What started as a normal trip home turned into a frightening encounter for Columbia Heights resident Ramon Menera, who says U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents handcuffed and briefly detained him on Jan. 14 after an officer told him it was "because of your accent." Menera says officers pointed guns at him, put him in a Border Patrol vehicle and scanned his face before releasing him when he showed a U.S. passport card. The episode has deepened local worries about immigration enforcement and profiling tied to the federal operation now sweeping the Twin Cities.
The encounter on Jan. 14
According to Star Tribune, Menera came home with his daughter and found officers blocking his driveway while they detained another man. Video published with that story shows an agent asking Menera where he was born and then saying, "Because of your accent" before handcuffing him and placing him in a Border Patrol vehicle. Menera told the paper he was later released after showing a passport card and that a face scan indicated he had been a naturalized U.S. citizen since 2019.
ACLU sues over profiling in Operation Metro Surge
According to ACLU of Minnesota, the organization filed a class-action lawsuit on Jan. 15, accusing ICE and CBP of racially profiling Somali and Latino Minnesotans during the enforcement effort known as Operation Metro Surge. The complaint, Hussen v. Noem, alleges agents have carried out stops without warrants or probable cause, brushed aside proof of citizenship, and targeted people based on race or perceived ethnicity.
What do people mean by "Kavanaugh stops"
Legal critics have adopted the label "Kavanaugh stops" for detentions that factor in a person's accent, apparent ethnicity or the type of work they do. Reuters reported that a September U.S. Supreme Court order and a concurrence by Justice Brett Kavanaugh have been cited in discussions of such enforcement tactics. Advocates say treating language or accent as a relevant factor makes it more likely that lawful residents and U.S. citizens will be singled out during interior immigration operations.
Courts push back, then pause
A federal judge in Minnesota temporarily limited some aggressive crowd-control and detention tactics amid protests and litigation, and an appeals court later put parts of that order on hold while the government appealed, according to the Associated Press. That legal back-and-forth has left the rules for on-the-ground enforcement in flux as both sides press their cases.
Neighbors and families react
Menera told Star Tribune that his 5-year-old daughter watched the incident from inside their home and has been afraid to spend extended time outside since it happened. "They shouldn’t be just asking for your ID because you have brown skin or because you have an accent," he told the paper. Local organizers say episodes like this fuel calls for independent oversight and clearer limits on interior immigration stops.
What to watch next
With the ACLU's class-action complaint moving forward and appeals already in the federal courts, attorneys say upcoming hearings could shape what kinds of stops federal agents are allowed to conduct inside Minnesota neighborhoods. In the meantime, Menera's account has added fresh urgency to demands from civil-rights groups and local officials for more transparency and independent review of how immigration enforcement is being carried out.
