Reports surrounding a recent incident in Minneapolis, Minnesota involving federal immigration agents, as described by Vice President JD Vance, have come under scrutiny due to conflicting accounts by local police and the restaurant manager on duty at the time.
The Vice President shared the incident on X, following his recent trip to Minneapolis. He narrated a “crazy story” where he claimed that ICE and CBP officers were identified by protesters, locked in a restaurant on January 19, and their pleas for help were ignored by local police.
The Minneapolis Police Department countered this narrative. Sgt. Garrett Parten stated, “MPD monitored the situation and determined that the federal agents had sufficient resources available to manage the incident,” adding that the department was informed only after the agents had left the scene.
Balli Singh, the manager of Darbar India Grill & Bar in southwest Minneapolis, was unaware that his restaurant was the subject of Vance’s post until media contacted him. Singh provided a contrasting version of the events that unfolded on the night of January 19.
Singh recalled that the officers asked about the closure of many restaurants, to which he replied it might be due to ICE activities. Later, a crowd began to gather outside the restaurant around the officers’ vehicle.
During the incident, Singh heard one officer say, “We’ll teach them a lesson.”
Singh denies seeing anyone locking the doors that night. However, a Department of Homeland Security report alleges that a female subject locked the restaurant doors, trapping the agents inside.
The DHS report also detailed that a young adult male accused the agents of being ICE personnel, pointing to their Ford Expedition as a known ICE vehicle. Approximately 30 people gathered outside during the incident.
Despite the crowd, the agents were able to leave within nine minutes, with no injuries or use of force reported. It took about 15 minutes from the initial 911 call for the two agents to depart. A vehicle left behind at the restaurant was monitored by Minneapolis Police until the agents could retrieve it.
While the DHS report claimed local law enforcement didn’t respond to the incident, Minneapolis Police Department officials insist they monitored the situation and concluded that the federal agents could handle it themselves.
Minneapolis has seen a tense atmosphere due to immigration raids since December, heightened by two fatal shootings involving federal immigration agents. Alex Pretti, 37, was shot dead by a Border Patrol agent on January 24, 2026, and Renee Nicole Good was killed by an ICE agent earlier on January 7, 2026.
A federal civil rights investigation into Pretti’s death was launched by the Justice Department on January 30, 2026, with the FBI leading the review. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche stated that the probe would examine “everything that would shed light on what happened that day and in the days and weeks leading up to what happened.”
Vance used the restaurant incident to criticize the lack of cooperation from local law enforcement with federal immigration agents in his X post. He indicated that this chaos, created by state and local officials, led to tragic results and provided fodder for politicians to criticize border enforcement.
These differing accounts highlight ongoing disputes about immigration enforcement methods and the relationship between federal agents and local communities. Federal immigration operations in urban areas have been met with increasing protests and confrontations, particularly in cities where local officials have expressed reluctance to cooperate with ICE.
The incident at Darbar India Grill & Bar exemplifies the complexities encountered when federal immigration enforcement interacts with local communities. Although federal agents assert they deal with hostile environments compromising their safety, local witnesses, including police, tell a less dramatic story.
Minneapolis, a city known for its diverse immigrant communities and progressive political leadership, has become a hotbed of debate over immigration enforcement methods. Local officials have been caught between demands for cooperation from federal authorities and calls from community members to protect immigrant residents.
The heightened awareness about ICE’s presence, indicated by the officers’ question to Singh about restaurant closures, suggests that the business owners and the community were already vigilant about immigration enforcement activities.
The disparity between Vance’s public statements and the accounts provided by Singh and local police raises questions about the information flow from field agents, through the Department of Homeland Security, to top administration officials. It remains uncertain whether Vance received an inflated account from DHS officials or chose to emphasize certain aspects of the incident for political reasons.
It is clear that the 15-minute timeline from the initial 911 call to the officers’ departure starkly contrasts with Vance’s portrayal of a lengthy siege. The fact that the agents were able to leave without resorting to force further challenges the narrative of agents being trapped and helpless without assistance.
Video evidence reviewed by Reuters, the BBC, The Wall Street Journal, and the Associated Press showed Pretti’s gun remained holstered throughout the confrontation, with agents appearing to remove the weapon approximately one second before shots were fired—contradicting initial federal claims that Pretti brandished the firearm or posed an immediate threat.
As Minneapolis continues to navigate the presence of federal immigration enforcement, incidents like the one at Darbar India Grill & Bar are likely to exacerbate ongoing disagreements over tactics, transparency, and the correct relationship between federal agents and local law enforcement.
Pretti’s death prompted protests in cities across the United States, including New York, San Francisco, Boston, Los Angeles, Portland, and Austin, with memorial bike rides organized in over 100 cities worldwide.
