A Minneapolis woman invited to attend the State of the Union as Representative Ilhan Omar’s guest was taken into custody and removed from the event on Tuesday night, Feb. 24, 2026. The incident marked a dramatic escalation that reignited intense debate over the administration’s growing immigration enforcement activity.
Aliya Rahman, who had been forcibly detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) the month before, was removed from the Capitol by Capitol Police during the president’s speech for what officers described as “disruption of Congress.” Her attorney called the arrest “a blatant abuse of power,” asserting she was targeted for “merely standing silently.”
Rahman reported being injured during the confrontation and was taken to an emergency room. After treatment, she was booked and accused of unlawful behavior, according to Representative Omar. Rahman said she was released from police custody just before 4 a.m. in Washington, D.C.
In recent months, ICE activity in the Twin Cities has triggered widespread criticism from local residents and officials.
The ACLU has launched several lawsuits against the administration, claiming violations of First Amendment rights for observers and protesters in Minnesota. More than 80 individuals submitted sworn statements describing federal officers wrongly telling them that lawful monitoring was prohibited. Scarlet Kim, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, disputed the government’s assertions, saying, “In the overwhelming majority of these situations, people are engaging in entirely lawful activity.”
The ramp-up in enforcement has also led to multiple wrongful detentions of U.S. citizens. ChongLy “Scott” Thao, a naturalized citizen for decades, was inside his St. Paul home when masked ICE agents burst in without a warrant and held him at gunpoint. They brought him outside in frigid temperatures wearing only sandals and underwear with a blanket around him, as his five-year-old grandson cried. After detaining him for up to two hours, officers realized he was not the person they were seeking and released him without apology.
The Department of Homeland Security described the mission as a “targeted operation” aimed at two convicted sex offenders, a claim the family disputes.
In another incident, 20-year-old Mubashir Khalif Hussen was headed to lunch in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood on Dec. 10, 2025, when a masked federal officer sprinted toward him and tackled him. He was dragged into the back hallway of a building and held despite showing his U.S. passport. After several hours in custody, officers refused to take him back to the location of the arrest, instead telling him to walk seven miles through the snow.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey denounced the arrest, saying Mubashir was “taken into custody for absolutely no reason, in clear violation of the Constitution and the laws of the United States, simply for walking down the street and appearing Somali.”
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem demanding an investigation into the operations. “The force, lack of communication, and unlawful conduct demonstrated by your agents will not be tolerated in Minnesota,” Walz stated.
The enforcement actions have also turned deadly. ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed Renee Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen and mother of three, on Jan. 7, 2026, while she was in her car in Minneapolis. Video evidence and witness statements contradicted federal claims that she was attempting to run over officers.
St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her strongly condemned the federal tactics: “ICE is not doing what they say they’re doing. They’re not going after hardened criminals—they’re targeting anyone who happens to be in their way. It’s unacceptable and un-American.”
Federal prosecutors in Minnesota have reduced or dropped charges in more than a dozen cases involving observers accused of interfering with officers. A federal judge in Los Angeles rejected the government’s claim that protesters tracking officers constituted obstruction. In Chicago, most individuals arrested for similar allegations were released without charges.
White House border czar Tom Homan defended the administration’s strategy during a Feb. 12 press briefing, announcing the conclusion of Operation Metro Surge but insisting the government “will not tolerate unlawful acts committed by agitators who are creating chaos.” Legal scholars note that watching, filming, and even following officers from a safe distance remains constitutionally protected.
Rahman’s removal from the State of the Union marks a rare instance of a congressional guest being escorted out of the president’s annual address.