Federal Agents Used a Battering Ram to Enter a Minneapolis Home Without Valid Warrant, Video Shows

“Any American should be terrified by…such an egregious violation of the Fourth Amendment,” said the arrestee’s attorney.

As tensions around Operation Metro Surge, the ongoing immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, continue to rise following the shooting and killing of Renee Nicole Good on January 7, the tactics used by federal agents to make arrests are undergoing increased scrutiny. 

On Sunday, the Associated Press published a video showing a group of masked agents in protective gear, carrying weapons. The agents are seen approaching a Minneapolis home through a loud crowd of protestors and observers, before one officer takes a battering ram to the home's front door, striking it several times until it flies open. Officers stand back, pointing their rifles into the house, and likely order someone to exit the house. A woman appears in view, yells something inaudible at the agents through the doorway, and attempts to close the door. The officers then enter the home, before leaving with a man—later identified as Garrison Gibson—in handcuffs. "A distraught woman later emerged from the house with a document that federal agents presented to arrest the man," reports the A.P. 

But there's a major problem: The document used to justify the violent entry and subsequent immigration arrest was not signed by a judge, but an immigration officer, according to the A.P. Although an administrative warrant issued by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and signed by an authorized Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent can grant the authority to arrest or seize someone for suspected civil immigration violations, it does not authorize a search or grant the right to enter private places without consent. 

Following Gibson's arrest, his attorney, Marc Prokosch, filed a habeas corpus petition demanding his immediate release from immigration detention because of the unconstitutional tactics used by officers, according to Fox 9, a local affiliate.

"Any American should be terrified by…such an egregious violation of the Fourth Amendment," Prokosch told Fox 9. "That is from our Bill of Rights. To see a battering ram coming to the front door of your house with a 9-year-old inside is just terrifying," he continued. 

Under the Fourth Amendment, law enforcement officers must obtain a judicial warrant or consent before entering a place where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy, such as an individual's home. A valid judicial warrant must be supported by probable cause that a specific crime has taken place, place limits on what can be seized and searched, and be signed by a judge or magistrate. Requiring a judicial warrant for nonconsensual searches provides a crucial check against the executive branch and is vital to ensuring the constitutional right "to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures." This cornerstone right to privacy is why people are generally advised not to consent to law enforcement entering a home or conducting a search without a valid judicial warrant.

Although it is unclear from the video what exactly led up to the immigration officers' decision to beat down the front door of a Minneapolis family home, it's clear their presence and entry were unwelcome. And while some exceptions exist to the judicial warrant requirement—such as plain view, exigent circumstances, or the hot pursuit of a fleeing suspect—legal experts told the A.P. that such circumstances don't typically apply to civil immigration arrests. 

The DHS did not respond to Reason's request for comment on Sunday's arrest. 

Tricia McLaughlin, DHS assistant secretary of public affairs, told the A.P. that Sunday's incident was "part of the administration's efforts to arrest 'the worst of the worst.'" Gibson, a Liberian national, has a deportation order from 2023 and a criminal history of "robbery, drug possession with intent to sell, possession of a deadly weapon, malicious destruction and theft," according to McLaughlin. 

Even in light of this history, Gibson is guaranteed fundamental Fourth Amendment protections. Unfortunately, cases like this are not unfamiliar, as the Trump administration has shown a continuous disregard for both citizens' and noncitizens' constitutional rights in the name of immigration enforcement.