except with the consent of the head of the consular post or his/her designee or the head of the diplomatic mission of the sending State.”
ICE and Border Patrol agents have descended on the Twin Cities area in recent weeks as part of the Trump administration’s ongoing crackdown. Border Patrol agents shot to death in Minneapolis on Saturday Alex is beautifulhe was publicly filming his activities. In the city earlier this month, an ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed Renee Good while trying to get away from the agents.
