Recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activities have, once again, caught the attention local Bemidji area residents. In recent events on Thursday morning, ICE officers detained at least one individual at the SouthShore Hotel, and more people may have been detained. “My understanding of it is that the (Bemidji Police Department) was not involved in that enforcement action, nor were they requested to be involved,” Mayor Jorge Prince said in a ChatAbout interview. “I do know that the police department responded to calls of people fleeing and being in the lake and such, which, of course, then becomes a public safety concern.” On top of this action taken by ICE at the SouthShore hotel, there was an incident involving U.S. Border Patrol Agents at the Bemidji Regional Airport and the nearby Circle K gas station. According to sources, Border Patrol Agents pulled over the suspects at the nearby Circle K before the suspects fled on foot to the airport, where they ended up on the runway. The suspects were pursued by officers and were eventually apprehended on the tarmac by a Bemidji Police Officer, Minnesota State Trooper, and two Border Patrol Agents. According to Mayor Prince, he’s been told that both of these actions were targeted actions where agents were looking for specific people, rather than agents “sweeping” job sites. “Again, we have to base our information on that, which is provided by ICE,” Mayor Prince said. “I know given what happened in Metro Surge, there’s a lot of concern and anxiousness among people in our community and I understand why. We’re just in a challenging place where we have limited information and that which we have, we’re trying to share with the public in a transparent way.” Source