A Minnesota man told Reuters on Monday (January 19, 2026) he felt fear, shame and desperation a day after ICE officers broke down his door with guns drawn, handcuffed him and dragged him into the snow wearing shorts and Crocs.
Pro- and anti-ICE protesters clash amid Minneapolis immigration crackdown
ChongLy Thao, 56, a naturalized U.S. citizen who goes by the name Scott, was returned home later on Sunday without explanation or apology, he said.
“I was praying. I was like, God, please help me, I didn’t do anything wrong. Why do they do this to me? Without my clothes on,” Thao, a Hmong man born in Laos, told Reuters from his home on Monday, while neighbors were at work fixing the broken door.
Pictures of the incident showing Thao barely clothed and covered in a blanket taken by a Reuters photographer and bystanders spread on social media, further fueling concern that federal law enforcement officers were exceeding their authority as part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, which has seen some 3,000 officers deployed in the Minneapolis area.
