By Anshu Patel

Federal agents in ICE, FBI and HSI vests faced neighborhood resistance from demonstrators during a raid Tuesday morning at the Bro-Tex facility in south St. Anthony Park.

Witnesses said agents arrived around 9 a.m. and detained about 15 workers at Bro-Tex, 800 N. Hampden Ave. A family member whose uncle and father were detained said that Bro-Tex workers were held in the breakroom and asked for evidence of their legal statuses. Those who were able to confirm their statuses were released.

Observers described clashes between officers and a growing crowd of around 40 people. The agents became increasingly belligerent after protestors attempted to block vans with detained workers from leaving, spraying a chemical irritant that appeared to be pepper spray into the crowd.

Another family member, waiting to hear updates on her cousin at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, said the released Bro-Tex workers notified other families of the operations.

“A lot of these people have been working here for over 20 years,” she said. “So they all know each other.”

The St. Paul ICE field office did not respond to requests for comment.

According to witness Donna Goodlaxson, who lives just three blocks from the Bro-Tex facility, many of the observers were concerned locals. One group arrived after they heard about the raid while taking their children to the school bus stop in Midway.

Goodlaxson captured video of one parent being detained by an officer. The footage shows a woman with her hands zip-tied being escorted into an unmarked gray Dodge Charger.

The masked agents with no visible identification refused requests from crowd members for their badge numbers.

“People were trying to prevent those vehicles with the people that were being detained from leaving the scene,” Goodlaxson said. “So there was a line of probably at least 10 (vehicles) that were driving north through the tape that had been put across to keep observers out.”

St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, told KARE11 outside Bro-Tex that local police were not involved in the operation.

“As a reminder, our St. Paul police officers will always identify themselves. They wear clearly marked SPPD uniforms, display their badges, and, when relevant, produce a warrant,” Carter said in a social media statement.

“Our officers will help de-escalate situations when possible. And they do not wear face coverings.”

Goodlaxson said there was increased police presence in the area.

“I saw at least five St. Paul police cars. They were driving behind the food co-op, they were driving through the Section 8 parking space of housing that is just east of Raymond,” she said.

U.S. Senator Tina Smith, D-Minn., denounced the Bro-Tex raids in a statement to the Park Bugle. “When federal officers show up en masse with no explanation, it scares people and creates chaos in our neighborhoods. And Donald Trump and Kristi Noem shutting out local leaders and law enforcement just makes everything harder,” she said.

“What happened in St. Paul today raises a lot of questions, and Minnesotans deserve clear answers,” Smith added.

Indivisible Twin Cities said it planned to hold a vigil at the Bro-Tex facility in response to the federal raids on Wednesday, Nov. 18 at 8:45 a.m. 

Anshu Patel is a University of Minnesota graduate student and a freelance writer who wrote this this story for the Bugle.