A family member reacts after federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Minneapolis, MN – Attorney Marc Prokosch, representing 37-year-old Liberian Garrison Gibson, says his client had been regularly checking in with federal authorities for years before his arrest.
Gibson was taken into custody on Sunday, January 11, 2026, as part of what the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has described as its largest immigration enforcement operation ever in Minnesota.
By: Trokon S. Wrepue – trokon1992seokin@gmail.com
Video footage obtained by Liberia Excellent News Network (LENN) from AFP News Agency shows heavily armed immigration agents using a battering ram to force entry into Gibson’s Minneapolis home before arresting him.
Atty. Prokosch condemned the raid as a “blatant constitutional violation.”
“This was an illegal search, absolutely,” he said, explaining that the agents carried only an administrative warrant, which allows for arrest but does not authorize forced entry into a private residence. “Forced entry requires a criminal warrant signed by a judge.”
According to US News & World Report, Gibson, who fled Liberia’s civil war as a child, had been ordered removed from the U.S. due to a 2008 drug conviction that was later dismissed by the courts. Despite this, he remained legally in the country under an “order of supervision,” which required regular check-ins with immigration authorities.
Gibson had reportedly checked in with authorities at a regional immigration office just days before his arrest — the same building from which agents have been staging enforcement raids in recent weeks.
“He would have had another check-in in a couple of months,” Prokosch said. “So if he’s this dangerous person, then why are they letting him walk around?”
Tricia McLaughlin, a DHS spokesperson, stated that Gibson has “a lengthy rap sheet that includes robbery, drug possession with intent to sell, possession of a deadly weapon, malicious destruction, and theft.” She did not clarify whether these were arrests, charges, or convictions, nor did she comment on whether the use of force during the raid was justified.
Court records, however, suggest Gibson’s legal history primarily consists of minor offenses, including traffic violations, small drug arrests, and an arrest for riding public transportation without paying the fare. The only felony on record is the 2008 narcotics conviction, which was later dismissed.
After his arrest, Gibson was initially flown to Texas by immigration authorities but was quickly returned to Minnesota following a habeas corpus petition filed by Prokosch to challenge the legality of his detention. The courts have not yet ruled on the petition.
Gibson is currently held at an immigration detention center in Albert Lea, Minnesota, having previously been detained at a large camp on the Fort Bliss Army base in El Paso, Texas, according to ICE’s detainee locator.
The Associated Press reported that Department of Homeland Security did not respond to follow-up questions regarding Gibson’s case.
