A U.S. citizen has accused federal immigration officers of violently detaining her while she was on her way to a medical appointment in Minneapolis, an incident that has intensified scrutiny of the Trump administration\u2019s ongoing immigration crackdown in the city.<\/p>\n
In a statement released Thursday, Aliya Rahman said she was pulled from her vehicle by immigration officers, taken into custody, and later denied medical care until she lost consciousness. The Department of Homeland Security<\/span><\/span> disputed her account, describing Rahman as an agitator who obstructed officers during an enforcement operation.<\/p>\n Video of the arrest, which has drawn millions of views across social media platforms, shows masked federal agents smashing a car window, cutting Rahman\u2019s seatbelt, and dragging her from the vehicle amid loud protests, whistles and car horns at a busy intersection.<\/p>\n Rahman said she was traveling to a routine appointment at a traumatic brain injury clinic when she encountered immigration officers blocking the roadway. In the footage, she is heard telling officers she is disabled and trying to get to a doctor, moments before she is forcibly removed from the car and carried toward an enforcement vehicle.<\/p>\n Her attorney, Alexa Van Brunt of the MacArthur Justice Center, said Rahman was trapped in what she described as an impossible situation.<\/p>\n \u201cShe had nowhere to go,\u201d Van Brunt said, arguing that moving her car risked accusations of threatening officers, while remaining stationary ultimately led to her violent detention.<\/p>\n The Department of Homeland Security said Rahman ignored repeated commands to move her vehicle and was arrested along with six others. The department did not clarify whether charges were filed or respond directly to questions about Rahman\u2019s claim that she was denied medical treatment while in custody.<\/p>\n Rahman said she was taken to a detention facility where she repeatedly requested to see a doctor. According to her statement, she was only transferred to a hospital after losing consciousness in her cell. Her legal team said she was treated for injuries consistent with assault and has since been discharged.<\/p>\n The incident is one of several that have gone viral amid an intensifying immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis and neighboring St. Paul. Thousands of federal agents have been deployed, sparking protests and drawing sharp criticism from local officials, who have likened the operation to a \u201cfederal invasion.\u201d<\/p>\n In recent days, videos have surfaced showing officers breaking down doors with battering rams, detaining U.S. citizens at retail stores, and using force during arrests. Civil rights advocates say the growing body of footage raises serious questions about the conduct of immigration enforcement and the treatment of both immigrants and citizens.<\/p>\n For Rahman, the encounter has left lasting fear.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought I was going to die,\u201d she said, adding that she feels fortunate to have survived the ordeal.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A U.S. citizen has accused federal immigration officers of violently detaining her while she was on her way to a medical appointment in Minneapolis, an incident that has intensified scrutiny of the Trump administration\u2019s ongoing immigration crackdown in the city. In a statement released Thursday, Aliya Rahman said she was pulled from her vehicle by<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14998,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"twitter_1160854738579181570_1160854738579181570":"","facebook_3558452337540614_100649324928663":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,239],"tags":[1084,1898,2742,1358,898,1359,2682,2006,1087],"class_list":{"0":"post-14997","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-general-news","8":"category-usa-canada","9":"tag-breaking-news","10":"tag-civil-rights","11":"tag-department-of-homeland-security","12":"tag-ice","13":"tag-immigration-crackdown","14":"tag-law-enforcement","15":"tag-minneapolis","16":"tag-protests","17":"tag-united-states"},"yoast_head":"\n