US citizen detained in Minnesota home by ICE while wearing only underwear

A US citizen was forced out of his Minnesota home while wearing only underwear and sandals and detained at gunpoint by federal immigration agents who broke into his house without a warrant, according to the man and his family. The dramatic encounter in St. Paul unfolded on January 18 as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents carried out a series of enforcement actions that have drawn widespread criticism across the Twin Cities.

Inside the home, ChongLy “Scott” Thao, a longtime US citizen, was awakened from a nap by his daughter-in-law’s warning that federal agents were banging at the door. Moments later, masked officers burst in with guns drawn, shouting commands at the family. “I was shaking,” Thao recalled. “They didn’t show any warrant; they just broke down the door.”

Handcuffed and wearing only sandals, underwear and a thin blanket, Thao was led outside in frigid conditions as his 4-year-old grandson watched and cried. Neighbors blew whistles, honked horns, and shouted at the officers to leave the family alone. Thao said officers then drove him to a remote location, forced him into the snow , and photographed him, still refusing to allow him to present identification.

A day after the incident, Thao told Reuters he felt “fear, shame and desperation” as he stood in the snow in just shorts and Crocs while officers held him. “I was praying. I was like, God, please help me, I didn’t do anything wrong. Why do they do this to me? Without my clothes on,” he said.

After roughly an hour or two, the agents realized Thao was a US citizen with no criminal history. They returned him to his home, made him show his ID, and left without offering an explanation or apology for the warrantless entry or the humiliating detention.

The Department of Homeland Security defended the operation as a “targeted operation” aimed at finding two convicted sex offenders allegedly associated with the address. DHS said Thao initially refused fingerprinting and “matched the description of the targets.” Thao’s family strongly disputes this, stating that only Thao, his son, daughter-in-law, and grandson live at the home, and that the nearest registered sex offender lives more than two blocks away. DHS has not provided further public details identifying the alleged offenders.

The incident has struck a deep chord with the Thao family, whose roots in the United States go back decades. Thao’s mother fled Laos in the 1970s after aiding US efforts during the Vietnam War-era “ Secret War ,” treating CIA-backed Hmong soldiers and risking her life for Americans. For the family, the forceful encounter by American agents feels especially unjust given that legacy.

Thao’s son, Chris, also said ICE stopped him earlier that day while he was driving, apparently due to mistaken identity. Now, Thao plans to file a civil rights lawsuit against DHS. “I don’t feel safe at all,” he said. “What did I do wrong? I didn’t do anything.”

Local leaders have condemned the operation. St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her, a Hmong-American, said immigration authorities were “not going after hardened criminals” but “anyone and everyone in their path,” adding that the conduct was “unacceptable and un-American.”

The St. Paul incident comes amid a broader surge of immigration enforcement actions in Minnesota that have drawn sharp criticism from residents, civil rights advocates, and community leaders. Critics argue that warrantless entry and aggressive tactics risk undermining trust, traumatizing families, and eroding longstanding civil liberties.