Over a dozen workers at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) have reportedly been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, according to a local union. Unite Here Local 17, a hospitality union that represents over 6,000 workers in the Minneapolis area, has claimed that a number of airport workers were apprehended as they arrived for their shifts.

ICE has recently launched an enhanced oversight of MSP as part of a three-week operation. Its agents will be posted around the airport — including on jetbridges awaiting disembarking passengers — to check both traveler and worker documents. The operation is part of a broader enforcement push in the Minneapolis area, which has proven to be a hotbed of civil disorder in recent years.

Several MSP Airport Workers Taken Away By ICE

According to a CBS News report, several workers at MSP — believed to be employed in hospitality roles, such as retail and dining — have recently been apprehended and taken away by ICE agents. Wade Luneburg, political director of Unite Here Local 17, told CBS News that many of the individuals were detained soon after clearing TSA security as they headed to work, while others were taken away while on the job.

The union added that these workers had already passed background checks and held legal work authorization. ICE has been expanding its presence at the Minneapolis airport, subjecting both passengers and airport employees to document checks beyond security areas alone. Unite Here Local 17 primarily represents hospitality workers, and Luneburg referenced two people detained soon after finishing their shifts at an airport restaurant.

Luneburg said,

« They came through the TSA line, and then were quickly detained by ICE or Border Patrol, or some other law enforcement agency. [It was] on the back-end of security and they were just taken away. »

ICE Agents Await Arriving Travelers

Earlier this week, an MSP employee leaked a memo to FOX 9 MSP revealing more details on ICE’s expanded activities at the airport. The three-week operation will involve agents posted more broadly across the airport, including on jetbridges and inside terminals. Although immigration agents will, on occasion, wait on the jetbridge acting on known intelligence, ICE agents seem to be conducting a much broader stop-and-search operation.

US citizens are not required by law to show identification to ICE agents, but are being advised to cooperate to avoid being mistakenly put in detention. In fact, even after showing a legitimate Real ID, there have been reported instances of US citizens being detained after their identification was dismissed as fake. Many have deemed ICE’s oversight as unconstitutional, particularly regarding the Fourth Amendment, which protects individuals from unwarranted searches.

MSP is a major Delta Air Lines hub, and Delta travelers have been warned to expect possible document checks and questioning when flying through the airport. MSP handles over 37 million passengers each year, making it one of the busier airports in the country.

Immigration Enforcement At Airports

There has been a huge national uproar over the recent activities of ICE agents, particularly in Minneapolis, where the agency has been conducting a wide-reaching immigration enforcement operation. Federal agents are permitted by law to have access to an airport and its facilities, including both landside and airside locations.

MSP’s operator — the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) — has stated that the Airport Police Department does not receive any advance notice of immigration enforcement activities, nor does it coordinate with ICE operations. However, it clarified that federal agents are granted « broad access » to the airport.

MSP has seen an uptick of deportation flights in recent weeks, which are based out of Signature Aviation’s private terminal. According to MPR News, deportation flights have risen from one or two per week to around two daily flights, and large protest groups have often gathered around the airport as a result.