Ecuador‘s Foreign Ministry has filed a formal complaint after an officer from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) tried to enter its consulate in Minneapolis on Tuesday.
In a widely shared video, the officer can be seen trying to enter the consulate, telling a staffer to “relax,” even as he is informed he is not “allowed to enter.”
🇺🇸🇪🇨 ICE AGENTS TRIED TO ENTER ECUADORIAN CONSULATE, GOT TURNED AWAY AT THE DOOR
Staffer ran to block them: "This is the Ecuadorian consulate.
You're not allowed to enter."
One agent threatened to "grab" him before backing off.
Ecuador filed a formal protest.… https://t.co/VGB2Ixk4rz pic.twitter.com/kOv7RvuDOj
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) January 28, 2026
“If you touch me, I will grab you,” the officer responded when confronted.
The staffer explained that the consulate is “foreign government property.” The officer quickly acquiesces and tells the staffer to “close the door.”
The Foreign Ministry called the actions of the ICE officer an “attempted incursion…by ICE agents” and demanded they must “not be repeated.”
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“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,” the ministry said in a statement. “The Minister of Foreign Affairs immediately presented a note of protest to the Embassy of the United States in Ecuador”
There has been no official comment from ICE officials or from the Department of Homeland Security at the time of writing. The US Embassy in Quito did not respond to Salon’s request for comment.
