Shocking footage showing federal immigration agents dragging a disabled US citizen from her car in Minneapolis has ignited widespread condemnation and intensified scrutiny of a major enforcement operation in the city.
Violent Detention on Way to Doctor's Appointment
According to a statement released on Thursday, 16 January 2026, Aliya Rahman was on her way to a routine appointment at the Traumatic Brain Injury Centre when her vehicle encountered Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at an intersection. Video of the incident, which has drawn millions of views online, appears to show a masked agent smashing the passenger window of Rahman's car.
Other officers then cut her seatbelt and forcibly pulled her through the driver's side door. She can be heard stating, "I'm disabled trying to go to the doctor up there, that's why I didn't move," as agents pulled her arms behind her back. Numerous guards subsequently carried her by her limbs towards an ICE vehicle.
Conflicting Accounts and a Deluge of Viral Footage
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) disputed Rahman's account in an emailed statement. They labelled her an "agitator" who ignored commands to move her vehicle from the scene. She was reportedly arrested alongside six others described as agitators.
The department did not specify if charges were filed or address Rahman's assertion that she was denied medical care in custody. Rahman claims she lost consciousness in her cell before finally being taken to a hospital, where she was treated for injuries consistent with assault.
This video is part of a barrage of content documenting what local officials have likened to a "federal invasion." Thousands of federal agents are conducting arrests across the midwestern city amid protests.
A City on Edge and Claims of Overreach
Other widely shared videos depict heavily armed immigration agents using a battering ram to enter a family home and detaining two US citizens inside a Target store in Richfield, Minnesota. In south Minneapolis, footage appears to show an agent kneeing a restrained man multiple times in the face.
The situation has altered daily life for many residents. Monica Bicking, a nurse who filmed one incident, stated she now carries a whistle due to the commonplace presence of ICE agents. "We're hypervigilant every time we leave our houses, looking for ICE, trying to protect our neighbours," she said.
Reflecting on her ordeal, Rahman said she felt lucky to be alive. "Masked agents dragged me from my car and bound me like an animal," she recounted, adding that emergency hospital staff "gave me hope when I thought I was going to die."
