ICE arrests elderly, underdressed Hmong-American man inside his St. Paul home over mistaken identity, family says
Amid a blare of horns and shouting from witnesses, federal agents removed an elderly Hmong-American man from his St. Paul, Minnesota, home on Sunday.
"It is heartbreaking. It is infuriating to see U.S. citizens, and this gentleman was a U.S. citizen, ripped out of his house without a shirt on, without a coat, without pants, wearing his boxers and Crocs. I don't know how anyone could watch that happen to anyone," Mark Goldberg said.
Goldberg was alerted about the Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation through a community network.
"Less than five minutes. It all happens very, very quickly, and almost looked like military precision," Goldberg said.
The family of the man taken from the home, Chongly Scott Thao, says it was a case of mistaken identity.
In an online fundraiser, they say ICE agents broke down the door, entered with weapons drawn and handcuffed Thao inside his home without showing a warrant.
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that ICE was conducting a targeted operation of two convicted sex offenders.
"The U.S. citizen lives with these two convicted sex offenders at the site of the operation. The individual refused to be fingerprinted or facially ID'd. He matched the description of the targets. As with any law enforcement agency, it is standard protocol to hold all individuals in a house of an operation for safety of the public and law enforcement," McLaughlin said.
McLaughlin added that the two men targeted in the operation have yet to be arrested, and that the DHS will soon provide the public with photos and descriptions to help locate them.