Aliya Rahman, a Minneapolis resident and software engineer, filed a lawsuit against the United States government on Tuesday, November 10, alleging abuse and wrongful detainment by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, includes eight counts, including assault, battery, false arrest, false imprisonment, and negligence.
The legal action follows an encounter on January 13, 2026, when Rahman was traveling to a medical appointment. According to the lawsuit, federal agents surrounded her vehicle, broke a window, and removed her from the car. Rahman, who is Bangladeshi American and has autism and physical disabilities, was then held at a federal detention center for several hours. She alleges she suffered medical neglect and violence during her detainment, which resulted in her hospitalization.
A video of the initial encounter was filmed by an eyewitness and circulated widely online earlier this year. Following the incident, Rahman testified before Congress regarding the event. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated on Tuesday that the agency is aware of the lawsuit and intends to "vigorously" defend itself in court.
For Rahman and others involved in similar encounters, the litigation represents an effort to identify specific federal agents whose names remain unknown to the public. The lawsuit follows an administrative claim filed in April under the Federal Tort Claims Act, which is a required step before a person can sue the federal government for personal injury caused by the negligence or wrongful acts of federal employees.
The immediate change for those involved will be the transition from administrative complaints to active federal litigation, where attorneys state they have the right to depose agents and obtain internal records. This process will determine if the government can be held liable for actions taken during federal operations. The next steps in the case involve the government’s formal response to the eight counts in the complaint.