A vehicle pursuit involving federal immigration agents ended in a multi-vehicle crash at a major St. Paul intersection on February 11, 2026, sending the person being pursued to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and drawing a crowd of onlookers. City officials renewed criticism of the ongoing federal immigration operation in the Twin Cities.
A vehicle pursuit involving federal agents ended in a multi-vehicle crash near the intersection of Western and Selby avenues in St. Paul on Wednesday morning, according to the St. Paul Police Department.
Police said officers were called to the area around 9:39 a.m. after reports of a crash and that a “large crowd had formed.” The department said the preliminary information it received was that federal agents were pursuing a person in a vehicle when the vehicle crashed. The person being pursued was taken to a local hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, police said.
The Department of Homeland Security identified the driver as Alexander Romero-Avila, a Honduran national whom DHS described as being in the United States illegally. DHS said agents attempted a vehicle stop and that Romero-Avila “began driving recklessly and ran red lights” before crashing into multiple vehicles, including an ICE vehicle. DHS also said no civilians or ICE officers were injured.
In a statement provided by DHS, Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said officers called 911 to request medical assistance. McLaughlin also attributed an increase in dangerous encounters to policies in so-called sanctuary jurisdictions, claiming ICE officers are facing a “3,200% increase in vehicle attacks.” That figure and the underlying data were not independently verified by local authorities in their initial public statements.
Videos and reports from the scene showed a crowd gathering shortly after the crash, with some people blowing whistles and recording the incident as first responders worked. FOX 9 reported that the situation did not escalate as the injured driver was taken away by ambulance.
St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her criticized federal immigration operations in the city in a statement published by the city on February 11. “The incident today at Selby and Western underscores the fact that ICE is still present, causing chaos, and putting residents at risk in Saint Paul,” Her said, thanking community members who “keep watch over their neighbors” and the St. Paul Police for remaining on scene. She added that “one person ended up in the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, and several bystanders had their cars damaged,” and called for “Operation Metro Surge” to end.
Separate local reporting also noted that St. Paul police did not initially identify which federal agency was involved in the pursuit and directed questions to Homeland Security Investigations and ICE. DHS did not publicly release additional details about the driver’s immigration case history in the materials cited by local outlets.
The crash comes amid heightened public attention on immigration enforcement activity in the Twin Cities, including ongoing protests and scrutiny of federal tactics. In Minneapolis, the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an immigration officer on January 7, 2026, has sparked national debate and multiple investigations, with news organizations reporting differing accounts about whether the officer was struck by Good’s vehicle before shots were fired.
