We speak with Aliya Rahman, a U.S. citizen who was violently dragged from her car by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis last month and detained at the Whipple Federal Building, which has become the epicenter of the government’s immigration crackdown in the city. Rahman says she repeatedly told agents she was disabled and had a brain injury, but they ignored her pleas for medical attention or other accommodation. “I was taken out of that place unconscious,” says Rahman, who describes lasting injuries and trauma from her detention. Rahman was not charged with any crime. “What I saw in that detention center was truly horrific.”
We also speak with attorney Alexa Van Brunt, director of the Illinois office of the MacArthur Justice Center, who says victims of ICE violence like Rahman can sue the federal government for violating their rights, “but they cannot sue the officers in their individual capacity.”
Transcript
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: We begin today’s show in Minneapolis, where at least 50 protesters were arrested outside the Whipple Federal Building this weekend as they marked one month since the fatal shooting of Renee Good, the 37-year-old mother of three killed by an ICE agent on January 7th. The Whipple Federal Building has been a staging ground for federal immigration agents deployed to the Twin Cities, as well as at the heart of ongoing protests against Trump’s raids. Good’s fatal shooting, as well as the killing just days later of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse who worked in the Minneapolis Veterans Health Care System, have sparked nationwide protests in response to Trump’s immigration crackdown.
AMY GOODMAN: Renee Good’s wife Becca Good issued a statement over the weekend, saying, quote, “You know my wife’s name and you know Alex’s name, but there are many others in this city being harmed that you don’t know — their families are hurting just like mine, even if they don’t look like mine,” unquote.
And this is Annie Ganger, Renee Good’s sister.
ANNIE GANGER: No matter the adversity she faced, Renee always remained so tender and open and was a caretaker and protector. I’d like to acknowledge that this type of violence isn’t new, and how unfair it is that the way someone looks garners more or less attention. And I’m so sorry that this is the reality.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: Trump’s deployment of federal agents in Minneapolis and across U.S. cities has continued to raise scrutiny over the violent use of force by the Department of Homeland Security officers, who’ve been involved in the shootings of at least 13 people since September, including of U.S. citizens. At least four of those shootings have been fatal, including Renee Good, Alex Pretti and Silverio Villegas González, a 38-year-old father from Mexico fatally shot by federal immigration agents in a Chicago suburb last year. He was unarmed.
AMY GOODMAN: Last week, the brothers of Renee Good, Brent and Luke Ganger, testified at a hearing held by congressional Democrats. Among others who testified was Martin Daniel Rascon, who was shot at by border agents in California while driving with his family; Marimar Martinez, who was shot five times by a federal immigration agent in Chicago last year; and Aliya Rahman, who was violently dragged out of her car by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis after they smashed the car window. Aliya Rahman will join us live in a minute. But first, this is a portion of her congressional testimony last week.
ALIYA RAHMAN: My name is Aliya Rahman, and I’m a resident of South Minneapolis. I’m a Bangladeshi American, born in northern Wisconsin. And I’m a disabled person with autism and a traumatic brain injury. Not all autistic brains do this, but mine fixates on sounds, numbers and patterns. And while what the world saw happen to me exactly three weeks ago today on video was a terrible violation, it is still nothing compared to the horrific practices I saw inside the Whipple center. So I am here today with a duty to the people who have not had the privilege of coming home, and I offer this data because these practices must end now.
On January 13th, on the way to my 39th appointment at Hennepin County’s Traumatic Brain Injury Center, I encountered a traffic jam caused by ICE vehicles, and no signs indicating how to get around it. I had not wanted to pull into a blocked, chaotic intersection, but verbally agreed to do so and rolled down my window after an agent yelled, “Move! I will break your effing window!” — his first instruction. Agents on all sides of my vehicle yelled conflicting threats and instructions that I could not process while watching for pedestrians. Then the glass of the passenger side window flew across my face. I yelled, “I’m disabled!” at the hands grabbing at me, and an agent said, “Too late.”
I felt immersed in a pattern, and I thought of Jenoah Donald, an autistic Black man killed by police during a traffic stop in 2021. I remembered Mr. Silverio Villegas González, who was killed by ICE in his vehicle last year.
An agent pulled a large combat knife in front of my face, which I thought was for cutting me, and later learned was used to cut off my seat belt.
Shooting pain went through my head, neck and wrists when I hit the ground face first and people leaned on my back. I felt the pattern, and I thought of Mr. George Floyd, who was killed four blocks away.
I was carried face down through the street by my cuffed arms and legs while yelling that I had a brain injury and was disabled. I now cannot lift my arms normally. I was never asked for ID, never told I was under arrest, never read my rights and never charged with a crime.
AMY GOODMAN: That’s a portion of last week’s congressional testimony by Aliya Rahman, who’s joining us now in Minneapolis. And in Chicago, we’re joined by Alexa Van Brunt, director at the Illinois office of the MacArthur Justice Center, attorney for Aliya Rahman.
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