ICE operation scatters crowd, sends one swimming into Lake Bemidji

Kim Hyatt, Star Tribune on Jul 16, 2026

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MINNEAPOLIS — A month after federal agents raided a construction site in Bemidji that sent workers jumping off roofs, agents staged another operation on Thursday that scattered another construction site and sent one worker into Lake Bemidji attempting to swim away.

Bemidji Police Chief Mike Mastin said his agency was informed a few hours before a targeted operation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Around 11:30 a.m., police officers responded to the south side of the lake on reports of “numerous people running from the area with one individual going into the water,” Mastin said in a news release. The person swam approximately 100 yards from shore before agents removed the person from the water, Mastin said.

ICE targeted a construction site at SouthShore Hotel. David Hanson, hotel owner and Beltrami County Attorney, told The Minnesota Star Tribune that the man who fled into the water was detained, but he’s not aware of any other arrests.

“If you run from the cops, you’re going to be arrested,” Hanson said in a phone interview. “They weren’t looking for the guy who jumped in the lake.”

Hanson said in a news release that he contracted with Stronghouse, an Illinois-based roofing company, which assured him that all employees and subcontractors “performing work on site have full legal employment status.”

“The promise was made at the time the contract was negotiated and as recently as last week,” Hanson said. “Stronghouse did a check of all its workers and subcontractors.”

Hanson said the individual who went into the lake was detained by masked agents and he doesn’t know what the person was arrested for “or if they will be charged with anything.”

Hours after the arrest, a few workers were continuing with repairs while guests swam in the lake.

The hotel was heavily damaged in a storm last summer that packed 120 mph winds. Construction companies have since descended on Bemidji to repair homes and businesses.

ICE detained more than 20 roofers during a raid in Bemidji on June 11. It outraged residents in the neighborhood and led to a small protest the next day.

In response to multiple requests for comment and to confirm the number of people detained, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in an email: “Every day, DHS is conducting law enforcement activities across the country to keep Americans safe.”