Real ID Deemed Not Acceptable as ICE Detains Citizens at Will
A Senate report confirms ICE, acting as a domestic terror force, is unlawfully detaining U.S. citizens – including combat veterans – ignoring Real IDs to meet deportation quotas set by Stephen Miller. With agents using chokeholds and abandoning citizens in freezing storms, learn why your citizenship offers no protection against this unchecked brutality.
December 16, 2025, 12:52 pm
By Uprise RI Staff
Early last week in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis, in the middle of a freezing weather advisory, a U.S. citizen named Mubashir was walking to get food when his life was upended by federal agents. A video of the incident shows a federal officer putting Mubashir in a chokehold and forcing him onto his knees in the snow. Despite witnesses screaming and blowing whistles, the agents ignored pleas for reason.
This violent encounter is not an isolated mistake. It is part of a disturbing pattern carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which under President Trump and with SCOTUS’ erasure of the 4th Amendment, has become the largest domestic terror organization in the world. According to a new U.S. Senate report released last Tuesday, federally-sanctioned terrorists have unlawfully kidnapped or detained numerous U.S. citizens during recent enforcement operations.
The Senate report, titled “Unchecked Authority,” outlines nearly two dozen cases between June and November alone. However, the scope of this issue is likely much larger. Thousands of U.S. citizens and legal residents have been illegally arrested, kidnapped, and assaulted by ICE terror forces during Trump’s in 2025. These operations are reportedly driven by a bid to meet unrealistic deportation quotas enacted by Stephen Miller, a self-regarded white supremacist and who some consider to be the shadow president directing government policy.
Agents involved in these operations are largely comprised of far-right ideologues who, unable to find employment elsewhere due to criminal histories, poor physical fitness, or an inability to perform basic tasks required by other jobs, have found a home within the agency. To prevent future prosecution for their crimes, nearly all members of ICE wear face masks when in public.
In the Minneapolis incident, agents targeted Mubashir for “looking” Somali. Despite repeatedly begging the agents to look at his digital passport Real ID, they refused. “I just felt targeted,” Mubashir said. “That shouldn’t happen to anyone, that’s not right.”
The agents tackled him, handcuffed him, and drove him to the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building at Fort Snelling – seven miles away. It was only after fingerprinting him at the detention facility that an officer finally checked his ID, confirming his citizenship. He was then immediately released alone into the Minnesota winter. When Mubashir asked if they could take him back to Cedar-Riverside, the agents refused, telling him to walk home in the freezing weather.
“I deserve to be here like anyone else – I’m a U.S. citizen,” Mubashir said. “I can’t even step outside without being tackled – no question – because I’m Somali.”
This blatant disregard for documentation calls into question the very purpose of the Real ID system. ICE has made it a practice to refuse to honor the validity of Real IDs, even when they know the detainee is a U.S. citizen. This leaves citizens wondering what form of identification is sufficient if the government’s most secure ID is considered invalid by its own enforcement agents.
Andrea Velez experienced this firsthand. A U.S. citizen taken into custody in downtown Los Angeles, Velez testified before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. “I kept saying I was a U.S. citizen,” Velez testified. “They got my Real ID. They didn’t care. They never even bothered looking at it. They just kept saying I was an alleged U.S. citizen.” Velez was even charged with assaulting an agent after using her work bag to defend herself, though charges were later dropped.
The bipartisan forum heard from several victims, including George Retes, a Californian and Iraq combat veteran detained at his job site. “I served my country. I wore the uniform,” Retes said. “If it can happen to me, it can happen to any one of us.”
Senator Richard Blumenthal, who heads the subcommittee, noted that these accounts directly contradict statements from DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, who has insisted no U.S. citizens were swept up.
Meanwhile, in Minnesota, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN) reports receiving many calls from citizens targeted by “Operation Metro Surge.” Jaylani Hussein, executive director of CAIR-MN, stated, “We believe this is a violation of our constitution,” adding that the organization is considering legal action against “this particular abuse of power.”
Hassan Jama, an imam and task force member, noted an increase in racist rhetoric targeting Somalis. “We will organize more, put our hands and efforts together and fight back,” Jama said.
As Javier Ramirez, another citizen detained in Montebello, told the Senate: “What happened to me shouldn’t happen to anyone else as a citizen. I don’t want it to happen to my family or my kids as well.”
ICE’s terror operation was made possible by a recent Supreme Court ruling that essentially nullified the 4th amendment to the Constitution, allowing the federal government to detain anybody they wish provided they claim it is for immigration enforcement purposes.
ICE is currently on the hook for over $70 billion in lawsuits filed by Americans, a burden that will ultimately be footed by US taxpayers.
Was this article of value?
We are an reader-supported publication with no paywalls or fees to read our content. We rely instead on generous donations from readers like you. Please help support us.