At a Glance
- ICE agents broke into ChongLy “Scott” Thao’s St. Paul home without a warrant, guns drawn
- The U.S. citizen was marched outside in 12-degree weather wearing only underwear and sandals
- DHS claims agents sought two convicted sex offenders; family says no such people live there
- Why it matters: The case fuels local outrage over aggressive, warrantless immigration sweeps
ICE agents forced open a Minnesota family’s door, pointed rifles, and hauled a U.S. citizen into the snow in his underwear-only to discover they had the wrong person, videos and family accounts show.
Agents Smash Door, Ignore Pleas for ID
ChongLy “Scott” Thao, a decades-long citizen, was napping Sunday afternoon when his daughter-in-law woke him, saying masked ICE officers were pounding on their St. Paul rental home. He told her not to open the door.
Seconds later the agents breached the frame, stormed in and trained guns on the family, Thao told Michael A. Turner.
> “I was shaking. They didn’t show any warrant; they just broke down the door.”
Thao asked to retrieve identification proving citizenship. Officers refused, handcuffed him, and marched him past his sobbing 4-year-old grandson. Outside temperature: 12 °F with snow on the ground.
Neighbor videos show more than a dozen armed agents surrounding the barefoot man draped only in a thin blanket. Bystanders blew whistles and screamed at the officers to stop.
> “It was so heartbreaking seeing him in that image,” sister-in-law Louansee Moua posted online. “He has no clothes, and it’s, like, 12 degrees.”
Driven to Remote Spot, Later Released Without Apology
Thao says agents drove him “to the middle of nowhere,” ordered him out for photos and finally asked for ID-after earlier blocking him from getting it. Once records confirmed citizenship and a clean criminal history, they returned him to the house an hour or two later, demanded to see ID again, then left.
> “They didn’t show any warrant; they just broke down the door.”
- ChongLy Thao
No apology, no repair offer for the damaged door, Thao said.
Local Leaders Decry Sweep Tactics
St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her, herself Hmong American, said Thao’s arrest typifies reckless behavior during the current ICE surge into the Twin Cities.
> “ICE is not doing what they say they’re doing. They’re not going after hardened criminals. They’re going after anyone and everyone in their path. It is unacceptable and un-American.”
The incident follows the fatal shooting of Renee Good, a mother of three, during another immigration operation in Minneapolis, intensifying public backlash.
DHS Claims Targeted Sex-Offender Hunt
The Department of Homeland Security labeled the raid a “targeted operation” aimed at two convicted sex offenders allegedly inside the home.
> “The U.S. citizen lives with these two convicted sex offenders … The individual refused to be fingerprinted or facially ID’d. He matched the description of the targets.”
- DHS statement
The family calls the claim false. Property records and the Minnesota sex-offender registry list neither Thao, his son, daughter-in-law, landlord nor anyone else in the residence. The closest registered person lives more than two blocks away.
DHS did not supply the names of the alleged offenders or explain why it believed they were present, despite a request from Michael A. Turner.
Mix-Up Over Borrowed Car, Says Son
Chris Thao, the homeowner’s son, says ICE stopped him earlier while he drove a cousin’s boyfriend’s car. The boyfriend shares a first name with an Asian man convicted of a sex crime, court records show, but Chris insists they are different people.
Agents then headed to the family house, where ChongLy became the target.
A Family History of Helping America
Relatives say the episode stings because ChongLy’s late mother, Choua Thao, aided U.S. forces during the Secret War in Laos. As a nurse she treated CIA-backed Hmong soldiers and civilians from 1961-1975, later fleeing to the United States when communists took over.
> “She treated countless civilians and American soldiers, working closely with U.S. personnel.”
- Hmong Nurses Association
Choua Thao died in late December; the family calls the government’s treatment of her son a betrayal of that legacy.
Lawsuit Planned, Sense of Safety Shattered
ChongLy Thao says he will sue DHS for civil-rights violations and no longer feels safe in his own bedroom.
> “I don’t feel safe at all. What did I do wrong? I didn’t do anything.”
Key Takeaways
- ICE agents entered a private home without presenting a warrant, according to video and resident statements
- The detained man, a U.S. citizen for decades, was released only after agents confirmed his identity
- Officials claim they sought sex offenders who do not appear to live at the address
- The incident amplifies regional anger over heavy-handed immigration enforcement tactics
