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Ecuador’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it submitted a “note of protest” to the U.S. government after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent allegedly tried to enter its consulate in Minnesota this week.
In a post on X about the “attempted incursion” in Minneapolis on Tuesday, the ministry said, “Immediately, consular officials prevented the ICE officer from entering the consular headquarters, thereby guaranteeing the protection of the Ecuadorians who were at the consular headquarters at that time and activating the emergency protocols issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility,” according to a translation.
“In light of the above, the Chancellor of the Republic immediately presented a note of protest to the United States Embassy in Ecuador to ensure that acts of this nature are not repeated in any of the consular offices of Ecuador in the United States,” the Ministry added.
The Department of Homeland Security, ICE and the State Department did not immediately respond Thursday to requests for comment from Fox News Digital.
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“I saw the officers going after two people in the street, and then those people went into the consulate and the officers tried to go in after them,” a witness told Reuters.
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A video of the alleged attempt shows a man inside the facility rushing to the door, saying, “This is the consulate of Ecuador, you are not allowed to enter.”
“Relax, I did not enter… If you touch me, I will grab you,” another voice is then heard saying.
The man inside the facility then closes the door.
Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., said the “attempt by ICE agents to force their way into the Ecuadorian Consulate represents yet another outrageous and unacceptable disregard for the rule of law by the Trump Administration’s Department of Homeland Security.”
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“Diplomatic facilities are protected for a reason. Any effort by U.S. law enforcement officials to enter another country’s diplomatic facility without permission is not only unlawful, it risks setting a profoundly dangerous precedent that could put American diplomats, servicemembers, and their families abroad at risk,” he added.