A family has claimed that a father was “tricked” by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers who lured him out of his Minnesota home using a ruse of having car trouble so they could arrest him.
Agents swooped on Jesus Flores, a mechanic living in a suburb of Minneapolis, Thursday after he went outside to help two women whom his family believes were ICE officers in disguise.
“Two women approached our door on 02/12/2026 around 1:00 pm who were later confirmed to be ICE agents disguised as regular women who knocked on our door asking my dad to help them with car problems & he was then detained,” Flores’s son, Miguel Flores, wrote on GoFundMe.
“This unexpected situation has left our family shocked, scared, heartbroken & searching for answers,” the son added.
The moment was captured on a neighbor’s home security camera and was posted on Facebook.
The Department of Homeland Security claimed Flores, named fully by the department as Jesus Emmanuel Flores-Aguilar, was a former gang member who had been removed from the U.S. twice before.
In the 6-minute footage, two women pulled up in front of Flores’s home and appeared to have problems with their vehicle after they parked up and opened the hood. One of them was seen walking up the driveway and returned with Flores, who began to inspect the vehicle.
As Flores examined the car, three other SUVs emerged and blocked both sides of the street. Flores then tried to run away, but the agents surrounded him.
He was placed in one of the SUVs and the vehicles drove away.
The car that appeared to break down initially was seen driving away, apparently without any trouble.
Flores’s wife, Dionicia Flores, told WCCO that her husband is “a lifeline” for the couple’s six children, particularly two of them who require special care.
The family told the outlet that Flores is undocumented and was deported more than 15 years ago.
“My dad's a hard-working individual,” his son told the outlet. “He came here to give us a better life. He has done that.”
The children are U.S. citizens, the family said.
“On February 12, ICE arrested Jesus Emmanuel Flores-Aguilar, a criminal illegal alien Mexico and former Vatos Locos 13 gang member who was removed TWICE from this country, a felony,” Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to The Independent.
“His criminal history includes an arrest for felony assault. Following his arrest he was removed in 2010,” McLaughlin continued. “Flores-Aguilar chose to break the law and commit a felony by illegally re-entering the U.S. AGAIN in 2011 and was removed. He chose to commit another felony and illegally re-enter for a third time at an unknown date. This criminal and gang member will remain in ICE custody pending removal.”
“Flores-Aguilar’s gang name was ‘Lucky.’ That ends today,” McLaughlin added. “Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the U.S.”
The incident comes as President Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, announced the administration is withdrawing hundreds of officers from Minnesota and ending an enforcement surge following the deaths of two American citizens.
Though he announced this past week that the surge in Minneapolis was ending, Homan said Sunday that a force would remain in the city to conduct operations in the future.
He said that the agents remaining behind would include a “security force” whose purpose would be to stop protesters and others from interfering with ICE and Border Patrol enforcement operations.
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