A Liberian-born, naturalized United States citizen says he was injured and hospitalized following a confrontation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota.
Emmanuel Sackie told reporters the incident occurred Monday afternoon in the parking lot of a Family Dollar store. He said he was inside the store when his fiancée, Amanda Tuonyon, called to alert him that immigration agents had surrounded their vehicle.
Tuonyon said the agents claimed the car was registered to someone named “Joseph.” Sackie stepped outside and showed his driver’s license to clarify the situation.
“They asked me, ‘Can you give me more proof that you’re a citizen?’” Sackie said. “I told them I don’t have the proof on me right now.”
Video footage recorded by Tuonyon shows Sackie explaining that he does not know anyone named Joseph, while she pleads with the officers to release them, insisting her fiancé is a U.S. citizen.
Sackie says the situation escalated quickly. A bystander-recorded video shows a struggle between him and federal agents, ending with Sackie being handcuffed and placed into a federal vehicle.
“I am a legal citizen, and this is my first time being in handcuffs in my whole life,” Sackie said.
He said he was taken to an unknown location before being released and that he sustained significant bruising, requiring hospitalization.
Sackie, who legally immigrated to the U.S. to reunite with family and build a better life, described the encounter as traumatizing and questioned whether citizenship documentation provides real protection during immigration enforcement.
“America is the place of dreams, equal opportunity, equal rights,” Sackie said. “But that is not how I was treated. I was treated like an animal, and it really hurt me.”
WCCO reported that it reached out to ICE for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.
Source: WCCO CBS New Minnesota
