Ecuador’s foreign ministry said it lodged a formal diplomatic protest with the United States after a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent attempted to enter the country’s consulate in Minneapolis without permission on Tuesday morning.
Employees of the consulate stopped the agent from entering, the Ecuadorean foreign ministry said in a statement Tuesday night. Under the Vienna Conventions, to which the United States is a party, foreign consular buildings are off-limits to law enforcement from the host country without authorization from consular officials.
The incident comes amid an aggressive federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota that has prompted an outpouring of anger in the state and across the country.
Video footage verified by The New York Times shows a member of staff rushing to an entrance to the consulate, where an agent appears to have opened the door. The employee can be heard saying, “This is the Ecuadorean consulate, you’re not allowed to enter.” The agent responds by saying, “If you touch me, I’ll grab you.”
The consulate, in Northeast Minneapolis, has a clearly marked facade emblazoned with Ecuador’s national seal.
The Ecuadorean foreign ministry said it had lodged its complaint with the American Embassy in Ecuador “so that acts of this nature don’t happen again.” The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment.
The incident comes a week after ICE agents detained 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos outside of his school building in Minneapolis. A photograph of the incident — Liam detained, in a bright blue bunny hat and a Spiderman backpack — sent waves of outrage through the Twin Cities area and across the country. Liam came to America with his father from Ecuador in 2024, and both were pursuing legal asylum claims.
Ali Watkins covers international news for The Times and is based in Belfast.
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