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A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesperson pushed back Thursday after Ecuador's Ministry of Foreign Affairs described an "attempted incursion" by an ICE agent at its consulate in Minneapolis this week.
ICE said the caught-on-camera incident happened as agents were targeting an illegal alien convicted of a DUI and previously arrested for sexual assault. The suspect ran into an unmarked building, which was later learned to be the Ecuador consulate, and remains at large. The agency accused the consulate staffers of effectively shielding a public safety threat and stated ICE officers never entered the consulate.
Ecuador's Ministry of Foreign Affairs previously said it submitted a "note of protest" to the U.S. government following the reported incident on Tuesday.
"On January 27, ICE officers were conducting a targeted enforcement operation when they positively identified Jorge Miguel Bravo Uriles, a criminal illegal alien from Ecuador who has a conviction for driving while intoxicated in 2022, and previous arrests for sexual assault and assault in two separate incidents," an ICE spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
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"When ICE officers approached Bravo Urgiles and identified themselves as law enforcement, the criminal illegal alien fled into a nearby building. Unknown to the ICE officers at the time, the building housed the Consulate of Ecuador, however, the building was not clearly marked as the Ecuadorian Consulate. The ICE officers were focused on arresting the criminal illegal alien, their own safety, and the safety of the public. At no time did the ICE officers enter the Consulate," the spokesperson added. "The Consulate employees protected this public safety threat illegal alien. He is still at large."
In a post on X about the "attempted incursion" in Minneapolis on Tuesday, the ministry said, "Immediately, consular officials prevented the ICE officer from entering the consular headquarters, thereby guaranteeing the protection of the Ecuadorians who were at the consular headquarters at that time and activating the emergency protocols issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility," according to a translation.
"In light of the above, the Chancellor of the Republic immediately presented a note of protest to the United States Embassy in Ecuador to ensure that acts of this nature are not repeated in any of the consular offices of Ecuador in the United States," the Ministry added.
The Department of Homeland Security and the State Department did not immediately respond Thursday to requests for comment from Fox News Digital.
"I saw the officers going after two people in the street, and then those people went into the consulate, and the officers tried to go in after them," a witness told Reuters.
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A video of the alleged attempt shows a man inside the facility rushing to the door, saying, "This is the consulate of Ecuador, you are not allowed to enter."
"Relax, I did not enter. . . . If you touch me, I will grab you," another voice is then heard saying.
The man inside the facility then closes the door.
Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., said the "attempt by ICE agents to force their way into the Ecuadorian Consulate represents yet another outrageous and unacceptable disregard for the rule of law by the Trump Administration's Department of Homeland Security."
"Diplomatic facilities are protected for a reason. Any effort by U.S. law enforcement officials to enter another country's diplomatic facility without permission is not only unlawful, it risks setting a profoundly dangerous precedent that could put American diplomats, servicemembers, and their families abroad at risk," he added.
