Federal immigration agents targeted a residential construction site in Chanhassen, Minnesota, on Saturday, leaving two workers stranded on a partially built home’s roof for hours amid frigid winter temperatures, according to witnesses and video footage shared online.
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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were seen surrounding the site and blocking off the area with police tape as the workers remained atop the wooden framing of the structure. Videos circulating on social media showed law enforcement vehicles stationed nearby while officers waited for the workers to come down.
One of the workers was eventually lowered from the roof using a boom lift and transported by ambulance, accompanied by an ICE agent, according to a Mercado Media livestream. The second worker descended later in the afternoon and left the scene without being detained.
Dozens of people gathered at the site in protest, opposing ICE’s actions. Minnesota state Rep. Alex Falconer, DFL–Eden Prairie, joined demonstrators and condemned the operation, calling it “reprehensible” and “immoral” to strand construction workers on a roof in freezing conditions.
“These are people here building a house in the frigid Minnesota weather for other people to live in,” Falconer said. “These aren't dangerous people. They're trying to make a buck in this economy.”
Falconer said the workers appeared to be Latino and alleged that agents did not know their identities, characterizing the operation as a “fishing expedition.” He estimated that roughly 30 federal agents were present, rotating in and out of vehicles to stay warm, while local law enforcement assisted with traffic and crowd control.
According to Falconer, two women from the crowd provided blankets to the remaining worker before law enforcement departed the scene. ICE had not responded to requests for comment regarding the incident as of Saturday evening.
The confrontation comes amid heightened scrutiny of immigration enforcement actions and their impact on immigrant laborers, particularly in the construction industry, where undocumented and mixed-status workers make up a significant portion of the workforce.
Originally reported by Feven Gerezgiher in MPR News.
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