ICE Demanded an ID, But She Held Her Ground

A viral video shows a Minneapolis resident calmly resisting federal immigration agents.

The image depicts two photos. On the left, a federal immigration agent wearing a mask stands in the snow. On the right, Nimco Omar stands in the grass, smiling, wearing sunglasses and a hijab.

Courtesy of Nimco Omar

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You might’ve seen the video: a Minneapolis resident defiantly stands up to ICE, filming as they persistently question her. Nimco Omar, a citizen and long-time Minneapolis resident, was on her way to work when federal agents demanded to see her ID. Her viral video shows agents repeatedly asking her where she was born, with Omar calmly refusing and stating her rights. They finally gave up.

“You’re terrorizing people, and it’s unacceptable,” Omar tells the agents. “I’m a citizen, this is my home.”

Mother Jones senior reporter Julia Lurie spent last week in Minneapolis talking to community members, protesters, and people confronted by ICE, including Nimco. Follow along for more updates.

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Russian bots are impersonating us. Trump and his allies want to silence us. AI wants to (and does!) steal our content. The list goes on. But with 50 years of experience, we know we were built for this moment: We’re ready to keep diving deep and uncovering the truth, then getting that to you right here, completely accessible and never behind a paywall.

While our work is free to read, watch, and listen to online, it’s incredibly costly to make. Court documents, travel, research: It all adds up. Because we’re a nonprofit newsroom, we rely on reader support to fund our investigations. Will you stand with us in these extraordinary times, as headlines clamour for our attention and disinformation is rampant? We can’t get the truth out without you.

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