Brothers Mohamed Duklef, 36, and Hani Duglof, 32, came to the U.S. from their home country, Libya, in 2014, looking for a solution to a health issue the two have lived with since birth. Their skin is as fragile as a ripe peach, Duklef said. One light scratch and it peels and blisters instantly.

“It impacts my life from when I wake up in the morning until I sleep,” Duglof said. “It’s hard for me to live my daily life.”

For Duglof, not only is the skin on the outside of his body fragile, but so is the skin inside. This means that eating is no simple task, and doctor’s visits are frequent.

Duglof said he was arrested by ICE agents on Jan. 10 in New Richmond, Wis., while working for a grocery pickup service. He was detained and taken to Minneapolis, where he stayed in a cell for one day before being transferred to a hospital due to his rare health condition. Duglof was then taken back to the detention center, where he stayed for four days in a cell with no access to care for his condition and little food before being released, he said.

He said he was detained after two vehicles parked in front of and behind his car, boxing him in. ICE agents exited the vehicles and asked what Duglof’s immigration status was. When he shared that his asylum case was pending, the agents arrested him and, with handcuffs on his arms and legs, brought him to the Whipple Federal Building at Fort Snelling.

“What’s happening now is the government is just unplugging pending asylum cases by grabbing people, haphazardly, without thinking whether it makes sense,” Duglof’s attorney, David L. Wilson of Wilson Law Group, said.

Wilson, who’s worked with Duglof and his brother since 2014, said the way the government is currently handling immigration and asylum cases is haphazard and often lacks a clear purpose, which he said was evident during Duglof’s detainment.

“In 2026, nothing surprises me anymore,” Wilson said.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately respond to the Pioneer Press for comment. A federal judge in Minneapolis granted a temporary restraining order Wednesday intended to prevent federal officers from arresting and detaining lawful refugees in Minnesota who have yet to receive their proof of permanent residency.

Extremely sensitive skin

Hani Duglof speaks Thursday at his brother’s home in Blaine. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Duglof’s skin condition, epidermolysis bullosa, affects about one in 20,000 births, according to Stanford Medicine. It makes him prone to significant blistering from ordinary friction. For example, Duglof said, if he wears shoes and stands on his feet for a day, the skin on his feet will peel raw.

The genetic condition is uncomfortable, and the wounds can range from minor to severe enough to require a visit to a hospital. If the wounds are at their worst, they can become infected, which takes months to heal and requires medical attention, Duglof said.

The condition also impacts Duglof’s ability to eat. He can only tolerate soft foods like pasta, mashed potatoes and soup; harder foods can puncture his esophagus and irritate his digestion, he said.

Managing the condition requires a consistent routine, Duglof said. He visits doctors regularly for treatment, and he and his brother came to America because of the health care opportunities.

“Even though I know people still complain here, there are rights for people with disabilities,” Duklef said.

For Duklef, the difference between living in Libya and Minnesota as someone with a chronic condition is like night and day. Duklef said there was little access to research or understanding of the condition in Libya, and people often had negative associations of people with chronic health conditions.

Duklef said that since living in the U.S., he and his brother have been part of many clinical trials to help find a solution to their condition. One treatment recently received FDA approval, he said.

“Maybe people say, ‘Who pays for this?’ We actually paid from our bodies to researchers to try these therapies,” Duklef said.

Pending asylum

Mohamed Duklef talks about his brother, Hani Duglof. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

The brothers initially came to the U.S. on visitor visas, Duklef said. Around 2014, a civil war was ongoing in Libya, and the country became less safe for them to return to, he said. Duklef said he consulted a lawyer to find out what his options were for living in the U.S., and he was told that the two could apply for asylum.

The brothers’ last names are spelled differently as a result of different interpretations of the pronunciation by separate customs agents back in Libya, they said.

Duklef is now a naturalized U.S. citizen through marriage, but his brother’s asylum case is still pending. Duglof has a work permit and an ID, all of which he said he gave to the agents when he was stopped.

