“Your papers, please” is the almost universal cultural sign that you’re in an authoritarian police state. The phrase originates in the classic movie Casablanca, set in a Nazi-controlled city during World War II. The very first line in the movie is a police officer asking a scared civilian, “May we see your papers, please?”, shortly followed by the civilian being summarily executed.
This scene is becoming reality in Minneapolis. As indicated in multiple videos posted to social media over the last few days, ICE agents are roaming the streets and detaining random people for what they describe as “citizen checks”, demanding proof that they are American citizens.
As one victim recalls:
“I parked my car and began walking toward the 24 Somali Mall where I suddenly 4 men who looked like soldiers suddenly jumped out of a car and surrounded me . They told me they needed to verify whether I was a citizen. I was scared. I was devastated. I never imagined that something like this could happen to me in the United States.”
The modus operandi seems to be for ICE to patrol the streets searching for any non-caucasian, before surrounding and threatening them. A victim says they pointed out that there’s no requirement for a person minding their own business to carry ID. The officer then told them, “OK, do you have some ID, then, please? If not, we’re going to put you in the vehicle, and we’re going to ID you.”
This is apparently done non-consensually through a facial recognition system, with ICE snapping an image of you and running it through their system to see if they have the right to haul you off to a detention camp.
DAMN : ICE grabbed a 17yo Target worker at his job, despite him saying he’s a US citizen. After confirming he was, they dumped him in a Walmart lot 8 min away. Bystanders found him sobbing, bleeding: “They slammed me on the ground.” pic.twitter.com/EhIoAEdxfU
— Furkan Gözükara (@FurkanGozukara) January 12, 2026
Whatever happened to ‘Don’t Tread on Me’?
ICE “commander” Greg Bovino has even wrongly said that US citizens must now carry proof of their citizenship at all times. It seems that simply not having ID to hand is a cause for suspicion and a reason for ICE to detain and interrogate you.
Even more worryingly, there are multiple reports of ICE agents being shown valid ID and still antagonizing people, apparently because they’re furious that someone might have the gall to have a foreign accent and be an American citizen.
On top of all this, we have the Department of Homeland Security’s proclamation that ICE agents are now enjoying absolute “federal immunity” for any crimes committed while in uniform, and that anyone who obstructs them will face felony charges.
There’s no ifs, buts, or maybes – under Trump, you are living under a police state. Sure, they might not be smashing your front door in today, but don’t think it’ll never happen.
Published: Jan 14, 2026 08:40 am