ICE’s Aggressive Urban Tactics Were Forged Along the Southern Border
The convergence of two historically distinct agencies is redefining how immigration law is enforced inside the US.
Federal agents detain someone in Minneapolis on Jan. 29, 2026, as the ICE Operation Metro Surge continues in the Twin Cities.
Photographer: Richard Tsong-Taatarii/The Minnesota Star Tribune/Getty Images
When Mark Pettibone was swept off a Portland street into an unmarked minivan by a group of people in camouflage and tactical gear during the George Floyd protests in 2020, he had no idea who they were or where he would be taken. In the vehicle, he said they pinned him down and pulled his beanie over his eyes so he couldn’t see where they were going.
Pettibone was taken to a federal facility, arrested, processed, put in a cell and then released without paperwork, charges or a sense of why he’d been arrested, he alleged in a lawsuit. It was only later that he’d learn he had been detained by Customs and Border Protection officers.