“When your asylum is not decided yet, you are authorized to stay, work, live, and they give you a work permit that’s renewable,” Duklef said. “That wasn’t new to us, but they said he’s out of status and they just took him out.”

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When the ICE agents put handcuffs on Duglof, he said his skin immediately reacted.

When Duglof was detained, he tried to explain his condition to the agents, he said, but few seemed to care. Duglof said he was in a cell with close to 20 others. The space was crowded, Duglof’s skin was wounded and he needed medical attention.

“I kind of sacrificed my privacy, showing them my knees in hopes that they’ll understand my condition.”

Duglof described the experience as extremely vulnerable. He said he never shows people his wounds, and instead tries to cover them, but he knew that in order to try to get the agents to understand his situation, he had to.

To the hospital and back

Eventually, near 11 p.m. on Jan. 10, one agent saw the severity of Duglof’s wounds and had him transferred to a hospital. Duglof stayed in the hospital until 2 p.m. on Jan. 13. A few agents were with Duglof while he was in the hospital, and his brother Duklef was called. Duklef tried explaining to the agents that Duglof can only eat specific kinds of foods; otherwise, his health is at risk.

Duglof said he remembers seeing a nurse with tears in her eyes when hospital staff told him they couldn’t keep him and that he would have to be taken back into ICE custody. The nurses gave agents a bag of food safe for Duglof to consume, including protein milk and pudding.

Hani Duglof shows bandages on his knees from wounds following his detention. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Duglof was returned to ICE custody, but did not receive the care needed for his condition, he said. Agents who started new shifts did not understand that Duglof could not eat the same kinds of food that others could, he said.

One agent who gave Duglof a sandwich said, “This isn’t a five-star hotel.”

While Duglof was in ICE custody, Duklef was working to get his brother released on bond. Duklef said the situation was dire, and he knew that his brother would not be cared for if he wasn’t released.

“After reading stories of people dying in detention centers, especially with medical conditions, now I understand why,” Duklef said. “If people try to advocate for themselves, but nobody listens to them, then this is what happens.”

Duglof said that over the course of four days after he was transferred from the hospital, he ate very little, as most agents would not feed him the food he brought back from the hospital.

“Imagine having one meal a day, not even a meal a day. Sometimes it was 8 ounces of chocolate shake, sometimes it was 4 ounces of rice pudding, that’s it.”

Still living in fear

Duklef’s call for his brother to be released was successful, and Duglof was released on Jan. 15.

“If he wasn’t released quickly … I don’t know what would have happened to him,” Duklef said. “They were about to send him to El Paso.”

The worst part of the entire experience was knowing that Duglof is not a criminal, he said.

“It pains me to see on the news and everywhere that they say they’re arresting criminals and rapists and all these lies,” Duklef said.

Minnesota Judicial Court records show that Duglof had a speeding ticket in 2019, but the case has been dismissed as the fine was paid.

“When I came here, I tried to follow every single rule,” Duglof said. “I did everything step by step with the lawyers to make sure that I do everything right, and even then, I was treated like an illegal immigrant. I was treated like a criminal.”

Duklef said he believes the Trump administration is targeting immigrants with pending asylum cases because it’s easier to find them than someone who’s undocumented and has “no traces in the systems,” he said.

“I find it very unfair to go after those people who try so hard and have paid thousands of dollars to lawyers to make sure what they do is the right and correct way,” Duklef said.

Wilson said in years past, and even so little as one year ago, the government would typically see someone like Duglof, who has a pending asylum application, and “no criminal history that would bring him to the government’s attention,” and that person would be left alone.

Though Duglof’s followed the legal procedures correctly in seeking asylum, what he cannot control is the pace at which his immigration status is decided, Wilson said, which puts Duglof at risk of losing the opportunity to have his case reviewed.

“The government gets impatient with its own failings,” Wilson said. “Maybe the government should improve its own process.”

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Duglof said he still has wounds in his esophagus and on his legs where he was handcuffed. He said swallowing is very painful and that some of the wounds have become infected.

According to Wilson, Duglof is expecting a court hearing soon, when Duglof may be required to refile his asylum application, which would restart the entire process. Wilson expects it to be an ongoing process.

