OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
10:55 AM – Saturday, January 17, 2026
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers reportedly arrested three workers at a family-owned Mexican restaurant in Willmar, Minnesota, hours after they ate lunch there.
At around 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, four ICE officers ate at a booth at El Tapatio, located about 85 miles west of Minneapolis, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported.
Witnesses photographed the officers at the restaurant and filmed the arrest, saying that the staff appeared to be “frightened.”
Close to 8:30 p.m. the same day, bystanders said they saw the officers detain three staff members from the restaurant near a Lutheran church and Willmar Middle School after the restaurant closed for the night.
Bystanders blew whistles and yelled as the officers completed the arrests, with one shouting, “Would your mama be proud of you right now?”
The officers and the detainees have not been identified publicly.
Thousands of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officers have been deployed to Minnesota in an operation known as “Operation Metro Surge” as part of the Trump administration’s effort to remove those who illegally crossed into the U.S. throughout former President Joe Biden’s term. In Minnesota specifically, rampant fraud has been uncovered in immigrant-run businesses, such as childcare centers that take advantage of federal funds for social services, but have no children in sight.
Statewide protests have also erupted after the killing of Renee Good, who was shot by an ICE officer after seemingly attempting to flee in her car while he stood in her path.
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