ST. PAUL, Minn. — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents conducted a controversial operation in St. Paul, Minnesota, detaining a longtime American citizen at gunpoint without presenting a warrant before forcibly removing him into subfreezing temperatures wearing only underwear. The incident has ignited fierce criticism from local officials and community members amid a broader federal surge in the Twin Cities region.
ChongLy “Scott” Thao, a decades-long U.S. citizen, was awoken from a nap on Sunday afternoon by family members alerting him to armed, masked agents pounding on his door. Despite instructions not to open it, ICE personnel forced entry into the residence, pointed firearms at the family, and detained Thao without allowing him to present identification. Video evidence and family testimony confirm he was escorted outside in handcuffs, clad only in sandals and underwear with a blanket hastily provided for minimal warmth.
Neighbors and bystanders documented the scene, capturing audible distress from family members—including Thao’s four-year-old grandson—and loud protests against the heavily armed agents. Thao was later transported to an undisclosed location where he was subjected to fingerprinting and photographic identification in frigid conditions before eventually being released without apology or explanation.
In response, the Department of Homeland Security characterized the operation as a “targeted” effort aimed at apprehending two convicted sex offenders believed to be residing at the address. DHS claimed Thao “matched the description” of the targets and refused identification—an account the family vehemently denies. Public records show no sex offenders residing at Thao’s address, with the nearest registered individual located over two blocks away.
St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her, herself Hmong American, condemned ICE’s actions as “unacceptable and un-American,” accusing the agency of overreach and failing to focus on genuine threats to public safety.
The Thao family’s history adds further context to their outrage. ChongLy Thao’s adopted mother, Choua Thao, was a Hmong nurse who provided medical care to CIA-backed soldiers during the U.S. “Secret War” in Laos. Forced to flee to the U.S. after communist takeover, her service to American interests contrasts sharply with her son’s treatment decades later.
Thao now plans to file a civil rights lawsuit against DHS, citing lasting trauma and an eroded sense of safety in his own home.