Feds sued over handling of Hmong man dragged from St. Paul home in underwear

Minnesota’s Ramsey County has sued the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for allegedly refusing to cooperate with its investigation into federal agents’ treatment of ChongLy “Scott” Thao, a Hmong American U.S. citizen detained during a January immigration raid in St. Paul.

Federal agents forced their way into Thao’s East Side home on Jan. 18, looking for two men wanted on sex-offense convictions. They handcuffed the 56-year-old at gunpoint and brought him outside into subfreezing temperatures while his 4-year-old grandson watched and cried. One of the men was already incarcerated at the time, which Thao’s family says proves agents hit the wrong home.

Driven around for about an hour and questioned about his birthplace and immigration status, Thao later told the Sahan Journal, “I just hoped that they wouldn’t send me back to Laos. I just wanted to be brought back home safe.” Federal officials, however, have defended the stop, claiming that Thao’s refusal to be fingerprinted or facially identified is what prompted agents to hold him.

Last Wednesday, Ramsey County Attorney John Choi and Sheriff Bob Fletcher announced that their offices had sued DHS and Secretary Markwayne Mullin in federal court, seeking a court order compelling the agency to hand over records. Investigators have reportedly been requesting information since Feb. 24, while DHS has asked for extensions twice since a formal demand went out in March. The final extension lapsed on May 29 without a response. “It’s been frustrating because in normal times, we have the cooperation between agencies,” Choi said.

Thao’s lawyer, Bobbi Bernstein, said her client is “fully cooperating with the Ramsey County investigation” and hopes federal officials will “expeditiously provide Ramsey County with all materials to which it is entitled under law.” The DHS, for its part, has instead called the probe a “political stunt to demonize ICE law enforcement officers.” However, Fletcher has rejected any suggestion that federal officers sit outside local jurisdiction, saying “There is no such thing as absolute immunity for federal agents.”

The lawsuit comes amid heightened anxiety in Minnesota’s Hmong and larger Asian American communities following Operation Metro Surge, which brought roughly 4,000 federal officers into the state over the winter. A U.S. citizen being misidentified, forced from his home at gunpoint and left without answers more than six months later reinforces concerns that citizenship offers little protection against aggressive enforcement tactics.

A similar suit in Hennepin County recently forced federal prosecutors to hand over evidence, offering a hint of what may lie ahead for Ramsey County.