Video captured early Tuesday shows federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arresting 18-year-old Junior de Jesús Herrera Berrios inside the Hennepin County Government Center in downtown Minneapolis, drawing a strong reaction from prosecutors and bystanders.
Herrera Berrios was taken into custody in the courthouse lobby shortly after leaving a court hearing, according to Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, who said he faces a felony drug charge related to methamphetamine.
The footage shows plainclothes ICE agents pursuing the young man through the skyway and lobby area. As agents closed in, Herrera Berrios is seen running before being tackled and pinned to the ground by federal officers. A group of onlookers began following the agents, blowing whistles and recording as the arrest unfolded.
People near the scene reportedly called out to the agents, with at least one person opening a door in the building as agents escorted Herrera Berrios out. Crowds grew around the officers, creating a charged atmosphere as bystanders reacted to what they were witnessing.
Moriarty’s office condemned the arrest as “disruptive and disturbing,” warning that using local courthouses for federal immigration enforcement could undermine the administration of justice by deterring witnesses and victims from participating in local prosecutions.
In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security described the action as a “targeted operation” to arrest Herrera Berrios at the Government Center and confirmed that he remains in ICE custody. According to DHS, the agents were responding to information that alerted them to his presence, and despite attempts to evade arrest, he was taken into custody and will remain in federal detention.
Critics of federal immigration enforcement have pointed to the courtroom arrest as an example of the friction between civil immigration actions and local justice processes, saying it creates fear within the community and complicates efforts by local prosecutors. Supporters of the action note that ICE is legally authorized to execute civil immigration warrants anywhere within the United States.
As of now, no further details have been released about Herrera Berrios’s next court appearance, bond, or whether his local felony case will proceed independently of his federal detention.
