# Bangladeshi‑Origin Woman Dragged From Car by ICE Agents During Minneapolis Protest

> Aliya Rahman, a tech expert and LGBT and racial justice activist, was filmed being pulled from her car by ICE agents in Minneapolis during a protest. A software engineer with experience in advocacy groups including Blac…

Published: 2026-01-18 · Desk: Latest · Source: The New York Post

The woman filmed being pulled from her car by ICE agents in Minneapolis has been identified as Aliya Rahman, a tech expert and activist for LGBT and racial justice who calls herself a “friendly neighborhood deniable asset.”

Rahman, a software engineer with extensive coding experience, has supported police body camera policies and has worked with multiple advocacy groups, including a decade-long involvement with Black Lives Matter. She gained widespread attention after video showed federal agents breaking her car window and dragging her out on Tuesday during a protest, where she reportedly blocked ICE vehicles. During the incident, Rahman, who claimed she was disabled and heading to a doctor, was handcuffed and escorted away by masked agents.

Rahman’s career includes roles as a full-stack developer and engineering manager at various tech companies. She has also been a fellow at New America’s Open Technology Institute, where she worked on integrating police body cameras into policy. Her bio notes experience in legislative, electoral, and community organizing for racial and criminal justice campaigns, 15 years of software development for social justice causes, and prior work in public education and workforce development.

A U.S.-born citizen, Rahman moved with her family to a newly independent Bangladesh shortly after its 1971 liberation war. She describes being inspired by the “revolutionary energy” she witnessed growing up, including protests by mostly female garment workers. By age six, she recognized she was “different” and later identified as genderqueer, in a country where homosexuality is criminalized.

Returning to the U.S. for college, she experienced the 9/11 attacks firsthand, losing two cousins in the Twin Towers. This moment drove her to engage with social movements in the U.S., particularly around race and the treatment of people of color. Rahman became involved in LGBT and racial justice activism through personal relationships and necessity, holding part-time and volunteer positions with organizations such as Center for Community Change, Equality Ohio, and Code for Progress. She has also supported Black Lives Matter and pro-Palestinian causes.

In Minnesota, Rahman served as director of movement technology at Wellstone, a nonprofit training community activists and progressive leaders. She helped transform the organization from a predominantly white-led group into one that is largely queer, immigrant, and femme-identified or gender nonconforming.

Original reporting: https://nypost.com/2026/01/14/us-news/woman-dragged-from-car-by-ice-in-minnesota-idd-as-lgbt-and-racial-justice-activist/?fbclid=IwY2xjawPZZyNleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFhcE1uazgyeU1jUUhvVFNOc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHonyVD9fXYgYhQHjqF6pNGpgg2M7wg1gFuBLVVuWmYZFwqkKc-SO6nnOdD4r_aem_eKZYJUZojL1PPrFi6HQPmA
HTML: https://tezzfeed.com/latest-news/bangladeshiorigin-woman-dragged-from-car-by-ice-agents-during-minneapolis-protest-1768720971085
Bangladesh desk: https://tezzfeed.com/bangladeshi-news.md
Agent map: https://tezzfeed.com/llms.txt