ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Defender Cesar Montes scored twice in a six-minute span in the second half and defending champion Mexico struggled early but managed to get past Suriname 2-0 on Wednesday night to secure a spot in the knockout round of the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Montes opened the scoring on a header off a corner kick in the 57 and added another goal in the 63rd minute for the Mexicans, who defeated the Dominican Republic 3-2 in the opening match of the tournament.
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Mexico forward Julián Quiñones (16) runs with the ball as Suriname defender Leo Abena (12) drops to the ground during a CONCACAF Gold Cup soccer match Wednesday, June 18, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Mexico defender César Montes (3) celebrates his goal with Marcel Ruiz during a CONCACAF Gold Cup soccer match against Suriname Wednesday, June 18, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Mexico forward Alexis Vega (10) jumps on teammate César Montes, not visible, after Montes scored a goal against Suriname during a CONCACAF Gold Cup soccer match Wednesday, June 18, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Mexico players celebrate a goal by defender César Montes (3) against Suriname during a CONCACAF Gold Cup soccer match Wednesday, June 18, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Mexico defender César Montes, left, celebrates his side's second goal with teammate Julián Quiñones during a CONCACAF Gold Cup soccer match against Suriname Wednesday, June 18, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
With three goals in the tournament, the 28-year-old defender, who plays for Lokomotiv of Moscow, currently shares the scoring lead with Costa Rican Manfred Ugalde.
"I am excited about the goals, but the priority is keeping a clean sheet. I obviously didn’t imagine it; that’s what strikers are for, but as long as I can help the team in that way, I’ll do it,” Montes said.
Montes had scored only once in his 53 previous national team games before to the Gold Cup, in a friendly match against Panama in June 2021.
With the win, Mexico leads Group A with six points and will play Costa Rica next Sunday in Las Vegas aiming to secure the first place ahead of the second round.
The Costa Ricans are lead by former Mexican coach Miguel Herrera, who managed el Tri in the 2014 World Cup.
“We have an intense match coming up. It’s an good team. Miguel is a respected coach in Mexico, and he’ll definitely want to beat us. But we’re going to go out and work hard and try to fight for the group lead,” added Montes.
The Mexicans lead the group on goal difference and will secure the top spot with a draw.
“We knew it was a difficult group and that’s how it has been so far, although it might not seem like it because of the two wins, but it wasn’t easy," Mexico's coach Javier Aguirre said.
The Costa Ricans defeated the Dominican Republic 2-1 earlier for their second win of the Gold Cup and also qualified for the second round. Suriname and the Dominicans are eliminated.
Suriname has lost all four official matches played against Mexico and will try to close the tournament with a win when they play the debutant Dominican Republic next Sunday.
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Mexico forward Julián Quiñones (16) runs with the ball as Suriname defender Leo Abena (12) drops to the ground during a CONCACAF Gold Cup soccer match Wednesday, June 18, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Mexico defender César Montes (3) celebrates his goal with Marcel Ruiz during a CONCACAF Gold Cup soccer match against Suriname Wednesday, June 18, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Mexico forward Alexis Vega (10) jumps on teammate César Montes, not visible, after Montes scored a goal against Suriname during a CONCACAF Gold Cup soccer match Wednesday, June 18, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Mexico players celebrate a goal by defender César Montes (3) against Suriname during a CONCACAF Gold Cup soccer match Wednesday, June 18, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Mexico defender César Montes, left, celebrates his side's second goal with teammate Julián Quiñones during a CONCACAF Gold Cup soccer match against Suriname Wednesday, June 18, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal agents carrying out immigration arrests in Minnesota's Twin Cities region already shaken by the fatal shooting of a woman rammed the door of one home Sunday and pushed their way inside, part of what the Department of Homeland Security has called its largest enforcement operation ever.
In a dramatic scene similar to those playing out across Minneapolis, agents captured a man in the home just minutes after pepper spraying protesters outside who had confronted the heavily armed federal agents. Along the residential street, protesters honked car horns, banged on drums and blew whistles in attempts to disrupt the operation.