Duglof said that though he should not have to fear detainment again, he can’t fully trust the system.

“I hopefully won’t go through this again,” Duglof said. “Even though I’ve been released, I’m still scared to go out. I can’t live my normal life anymore.”

By LISA MASCARO, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday it will be a few days before a government funding package comes up for a vote, all but ensuring the partial federal shutdown will drag into the week as Democrats and Republicans debate reining in the Trump administration’s sweeping immigration enforcement operations.

Johnson signaled he is relying on help from President Donald Trump to ensure passage. Trump struck a deal with senators to separate out funding for the Department of Homeland Security from a broader package after public outrage over two shooting deaths during protests in Minneapolis against Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The measure approved Friday by the Senate would fund DHS temporarily, for two weeks, setting up a deadline for Congress to debate and vote on new restrictions on ICE operations.

“The president is leading this,” Johnson, R-La., told “Fox News Sunday.”

“It’s his play call to do it this way,” the speaker said, adding that the Republican president has “already conceded that he wants to turn down the volume” on federal immigration operations.

Johnson faces a daunting challenge ahead, trying to muscle the funding legislation through the House while Democrats are refusing to provide the votes for speedy passage. They are demanding restraints on ICE that go beyond $20 million for body cameras that already is in the bill. They want to require that federal immigration agents unmask and identify themselves and are pressing for an end to roving patrols, amid other changes.

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Democrats dig in on ICE changes

“What is clear is that the Department of Homeland Security needs to be dramatically reformed,” said House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said on ABC’s “This Week.”

Jeffries said the administration needs to begin negotiations now, not over the next two weeks, on changes to immigration enforcement operations.

“Masks should come off,” he said. “Judicial warrants should absolutely be required consistent with the Constitution, in our view, before DHS agents or ICE agents are breaking into the homes of the American people or ripping people out of their cars.”

It’s all forcing Johnson to rely on his slim House GOP majority in a series of procedural votes, starting in committee on Monday and pushing a potential House floor vote on the package until at least Tuesday, he said.

House Democrats planned a private caucus call Sunday evening to assess the next steps.

Partial government shutdown drags on

Meanwhile, a number of other federal agencies are snared in the funding standoff as the government went into a partial shutdown over the weekend.

Defense, health, transportation and housing are among those that were given shutdown guidance by the administration, though many operations are deemed essential and services are not necessarily interrupted. Workers could go without pay if the impasse drags on. Some could be furloughed.

This is the second time in a matter of months that federal operations have been disrupted as Congress digs in, using the annual funding process as leverage to extract policy changes. Last fall, Democrats sparked what became the longest federal shutdown in history, 43 days, as they protested the expiration of health insurance tax breaks.

That shutdown ended with a promise to vote on proposals to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. But the legislation did not advance and Democrats were unable to achieve their goal of keeping the subsidies in place. Insurance premiums spiked in the new year for millions of people.

Trump wants quick end to shutdown

This time, the administration has signaled its interest in more quickly resolving the shutdown.

Johnson said he was in the Oval Office last week when Trump, along with border czar Tom Homan, spoke with Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York to work out the deal.

“I think we’re on the path to get agreement,” Johnson said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Body cameras, which are already provided for in the package, and an end to the roving patrols by immigration agents are areas of potential agreement, Johnson said.

But he said taking the masks off and putting names on agents’ uniforms could lead to problems for law enforcement officers as they are being targeted by the protesters and their personal information is posted online.

“I don’t think the president would approve it — and he shouldn’t,” Johnson said on Fox.

Democrats, however, said the immigration operations are out of control, and it is an emergency situation that must end in Minneapolis and other cities.

Growing numbers of lawmakers are calling for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to be fired or impeached.

“What is happening in Minnesota right now is a dystopia,” said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., who led efforts to hold the line for more changes.

“ICE is making this country less safe, not more safe today,” Murphy said on “Fox News Sunday.”

Whenever there seems to be no more superlatives to heap upon defenseman Quinn Hughes and the impact he has had for the Wild since arriving in a blockbuster December trade, he adds another eye-popping statistic to his ledger.

