Minneapolis has become the latest battleground in the ongoing clash between federal law enforcement and left-leaning academia—this time at a small private school that apparently believes its campus “policies” outrank federal law.
Augsburg University found itself under a harsh national spotlight after the Department of Homeland Security revealed that campus officials actively interfered with Immigration and Customs Enforcement during the arrest of Jesus Saucedo-Portillo, an illegal alien, registered sex offender, and convicted impaired driver.
Yes—that’s who the university chose to shield.
According to DHS, ICE agents moved in Monday night to apprehend Saucedo-Portillo, who is enrolled at the school as an undergraduate. But the arrest didn’t go smoothly. Instead, it turned into a made-for-TV showdown after a school administrator and campus security allegedly blocked federal agents—in their vehicles, no less—from leaving with the suspect.
DHS described the incident bluntly on X:
“Our officers told the school Administrator and campus security that ICE had a warrant for the illegal alien’s arrest. The school Administrator told ICE officers they were violating university policies.”
ICE then reminded administrators of a basic civics lesson:
“Our officers informed them that federal law supersedes any University policy and that if campus security would not stop blocking the law enforcement vehicle from exiting, they would be obstructing justice.”
Yet, according to DHS, the administrator doubled down—ordering campus security to continue blocking ICE. As the standoff escalated, ICE says agents had to use “the minimum amount of force necessary” to clear the area and complete the arrest.
Meanwhile, Augsburg’s leadership rushed to defend the staff and students who confronted federal officers.
University President Paul Pribbenow, speaking to Minnesota Public Radio, insisted the arrest was somehow “illegal” and claimed ICE didn’t have a warrant—a claim directly contradicted by DHS. He also accused ICE agents of drawing their weapons on staff and students who gathered as the arrest unfolded, which triggered what he described as a campus “protocol for when ICE is on campus.”
Pribbenow had high praise for the student activists who squared off with federal officers:
“We’re proud of [students] for the fact that they did that, despite the kind of hectic and traumatic nature of the event itself.”
He further claimed no one violated the school’s code of conduct at the Evangelical Lutheran–affiliated college. Apparently, blocking federal agents and interfering in the arrest of a criminal illegal immigrant is just another day of “experiential learning” at Augsburg.
DHS, notably, presented the incident far differently—depicting not a student protest but a deliberate obstruction of justice.
And when reporters sought clarification from Augsburg officials? Multiple requests for comment went unanswered.
