Four men were questioned Thursday by U.S. Border Patrol agents outside a Somali-owned cafe on South Washington Street. Three were handcuffed and taken into custody until their immigration status could be determined, a Border Patrol spokesman said.
Somalis at the scene about 3 p.m. Thursday said the men are Somali immigrants, and one who was questioned was Ali Hussein, owner of the Washington Cafe, 2017 S. Washington, employees and friends said.
Hussein told the Herald after he was released Thursday evening that he’s going to complain to city officials over the incident.
It began when a Grand Forks police officer saw a parking violation by a vehicle in front of the cafe on the frontage road, Sgt. Kevin Kallinen said. Something caused the officer to call in the Border Patrol for assistance, Kallinen said.
The incident led to large gathering of Somalis and law enforcement and lasted about an hour.
Ahmed Farah sat in the cafe after the arrests and told an angry friend there was nobody to manage it and the head cook was gone, so it probably wouldn’t open.
Hussein is his uncle, and Farah works in the cafe, he said. Farah was driving, with Hussein in the car, when police began asking to see a driver’s license, Farah said. It was a just a mix-up about who was driving, Farah said.
When Border Patrol agents arrived, Somalis also began gathering at the cafe to see what was going on.
Farah said the Border Patrol agents began demanding documents from any Somali they saw walking nearby, Farah said. “I would understand if there was some criminal activity going on,” Farah said. “But this wasn’t right.”
By about 9 p.m., a cafe employee said Hussein and the other two men had been released.
Brent Everson, a Border Patrol spokesman, characterized the agents’ actions as asking to see the kind of identification all immigrants are required to have on their person.
After the incident, several Somalis expressed dismay and anger, saying it was heavy-handed law enforcement singling out Somalis.
One of the men detained came to the United States only a month ago and does not yet understand English, said Mulki Hoosh, a Somali woman who works at the local Somali Community Center. “I told them (law enforcement) he doesn’t understand what you are saying.”
The Border Patrol agents seemed to be taking unusual and unfair interest in demanding immigration papers from Somalis, Hoosh said.
“This is my place of business” said Hoosh, referring to being a customer of the cafe, after she had talked with Border Patrol agents and police officers. Several of the Somalis said they worked in the cafe.
It wasn’t helping the business to have all the police vehicles outside for so long, Hoosh said. Hussein has lived in the United States for about a decade, so there shouldn’t be much question about his status, Hoosh said.
She said it appeared Hussein had an out-of-date document, or didn’t have the particular one Border Patrol agents were looking for, so he was taken in for questioning before being released.
“This is unacceptable,” said Jama Koreye, who said it appeared the Border Patrol agents were treating Somalis differently than other immigrants.
Everson said the three men’s identities would not be released by the Patrol. He could not confirm the men were Somalis. But he said they were kept in the patrol’s holding cells in its new facility near the Grand Forks International Airport until their immigration status was determined.
He said all immigrants must keep documentation of their status on their person at all times. The Border Patrol regularly holds information sessions with college students, for example, to let them know they should always have their visa with them.
Robin David, president of the board of the local Global Friends Coalition that works with new immigrants, said she doesn’t know exactly what happened Thursday.
But she knows that many immigrants, after living here for a year or more, get accustomed to not carrying immigration documents with them at all times.
“That practice of making people feel like they are suspects doesn’t help them to feel welcome in a community,” David said Thursday night. “I don’t the specifics of what happened (Thursday), but it’s important for immigrants to feel they are part of the community.”
David said informal estimates have 300 or more Somalis living in greater Grand Forks. Many first immigrated to other parts of the United States and have moved here since, she said.
In the past decade, more than 700 Somalis have immigrated from their homeland to North Dakota, most to Fargo but many to Grand Forks, refugee officials have said.
More than 80,000 Somali immigrants live in Minnesota, the largest number in any state, according to published reports.
Hoosh said she lived previously in Boston, where it wasn’t required to always have your immigration documents on your person “as long as you have your state ID.”
She showed reporters an identification certificate she said she received from U.S. immigration officials.
“They say this is a copy and I need the original,” Hoosh said. “Well, this is what they gave me. They are arresting people for documents they are not giving out.”
Hussein told the Herald he was released after several hours, as were the other two men, after a lawyer helped them prove they had legal immigration status.
He had left his green card at home, but shouldn’t have been jailed for it, Hussein said. “I have lived in Grand Forks for seven years,” he said. “This is the second time they have done this.”
It’s not the way to treat a business owner, he said. “I am going to the city and talk to the mayor.”
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