Background
Under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, of which the United States is a party to, foreign diplomatic missions are protected from entry by local law enforcement without permission. [4] [5] [6]
Minneapolis hosts a Consulate of Ecuador on Central Northeast Avenue. [7] The Consulate's facade is emblazoned with the coat of arms of Ecuador. [6] [8]
On January 20, 2026, US immigration agents detained Ecuadorian Liam Conejo Ramos, a 5-year-old, and his father in Minneapolis. [6] The two were subsequently detained in an immigration facility outside San Antonio, Texas. [6] According to a lawyer working with the family, both entered the US from Ecuador in 2024 and each had an active asylum claim. [6]
ICE agents in Minneapolis subsequently detained Ecuadorian nationals Elvis Tipán and his two year old daughter Chloe, along with Rosa Llangari and her son Joffe Jara. [9]
Attempted entry
At approximately 11:00 AM on January 27, several ICE agents attempted to enter the Consulate of Ecuador in Minneapolis. [10] [7] [11] Eyewitnesses working in nearby retail businesses stated the agents were pursuing individuals who had entered the Consulate. [12]
A video posted on social media of the attempt showed a consulate staffer running to the door to tell the ICE agents "This is the Ecuadorian consulate. You're not allowed to enter." [10] An officer can be heard threatening to "grab" the staffer if he touched the agent before leaving, to which the staffer replied, "You cannot enter here. This is a consulate, this is a foreign government property." [10] [13] [14]
Reaction
The attempted entry was condemned by US and Ecuadorian officials along with legal scholars, who described the incident as a "major infraction of diplomatic norms." [5] [15] Members of the Ecuadorian community in Minneapolis expressed feelings of fear in the aftermath of the incident. [15]
According to an X post by Ecuador's Foreign Ministry, "Consulate officials immediately prevented the ICE officer from entering the consular building, thus ensuring the protection of the Ecuadorians who were present at the time and activating the emergency protocols issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility." [16] [17] [18] The ministry characterized the incident as an "attempted incursion". [7] This was the first time Ecuador's government under President Daniel Noboa formally protested the United States' immigration policy under Donald Trump's second presidency. [9]
Ecuador's Foreign Minister, Gabriela Sommerfeld, sent a "note of protest" to the United States Embassy in Quito, Ecuador. [19] [20] [21] [14]
Later on January 27, 2026, Minneapolis City Council President Elliott Payne released a video statement, saying he had spoken with Ecuadorian Consul Helena Yánez Loza. [5] In a caption for the video, he wrote "These illegal actions by ICE are exactly why we always need patrols and people out on Central Ave." [22] [23]
On January 28, 2026, Congressman Greg Meeks, ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, released a statement condemning the incursion. [24] Meeks wrote that the attempted entry was "another outrageous and unacceptable disregard for the rule of law", adding that "Diplomatic facilities are protected for a reason. Any effort by US law enforcement officials to enter another country's diplomatic facility without permission is not only unlawful, it risks setting a profoundly dangerous precedent that could put American diplomats, servicemembers and their families abroad at risk." [25]
On January 28, 2026, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin released a statement saying that "DHS has no record of ICE or Border Patrol being near this location. We are continuing to check with other federal agencies that are on the ground to see if they had a presence at the consulate. We will continue to provide information as it becomes available." [15]
On January 29, 2026, ICE released a statement saying "the ICE officers were focused on arresting the criminal illegal alien, their own safety, and the safety of the public," and claimed the Consulate was "not clearly marked". [26] The spokeperson added "at no time did the ICE officers enter the Consulate. The Consulate employees protected this public safety threat illegal alien. He is still at large." [26]
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