ChongLy Scott Thao: Hmong Immigrant & U.S. Citizen Arrested by ICE

It was over in a flash. Masked federal agents descended on a one-story home in St. Paul, Minn., on Sunday and dragged a man wearing nothing but his underwear and slip-on shoes from his doorstep, through an icy snowbank and into an idling S.U.V. Tires screeched. Whistles sounded. Neighbors shrieked in the background. And then the agents and the man were gone. The arrested man was identified as ChongLy Scott Thao, a Hmong immigrant and naturalized U.S. citizen with no criminal record, according to his family. He was released about an hour later without being charged, they said. The images of the diminutive, barely clad man being led away through freezing temperatures spread instantly. The Department of Homeland Security said Mr. Thao’s arrest was made amid an attempt by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain convicted sex offenders. But in a community on edge, the operation quickly came to represent what critics call a callous and unnecessary enforcement campaign. It has also has touched off panic on St. Paul’s east side, where a large population of Hmong people has lived for decades. Neighbors in the area have described a surge of immigration raids in recent days targeting people of Asian descent. The Department of Homeland Security said on Monday that the arrest had been part of a targeted operation seeking two sex offenders who lived at the address with Mr. Thao. On Tuesday, they identified two men from Laos and said both are wanted for sexual assault. It was unclear on Tuesday whether the two men were the intended targets of Sunday’s raid, or were connected in some way with Mr. Thao. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.