MINNEAPOLIS — Jose “Beto” Ramirez, a Red Lake Nation descendant who was taken into immigration custody in early January, said he’s now facing federal charges for allegedly assaulting an officer while being detained.
Ramirez, 20, was forcibly detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on Jan. 8, despite being a U.S. citizen and a Red Lake Nation descendant.
Now, facing charges under United States Code 18 section 111, is accused of hitting an immigration agent while being detained on Jan. 8.
Ramirez is being represented by Minnesota-based Attorney Jordan Kushner and supported by the Native American Rights Fund and Sacred Defense Fund.
“Jose is innocent of this charge and is a victim of retaliation following his unlawful assault and detention,” a NARF spokesperson told ICT. “Jose is a United States citizen that is being terrorized by ICE. He will continue to defend his rights in court.”
The Native American Rights Fund provides legal assistance to tribes, tribal organizations and Native individuals. The Sacred Defense Fund is a nonprofit organization which provides media assistance, legal aid and community organizing efforts to Indigenous nations and individuals.
Ramirez was detained by immigration agents on Jan. 8 while driving to his aunt’s home in Robbinsdale, a northwestern Minneapolis suburb. Ramirez was released more than six hours later from the Bishop Henry Whipple Building in Fort Snelling.
https://ictnews.org/news/i-felt-like-i-was-kidnapped-ojibwe-man-recounts-ice-detainment/ Then, on Jan. 23, ICE agents came to Ramirez’s home with guns drawn demanding he exit the home. After receiving no response, officers unplugged the home’s front camera and left, according to the Native American Rights Fund.
Agents went to Ramirez’s home again on Jan. 24 and called him on the phone, threatening to arrest him “the easy way or the hard way,” the NARF statement said.
The agents told him they had obtained a warrant for his arrest under U.S. Code 18 section 111, which pertains to resisting, assaulting or impeding federal officers. The warrant was secured using sealed testimony of an ICE agent, according to the Native American Rights Fund.
When Ramirez did not come out of the house, the agents left again.
On Monday, Jan. 26, Ramirez voluntarily turned himself in to authorities and was released later that afternoon.
Because the warrant and indictment are both sealed, ICT was unable to view the court documents through federal court databases.
ICE did not respond to requests for information on why Ramirez was pursued on Jan. 8.
Editor’s note: ICT identifies Ramirez as a descendant because his maternal great-grandparents were enrolled members of the Red Lake Nation. The tribal nation’s enrollment criteria is one-quarter blood quantum.
This article first appeared on ICT and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