Video of the clash taken by The Associated Press showed some agents pushing back protesters while a distraught woman later emerged from the house with a document that federal agents presented to arrest the man. Signed by an immigration officer, the document — unlike a warrant signed by a judge — does not authorize forced entry into a private residence. A warrant signed by an immigration officer only authorizes arrest in a public area.
Immigrant advocacy groups have conducted extensive “know-your-rights” campaigns urging people not to open their doors unless agents have a court order signed by a judge.
But within minutes of ramming the door in a neighborhood filled with single-family homes, the handcuffed man was led away.
More than 2,000 immigration arrests have been made in Minnesota since the enforcement operation began at the beginning of December, said Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Fox News on Sunday that the administration would send additional federal agents to Minnesota to protect immigration officers and continue enforcement.
The Twin Cities — the latest target in President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement campaign — is bracing for what is next after 37-year-old Renee Good was shot and killed by an immigration officer on Wednesday.
“We’re seeing a lot of immigration enforcement across Minneapolis and across the state, federal agents just swarming around our neighborhoods,” said Jason Chavez, a Minneapolis city councilmember. “They’ve definitely been out here.”
Chavez, the son of Mexican immigrants who represents an area with a growing immigrant population, said he is closely monitoring information from chat groups about where residents are seeing agents operating.
People holding whistles positioned themselves in freezing temperatures on street corners Sunday in the neighborhood where Good was killed, watching for any signs of federal agents.
More than 20,000 people have taken part in a variety of trainings to become “observers” of enforcement activities in Minnesota since the 2024 election, said Luis Argueta, a spokesperson for Unidos MN, a local human rights organization .
“It’s a role that people choose to take on voluntarily, because they choose to look out for their neighbors,” Argueta said.
The protests have been largely peaceful, but residents remained anxious. On Monday, Minneapolis public schools will start offering remote learning for the next month in response to concerns that children might feel unsafe venturing out while tensions remain high.
Many schools closed last week after Good’s shooting and the upheaval that followed.
While the enforcement activity continues, two of the state’s leading Democrats said that the investigation into Good's shooting death should not be overseen solely by the federal government.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and U.S. Sen. Tina Smith said in separate interviews Sunday that state authorities should be included in the investigation because the federal government has already made clear what it believes happened.
“How can we trust the federal government to do an objective, unbiased investigation, without prejudice, when at the beginning of that investigation they have already announced exactly what they saw — what they think happened," Smith said on ABC’s "This Week."
The Trump administration has defended the officer who shot Good in her car, saying he was protecting himself and fellow agents and that Good had “weaponized” her vehicle.
Todd Lyons, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, defended the officer on Fox News Channel’s “The Sunday Briefing.”
"That law enforcement officer had milliseconds, if not short time to make a decision to save his life and his other fellow agents,” he said.
Lyons also said the administration’s enforcement operations in Minnesota wouldn't be needed “if local jurisdictions worked with us to turn over these criminally illegal aliens once they are already considered a public safety threat by the locals.”
The killing of Good by an ICE officer and the shooting of two people by federal agents in Portland, Oregon, led to dozens of protests in cities across the country over the weekend, including New York, Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and Oakland, California.
Contributing were Associated Press journalists Giovanna Dell’Orto in Minneapolis; Thomas Strong in Washington; Bill Barrow in Atlanta; Christopher Weber in Los Angeles; and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio.
A woman gets into an altercation with a federal immigration officer as officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A federal immigration officer deploys pepper spray as officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A family member, center, reacts after federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Bystanders are treated after being pepper sprayed as federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A family member reacts after federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Federal agents look on after detaining a person during a patrol in Minneapolis, Minn., Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)
Bystanders react after a man was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during a traffic stop, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Robbinsdale, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)
People stand near a memorial at the site where Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE agent, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)
A man looks out of a car window after being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during a traffic stop, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Robbinsdale, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Border Patrol agents detain a man, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
People shout toward Border Patrol agents making an arrest, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
Demonstrators protest outside the White House in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey holds a news conference on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)
Protesters react as they visit a makeshift memorial during a rally for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer earlier in the week, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
