U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers carried out an operation in Minnesota on December 31 to arrest Mahad Abdulkadir Yusuf, a Somali national and convicted sex offender. According to ICE, Yusuf had been living freely in Minneapolis despite his criminal history.
Authorities said Yusuf was previously convicted of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, involving forced oral sex. He was also arrested in 2016 for first-degree assault and has an active warrant from 2024 for obstructing police. Yusuf entered the United States in 1996 as a lawful permanent resident.
ICE officials reported that previous attempts to arrest Yusuf were blocked when the manager of his Lake Street apartment building prevented federal agents from entering and shielded him from law enforcement. The most recent attempt led to his successful apprehension.
Mark Zito, Special Agent in Charge at Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), stated: “Local sanctuary policies and continued misinformation about what ICE operations actually entail continue to fuel these irresponsible, dangerous acts of obstructing law enforcement. Every time local jurisdictions refuse to cooperate with ICE, and every time activists use their ridiculous whistles and bullhorns to alert criminal aliens, they are helping violent offenders, including convicted sex predators like this one, escape justice.”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) indicated that since January 20, 2025, over 622,000 deportations have taken place as part of enhanced enforcement efforts. ICE reports that about 70% of those arrested had prior criminal arrests or convictions.
More information about other recent arrests is available on the agency’s webpage at wow.dhs.gov.
