Roofers working a quiet Bemidji townhome project on Thursday suddenly found themselves at the center of a federal immigration raid, sprinting through yards and into nearby woods as agents moved in. Neighbors described a chaotic, startling scene that left homeowners and contractors rattled, with several workers taken into custody and residents spending the rest of the day trying to help and to figure out where those workers had been taken.
What happened
According to the Star Tribune, federal agents carried out the operation at the Villas at Vista North, a townhome subdivision where crews were replacing roofs damaged by last summer’s derecho. Witnesses and the job foreman told the paper that some workers jumped from roofs and ran into the woods in an effort to avoid detention. The outlet reports that roughly 20 workers were detained, and that a list shown to the foreman indicated 11 men were transferred to the Crow Wing County jail and 11 to the Kandiyohi County jail. Contractors at the site said the sweep shrank one crew of about 30 down to just a few workers, leaving employers scrambling to keep storm repair work on track.
Statewide backdrop
The Bemidji raid unfolded against months of high-profile federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota and a partial pullback of agents earlier this year. Officials announced a reduction in the large deployment known as Operation Metro Surge in February. According to Axios, a smaller federal presence remained in parts of the state even after that drawdown. Courts and advocates have also pressed for stronger protections for detainees, and a federal judge recently extended an order requiring ICE to ensure prompt access to attorneys and to limit out-of-state transfers, according to reporting by AP.
Neighbors and immediate fallout
Residents said the late-morning calm shattered in an instant. One woman told the Star Tribune she watched a young man jump from her roof and take off running. Neighbors said some workers cried out that they had "papers" as they were detained. The paper also reports that residents pooled more than $600 to support the workers, and a small protest later gathered near the Paul Bunyan statues as locals voiced anger over the enforcement action.
Legal and labor implications
Construction work, and roofing in particular, relies heavily on foreign-born and unauthorized labor, which helps explain how a single enforcement sweep can ripple across local job sites and slow rebuilding. Data compiled by the Pew Research Center shows construction among the sectors with the highest share of unauthorized workers nationally, a reality contractors say can make storm recovery projects vulnerable when crews are disrupted.
For now, homeowners and employers in Bemidji are left trying to finish repairs with smaller crews, while friends and neighbors work the phones to locate detained workers and offer support. The episode underscores how immigration enforcement can spill far beyond big cities and upend local recovery efforts in a single morning.