On Saturday night in Edmonton, Alberta, Hughes had a goal and an assist in the 7-3 slap-down of the Oilers, extending his points streak to eight games. That’s the longest run by a defenseman in the history of a franchise where he has been employed for fewer than two months.

In addition to his relentless attack on the record books, Hughes’ presence and partnership with the team’s other defensemen – most notably Brock Faber, who has been Hughes’ defensive partner for much of their relatively short time together in Minnesota – now has its own label.

Outside the jubilant locker room at Rogers Place in downtown Edmonton late Saturday night, Wild coach John Hynes spoke to reporters about the “Quinn Hughes Effect,” and how it has subtly changed Faber’s game for the better.

“I just think (Hughes) helps drive offense and helps the tempo of the game continue to pick up,” Hynes said. “Obviously, Brock plays with him for the most part, and Brock’s playing at a faster pace. I just think, from an offensive perspective, when he can go, when he can move it, his decisions are quick and he’s skating good.”

In the midst of the season-high explosion of seven goals in Edmonton, Faber carried play through the neutral zone, saw an entry to get over the blue line, held onto the puck and ended up ripping a shot past the Oilers’ second goalie of the night to add the post-touchdown PAT late in the game. It was the 12th goal of the season for Faber, adding to his career best season with two months of hockey still to play.

Of those dozen goals, half have come since Hughes’ arrival in Minnesota, as the Wild have gone from one of the NHL’s worst teams in terms of defenseman scoring to the top of the league.

After a night where he was one of 15 players – including goalie Jesper Wallstedt – who recorded at least one point, Faber spoke of the importance of getting all four lines and six defenders involved in the offense.

“Depth scoring is huge. It takes a little bit off the top guys when you have deep scoring lines that play the right way – lines that make you feel their presence every time they’re out there, every shift,” Faber said in a postgame interview with Joe O’Donnell of the Wild radio network. “That’s important in a good regular season. That’s important in a deep playoff run. It’s huge, and we all need to keep building that way.”

A standout with the Gophers where he played three seasons and was a team captain during their 2023 run to the NCAA title game, Faber jumped right from college into the NHL and has been a mainstay on Minnesota’s blue line ever since.

Faber was already a fan favorite, an Olympian and probably should have been the NHL’s rookie of the year two years ago. But it’s clear, in the past two months, that the “Hughes Effect” has changed his game, and the Wild’s defense in general, for the better.

“He has always been a strong two-way defenseman,” Hynes said on Saturday. “I think his defensive play has continued to stay strong, but I would say offensively he has been a little bit better for us. He’s moving his feet. I think his shot’s good. He’s more mobile at the offensive blue line. He’s becoming harder to handle from an offensive perspective.”

And for Wild opponents, as they barrel headlong toward the Olympic break on a 6-1-1 run, that’s becoming more of a problem.

Minnesota Wild defenseman Brock Faber (7) is photographed during the team’s media day in St. Paul on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press).
TAMPA, FLORIDA – NOVEMBER 16: Quinn Hughes #43 of the Vancouver Canucks arrives for the game against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Benchmark International Arena on November 16, 2025 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

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FINANCIAL SERVICES

Gunjan Kedia

U.S. Bancorp, Minneapolis, announced that CEO and President Gunjan Kedia will also become the company’s chairman after its annual meeting in April. Andy Cecere, the current executive chairman, will retire from the board at that time. Kedia joined U.S. Bancorp in 2016 and was named CEO in April 2025. U.S. Bancorp is parent company of U.S. Bank, Minnesota’s largest by deposit market share. … Mahoney, a St. Paul-based accounting firm, announced the promotion of Jeff DeGree to director; the firm also announced the following promotions: to senior associate: Adrian Purnama, Lea Newman and Will Leach; to associate manager: Anjelica Smith and Abigail Hansen; to manager: Jason Morrison and Tyler Sauve, and to associate director: Brett Portner-Kuhlow and Jennifer Wiik.

