Augsburg University confirmed in a statement Immigration and Customs Enforcement targeted a student on campus Saturday afternoon.
“ICE agents in an unmarked car entered Lot B and attempted to detain an Augsburg student. At this time, we believe the student was specifically targeted and was followed to campus,” the University said in a campus-wide email.
Augsburg media relations directed the Minnesota Daily to their public statement posted on Sunday about the event and did not answer specific questions.
Augsburg staff and administrators were on campus that afternoon and are working with the student’s family and attorneys following the incident on Saturday, the email read.
The email further said the masked group of ICE agents did not provide a warrant when an on-call administrator arrived outside Parking Lot B and a residence hall. The statement added the agents aimed their weapons at witnesses nearby, as many students watched from their residence hall windows.
Augsburg’s Sunday public statement said the incident was far outside the norm of the university’s experience with law enforcement.
“These tactics, with the implicit threat of violence, are unacceptable, dangerous, and profoundly disturbing,” the statement read.
Augsburg University neighbors the University of Minnesota’s West Bank campus. University officials on Monday morning notified students in an email about the recent report of ICE agents targeting Minneapolis Somali and Latino communities and the incident at Augsburg.
“Campus departments of public safety, including UMPD, do not enforce federal immigration laws and our officers do not inquire about an individual’s immigration status. Their focus remains on public safety, fostering trust, and maintaining strong relationships across the University community,” A University spokesperson said in an email to the Daily, as is also stated on their public safety page.
The email also listed what to do if ICE is on campus and asking questions, including to remain calm, to ask for the agent’s identification and to know your rights. University officials added in the email to carry all valid immigration documents if students, staff and faculty have them.
Students can also view the University International Student and Scholar Services page to learn what to do if they receive a visit from federal agents.
The event follows President Donald Trump ending Temporary Protected Status for Somali immigrants in Minnesota in late November. During Thanksgiving weekend, ICE agents increased their activity in St. Paul.
In a Dec. 5 cabinet meeting, Trump called people from Somalia “garbage” and claimed that they “contribute nothing” to Minnesota.
“I don’t want them in our country,” Trump said in the meeting. “Their country’s no good for a reason. Their country stinks.”
