It was just another shift at Target. Then, on January 8, federal agents surrounded the Richfield, Minnesota, parking lot, and everything changed. Jonathan Aguilar Garcia, 17, was escorted toward a van while repeatedly shouting one sentence: “I’m literally a U.S. citizen!” In his pocket sat his passport—proof of everything he claimed. But ICE agents didn’t ask to see it.
Nearby, coworker Christian Miranda Romano faced the same scene. Both teenagers watched as federal officers ignored their words, their documents, their rights. Within hours, Garcia would be dropped off at a Walmart parking lot, injured and crying.
“If You Fit the Profile, You’re a Target”
Christian Miranda Romano’s family frantically searched for him after he vanished. When they finally located him at Fort Snelling detention center, they brought documents proving his citizenship—his birth certificate, social security card, everything. ICE agents turned them away.
“They didn’t care,” his cousin Ittyy Romano posted online in desperation. “They DONT care who you are, if you fit the profile you’re a target for them”.
Largest Sweep in Minnesota History
The Richfield arrests weren’t isolated incidents. They were part of something massive. Over two days in early January, federal agents arrested approximately 300 people across the Minneapolis area. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Border Patrol, and Customs officials deployed roughly 2,000 federal agents to Minnesota.
They called it “Operation Metro Surge”—the largest immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota history. Major retailers became staging grounds. Federal agents descended without warning, transforming shopping destinations into detention zones.
A Deadly Shot in South Minneapolis
The morning before the Richfield raid, Renee Nicole Good was running late. The 37-year-old mother of three had just dropped her 6-year-old off at school when ICE agents approached her vehicle on January 7. The video shows her attempting to drive away. Then three shots. Good died on impact.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem claimed Good “weaponized her vehicle,” but Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey watched the footage and called it something else: “That is bullshit,” Frey said publicly.
The Warrant No One Had
Neither Jonathan Aguilar Garcia nor Christian Miranda Romano asked why federal agents weren’t carrying judicial warrants. Under immigration law, ICE agents can enter public spaces of businesses without permission. But they need court-issued warrants to enter private areas or homes.
What they typically use are administrative warrants—documents signed by DHS officials, not judges. That distinction matters. It means agents can detain you in a Target without judicial oversight.
The Assertion of Protection That Failed to Protect
On Friday, January 10, Minnesota Representative Michael Howard met with both detained teenagers and personally verified their citizenship. He released a statement confirming both were U.S. citizens. The family of Christian Miranda Romano provided birth certificates, Social Security cards—every document that bureaucracy usually demands. None of it mattered.
Detention happened first; citizenship verification came later as an afterthought. Ben Whalen of Isaiah, a faith-based community organization, framed it bluntly: federal agents “assaulted and abducted two workers going about their shift, ignoring the one who is proclaiming that he is a U.S. citizen and had his passport in his pocket”.
A Second Citizen Falls
The question shifted: Were these isolated cases or part of a pattern? DHS claimed it was targeting “the worst of the worst”—approximately 10 among the 300 arrested were accused killers or violent child abuse offenders. That statistic circled through news reports and federal statements.
Independent analysis revealed something different: more than half of those arrested in recent ICE operations had no criminal record whatsoever.
Fear Closes Schools, Empties Streets
The arrests rippled outward. In Richfield Public Schools, where 30 percent of students are Latino, 35 percent of the district stayed home on January 8. Parents kept children away from school, terrified of what might happen at drop-off or pickup. Minneapolis schools went into lockdown.
Businesses on Lake Street and St. Paul’s East Side reported revenue drops between 50 and 100 percent—worse than COVID, owners said.
“Minnesota Is Under Sort of Occupation”
On Saturday, January 11, hundreds gathered outside the Target in Richfield. They weren’t protesting retail policy. They were protesting what federal enforcement had made of their community.
Ben Whalen stood among them and articulated something building across Minnesota: “It’s odd for them at this moment, when Minnesota is under sort of occupation, that they are silent”. He was talking about Target—the company headquartered in Richfield, a Minnesota institution for generations.
Target’s Silence Becomes Deafening
WCCO reached out to Target multiple times about the Richfield incident. No response. Minnesota Public Radio sent inquiries. Silence. Even as employees demanded clarity about their Fourth Amendment rights—about whether ICE could use company property as a federal staging ground—Target’s corporate headquarters offered nothing.
On the afternoon of January 8, Target’s chief human resources officer sent an internal email acknowledging “events in our hometown” but provided zero specific guidance on employee protections.
A Demand Delivered to the Doorstep
The Isaiah organization and community leaders marched to the Richfield Target with a list of demands. First: Target must require ICE agents to present judicial warrants—signed by judges—before entering any company property. Second: Every Target store must train its employees on Fourth Amendment rights so they understand their right to refuse certain searches.
Third: The company must publicly oppose federal enforcement on its property. Fourth: Target must post signs in all stores explaining worker protections. These weren’t radical asks. They were about basic constitutional protections.
The Legal Reckoning Arrives
While Target stayed quiet, Minnesota’s government moved fast. On Monday, January 13, Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a lawsuit against DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and federal officials. The lawsuit called the operation a “federal invasion” conducted with “militarized raids” and “warrantless arrests”. Minneapolis and St. Paul joined the case.
Governor Tim Walz appeared on television to say: “It’s a war that’s waged against Minnesota. They came here without any coordination with us, just for a show for the cameras”.
Graffiti on a Target Wall
By Saturday night, one Richfield Target building bore spray-painted words: “We’ll do it again, ICE out now”. Another message read simply: “OCCUPATION”. Protesters gathered outside, and Minneapolis police reported 30 arrests over the weekend.
Some demonstrators targeted hotels suspected of housing federal agents, using social media to coordinate, shining lights from parking lots and alleys, creating an atmosphere of visible resistance.
The Uncertain Road Ahead
U.S. Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino told WCCO the operation would continue “as long as it takes”. DHS Secretary Noem announced hundreds of additional federal agents would flood Minnesota, bringing the total to over 2,400—more than the combined forces of Minneapolis and St. Paul police.
President Trump posted on social media about “A DAY OF RECKONING AND RETRIBUTION” coming for Minnesota, without clarifying what that meant.
What We’re Waiting to Hear
In the end, the question isn’t just about federal overreach or immigration enforcement or even the constitutional rights that feel increasingly theoretical. It’s about corporate responsibility.
Target knew that two U.S. citizens were detained on its property without a warrant. Target knew its stores were being used as staging grounds for federal enforcement. Target knew employees and customers were afraid. And Target chose silence.
Whether that silence breaks—whether the company that built itself on being “America’s store” will finally speak to what happened in Richfield—remains the story Minnesota is waiting to read.
Sources:
AP News, “Minneapolis duo details their ICE detention, including assault allegations” (January 13, 2026)
CBS News Minnesota, “Target workers detained by feds officers were U.S. citizens” (January 12, 2026)
Star Tribune, “Target employees federal arrest border patrol Renee Nicole Good shooting ICE crackdown Minneapolis” (January 12, 2026)
BBC News, “Who was Renee Nicole Good, the woman killed by ICE?” (January 8, 2026)
CNN, “Clashes Rise With Federal Agents in Minneapolis” (January 13, 2026)
PBS NewsHour, “2000 federal agents sent to Minneapolis area to carry out ‘largest immigration operation ever'” (January 6, 2026)