ADVERTISING/PUBLIC RELATIONS

Imagine Studio, the Minneapolis-based creative unit of ad agency Imagine Group, announced that retailer Fleet Farm has chosen the company as its visual merchandising and design agency of record.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

U.S. Bancorp, Minneapolis, announced that CEO and President Gunjan Kedia will also become the company’s chairman after its annual meeting in April. Andy Cecere, the current executive chairman, will retire from the board at that time. Kedia joined U.S. Bancorp in 2016 and was named CEO in April 2025. U.S. Bancorp is parent company of U.S. Bank, Minnesota’s largest by deposit market share. … Mahoney, a St. Paul-based accounting firm, announced the promotion of Jeff DeGree to director; the firm also announced the following promotions: to senior associate: Adrian Purnama, Lea Newman and Will Leach; to associate manager: Anjelica Smith and Abigail Hansen; to manager: Jason Morrison and Tyler Sauve, and to associate director: Brett Portner-Kuhlow and Jennifer Wiik.

HONORS

Ameriprise Financial, Minneapolis, announced that Jason Holt, a private wealth adviser with Ameriprise Financial Services in Wayzata, has been named a recipient of the 2026 Five Star Wealth Manager award by Five Star Professional, administered by Crescendo Business Services. … The St. Croix Economic Development Corp., St. Croix County, Wis., announced the following winners of its 2025 Business of the Year awards: Emerging Business of the Year: Rodent Barriers; Small Business of the Year: Homestead Veterinary Clinic; Large Business of the Year: Krumm Exteriors; Nonprofit of the Year: Operation HELP; County Impact Award of the Year: Limitless Cycling; President’s Award: Tom Borowski, Health Partners and St. Croix EDC board member. … DaVinci Roofscapes, a national manufacturer of composite roof tiles, announced it has named Stillwater-based Classic Construction & Consulting as one of seven recipients of the DaVinci Masterpiece Contractor Projects of the Year. This honor recognizes specific standout residential and commercial projects.

LAW

Maslon, Minneapolis, announced that litigation partner Leah Kippola-Friske has been elected vice chair of the Children’s Law Center of Minnesota board of directors. She has been a board member since 2024. The Children’s Law Center, St. Paul, provides juvenile legal representation and advocacy.

MANUFACTURING

Winnebago Industries, an Eden Prairie-based maker of large recreational vehicles, motorhomes and watercraft, announced that John M. Murabito, an independent director since 2017, has been appointed as chair of the board. He succeeds David W. Miles, who has served as chair since 2019. Murabito retied in 2022 as chief administrative officer and chief human resources officer at Cigna Corp. … Arctic Cat. a Thief River Falls-based snowmobile maker, announced the return of Roger Skime to the company as brand ambassador. Skime is an engineer, designer, test rider and racing aficionado. He began his Arctic Cat career in 1962 and eventually became vice president of engineering; he retired at the end of 2018.

MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY

Humanetics Corp., an Edina-based pharmaceutical company concentrating on countertherapies for oncology, pulmonary and COVID-19 treatments, announced the appointment of Timothy E. Morris as chief operating officer. Morris has 36 years of professional finance and accounting experience, including 22 years as chief financial officer with public biotechnology companies.

NONPROFITS

Animal Humane Society, Golden Valley, announced the following new board members, Beth Thiebault, Deloitte Consulting; Nic Pifer, Columbia Threadneedle Investments (retired), and Nikki Leighton. … Spark-Y, a Minneapolis-based STEM activity-based educational program, announced it has named Chris Lenhart to its board of directors. Lenhart is an executive vice president and deputy general counsel at U.S. Bank, and is the business manager for a local touring hip-hop artist.

TECHNOLOGY

Recast, a St. Louis Park-based business software provider, announced Jake Mosey has joined the company as chief product officer. Mosey most recently serving as vice president of small and medium-sized business markets at Jamf.

UTILITIES

Xcel Energy, Minneapolis, announced that Maria Demaree has been elected to its board of directors, effective Dec. 17. Demaree has been with Lockheed Martin for more than three decades, most recently serving as senior vice president, Enterprise Business and Digital Transformation, and chief information officer.

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