Summary

Explains why Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions can be a disability rights issue. It describes a video from Minneapolis showing ICE agents pulling an autistic woman with a traumatic brain injury out of her car while she says she is disabled and going to a medical appointment. The article explains how disabled people are often misunderstood by law enforcement and how disability-related behavior is sometimes treated as noncompliance. It also shares information about disability rights laws, resources for knowing your rights if you encounter ICE, and ways readers can take action.

By Abiodun Ojo

A Minneapolis Encounter That Exposed a Larger Failure

In January, a Minnesota woman with autism and a traumatic brain injury described being forcibly removed from her car by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis while she was on her way to a medical appointment.

According to The Independent, agents smashed her car window, pulled her out, and ignored her repeated statements that she was disabled and needed accommodations. After the incident, she said an officer dismissed her disability altogether, suggesting the encounter would not have escalated if she were “a normal human being.”¹

Much of the public discussion focused on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE): whether agents had the authority to act and whether the stop itself was lawful. Those questions matter. But they miss what is most urgent about this encounter.

This was not only an immigration issue. It was a disability rights issue.

When Disability Is Mistaken for “Noncompliance”

For many disabled people, interactions with law enforcement hinge on misunderstanding. Autistic individuals and people with cognitive or neurological disabilities may need more time to process instructions. Stress can affect speech, movement, or emotional regulation. Many depend on assistive devices or routine medical care.

Too often, these needs are mistaken for refusal to cooperate.

When disability is read as defiance, force becomes more likely. What appears as “noncompliance” is often a difference in processing or communication, not an intentional failure to follow the law.

Why Immigration Enforcement Makes This Worse

Immigration enforcement raises the stakes. ICE encounters are often sudden and disorienting, taking place during traffic stops or in public spaces, with little warning and no opportunity to explain disability-related needs.

Reporting by Nonprofit Quarterly has shown that people with disabilities in ICE custody are frequently denied medication, mobility aids, and mental health care.² Some detainees with cognitive disabilities have been unable to understand legal proceedings or advocate for themselves.

In extreme cases, even U.S. citizens with cognitive disabilities have been wrongfully detained or deported after officials failed to recognize communication barriers, a pattern documented by the American Civil Liberties Union.³

These are not isolated mistakes. They are predictable outcomes of a system that does not meaningfully account for disability.

What the Law Requires — and What Often Happens Instead

Federal disability law is clear. The Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act require federal agencies to provide reasonable accommodations and prohibit discrimination based on disability.

ICE is not exempt.

Yet in practice, immigration enforcement often treats disability rights as optional. Speed and discretion are prioritized over civil rights obligations. Accommodation becomes an inconvenience rather than a requirement.

As immigration enforcement expands into communities, disability is rarely centered in debates about oversight and accountability, even though disabled people face disproportionate harm in these encounters.

Know Your Rights If You Encounter ICE

If you or someone you care about is approached by an ICE agent, these trusted resources explain your rights clearly:

• Immigrant Justice (National Immigrant Justice Center): Know Your Rights If You Encounter ICE
  https://immigrantjustice.org/for-immigrants/know-your-rights/ice-encounter
• ACLU: Immigrants’ Rights — What to Do When Police or ICE Arrive
  https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/immigrants-rights
• Immigrant Legal Resource Center: Know Your Rights Flyer
  https://www.ilrc.org/community-resources/know-your-rights/know-your-rights-when-confronted-ice-flyer

These guides explain key rights, including:

• You do not have to answer questions about your immigration status.
• You do not have to consent to a search without a warrant.
• You have the right to ask if you are free to leave.
• You have the right to speak with a lawyer before answering questions or signing documents.

How to Show Up Right Now

If this concerns you, there are concrete ways to act:

• Contact your member of Congress. Link: https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member
  Ask how they are ensuring ICE complies with federal disability rights laws, including the Rehabilitation Act and the ADA. Request oversight hearings and enforceable accommodation standards.
• Contact your state Attorney General.
  State attorneys general can investigate civil rights violations. You can find your Attorney General’s office and contact information through the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF): Link: https://dredf.org

Disability justice is not separate from immigration policy. It is central to how state power is exercised, and to whether disabled people are treated as full rights-holders under the law.

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Sources

1. The Independent, reporting on the Minneapolis ICE encounter involving an autistic woman with a traumatic brain injury, January 2026.
   https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/ice-aliya-rahman-minneapolis-autism-b2912407.html
2. Nonprofit Quarterly, “The Danger ICE Poses to the Disabled Community,” 2025.
   https://nonprofitquarterly.org/the-danger-ice-poses-to-the-disabled-community/
3. American Civil Liberties Union, documentation of wrongful detention of individuals with cognitive disabilities, including Lyttle v. United States.
   https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/immigrants-rights
4. PBS NewsHour, “What legal rights do you have in encounters with ICE?”
   https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/what-legal-rights-do-you-have-in-encounters-with-ice-legal-experts-weigh-in