A Minneapolis woman who attended President Donald Trump’s State of the Union as Representative Ilhan Omar’s invited guest was arrested and escorted out of the chamber on Tuesday night, Feb. 24, 2026. The incident marked a sharp escalation that reignited intense debate over the administration’s increasingly aggressive immigration enforcement tactics.
Aliya Rahman, previously violently apprehended by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the prior month, was removed from the Capitol by Capitol Police during the address for what authorities termed “disruption of Congress.” Her attorney condemned the arrest as “a blatant abuse of power,” asserting she was singled out despite “simply standing in silence.”
Rahman reported being injured during the encounter and transported to the emergency room. After treatment, she was taken into custody and accused of unlawful behavior, according to Representative Omar. Rahman stated she was released from detention shortly before 4 a.m. in Washington, D.C.
ICE activity in the Twin Cities has recently triggered significant pushback from residents and officials.
The ACLU has filed several lawsuits accusing the administration of violating the First Amendment rights of both protesters and observers in Minnesota. More than 80 individuals submitted sworn statements describing federal officers claiming that their legal observation efforts were unlawful. Scarlet Kim, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, rejected the government’s assertions, saying, “In the vast majority of those examples, they’re engaged in perfectly lawful conduct.”
The enforcement surge has also resulted in the mistaken detention of multiple U.S. citizens. ChongLy “Scott” Thao, a naturalized citizen for decades, was at his St. Paul home when masked ICE officers broke open his door without a warrant and detained him at gunpoint. He was taken outside in subzero temperatures wearing only sandals and underwear, wrapped in a blanket, as his five-year-old grandson watched in distress. After one to two hours, the agents realized their error and released him without an apology.
The Department of Homeland Security described the action as a “targeted operation” to locate two convicted sex offenders, but the family disputes this claim.
In another incident, 20-year-old Mubashir Khalif Hussen was walking to lunch in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood on Dec. 10, 2025, when a masked federal officer sprinted toward him and tackled him. He was forced into a hallway and detained despite showing his U.S. passport. After hours in custody, agents refused to return him to the site of the arrest, instructing him instead to walk seven miles through the snow.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey denounced the incident, stating that Mubashir was “taken into custody for no reason at all, in clear violation of law and the Constitution of the United States for simply walking down the street and looking like he’s Somali.”
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem demanding an investigation. “The forcefulness, lack of communication, and unlawful practices displayed by your agents will not be tolerated in Minnesota,” Walz wrote.
Some of the operations have resulted in fatalities. 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 vehicle in Minneapolis. Video evidence and witness accounts contradicted federal claims that she attempted to run over officers.
St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her sharply criticized federal actions, stating, “ICE is not doing what they say they’re doing. They’re not going after hardened criminals. They’re going after anyone and everyone in their path. It is unacceptable and un-American.”
Federal prosecutors in Minnesota have withdrawn or dismissed charges in more than a dozen cases where observers were accused of obstructing officers. A federal judge in Los Angeles rejected the government’s argument that protesters monitoring officers met the legal threshold for obstructing federal investigations. Similar cases in Chicago saw most arrests dropped.
White House border czar Tom Homan defended the administration’s strategy at a Feb. 12 press briefing, announcing the conclusion of Operation Metro Surge while warning that the government “will not tolerate unlawful actions committed by agitators who are just causing havoc.” Legal experts emphasize that observing, recording, and even following officers from a safe distance are protected constitutional activities.
Rahman’s arrest at the State of the Union marks a rare removal of an invited congressional guest during the president’s annual address.
