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's the latest in a growing list of incidents where ICE has wrongfully detained an American citizen without presenting charges or an explanation. This time, it happened to Chongly Scott Thao, who said that ICE agents broke his door down without a warrant before detaining him at gunpoint. Videos show agents bringing him out in the cold with little more than a blanket and his underwear.

"They point the gun to me and my daughter in law," Thao said. "My grandson watched everything. After they took me, he was crying, looking for me." 

The 56-year-old said that ICE drove him to the "middle of nowhere" before finally reviewing his identification. They then brought him home. 

"I was hoping God would save me," Thao said. "They didn't say anything. no sorry, anything." 

Mark Goldberg was one of the people who arrived to record what was happening.

"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," Goldberg said.

The family of the man taken from the home 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.

St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her is "livid." Chongly Thao is a family friend; she said that her mother-in-law and his mother worked together as nurses at a hospital in Laos during the Secret War in the 1960's. She said that their families have remained linked as both found ways to move to Minnesota. 

On Tuesday, DHS officials said that they are still looking for the alleged criminals that they said they were targeting when they arrested Thao, further claiming that Thao lived with the two men. Mayor Her said that this was a "lie." 

"They absolutely have the wrong person. Instead of just saying they made a mistake, they wanted to justify their actions by saying these individuals live in this household with this family and it's just not true," Her said.