Raid Justified with Claims of Mistaken Identity
The DHS said the raid at Thao’s home was part of a targeted operation aimed at arresting two convicted sex offenders.
The agency claimed Thao lived at the same residence as the suspects and that he refused to submit to fingerprinting or facial identification. They also alleged that he matched the description of the people agents were searching for.
Thao’s family rejected the DHS’s explanation of the raid, saying the agency’s account was false and intended to justify its actions. They said only Thao, his son, his daughter‑in‑law, and his young grandson live in the St. Paul rental, and that neither they nor the property owner appear in the Minnesota sex offender registry.
Public records show the nearest registered sex offender in the zip code lives more than two blocks away. DHS did not provide details when asked about the identities of the two convicted sex offenders it said it was seeking or why it believed they were at Thao’s home.
Before ICE agents went to detain his father, Thao’s son, Chris, was stopped while driving to work in a car he had borrowed from his cousin’s boyfriend. Court records show that the boyfriend shares a first name with another Asian man who has a conviction for a sex offense, but the two are not the same person.
Family Plans Lawsuit Against DHS After Shocking Ordeal
Thao said he plans to file a civil rights lawsuit against the DHS and no longer feels safe sleeping in his home. He shared that he does not understand why he was targeted since he had done nothing wrong.
The family said they are especially troubled by Thao’s treatment by the U.S. government because his mother had fled to the U.S. from Laos in the 1970s. This was after the communists took over the country, due to her support for American covert operations and the danger to her life.
As per the Hmong Nurses Association, Thao’s adopted mother, Choua Thao, was a nurse who cared for CIA-backed Hmong soldiers during the U.S. government’s “Secret War” from 1961 to 1975.
According to a statement on a GoFundMe page set up by Thao’s daughter-in-law, Louansee Moua, she treated numerous civilians and American soldiers while working closely with U.S. personnel. She passed away in late December 2025.
These incidents have sparked public complaints about the perceived inhumanity and chaos of the operations, with many calling on federal agents to carry out their duties calmly, without harming residents or causing trauma to the community.
