Amid mixed signals from Trump administration, Minneapolis remains on edge
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Federal immigration enforcement agents detain a person from an apartment building on Jan 28.
PHOTO: REUTERS
MINNEAPOLIS - US President Donald Trump warned Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey on Jan 28 he was “playing with fire” after the Democratic leader reiterated that his city would not help federal agents enforce immigration law, a day after the president said his administration would “de-escalate a bit” in the city
Amid the mixed signals from the White House, tensions remained high in Minneapolis, where observers and activists say immigration raids had not slacked but appeared to be more targeted on Jan 28. The city has been convulsed by unrest, including confrontations between protesters and immigration agents, after two US citizens were shot dead by federal agents, including the killing of nurse Alex Pretti on Jan 24.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi said on social media on Jan 28 that federal agents had arrested 16 people in Minnesota for allegedly assaulting, resisting or impeding federal law enforcement. Mr Trump’s administration had indicated it will soften its approach, dispatching border czar Tom Homan to take over the operation from Mr Gregory Bovino, the Border Patrol official whose aggressive tactics drew widespread criticism.
The two border officers who shot at Mr Pretti have been placed on administrative leave, according to an agency spokesperson, who added that it was “standard protocol”. A senior administration official said Mr Homan’s arrival would mark a shift to more traditional targeted operations rather than the broad street sweeps Mr Bovino has led in multiple cities. Yet it remained unclear how much would change in a city where federal agents have regularly clashed with protesters.
Observers and activists told Reuters that Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity appeared to slow somewhat on Jan 27 before resuming in full on Jan 28. They said there did now appear to be more of an emphasis on targeted exercises.
On Jan 28, ICE agents were seen in several parts of the city rolling up to homes and businesses in caravans of three vehicles with six to eight agents in total, then knocking on doors and looking around, seemingly for a specific person.
If that person was not found, observers said, the agents were seen leaving. In past weeks, agents might have begun randomly stopping people and demanding to see proof of legal status, a practice that has enraged community members and led to heated encounters.
It is difficult to know precisely how many raids are taking place. Authorities do not share that information, and volunteers who track ICE and Border Patrol vehicles say many of their encrypted communication chats have broken into atomised, hyper-local groups, partly to avoid infiltration by federal agents.
“They definitely shift around,” said Ms Patty O’Keefe, a community ICE observer in south Minneapolis. “Let up for a few days so people let their guard down, I think.”
One observer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he did not believe the change in tone from Mr Trump meant there would be a meaningful slowdown in detentions.
“Like everybody out here, though, we can hope that maybe the change of having Homan come in could mean that ICE will shoot and kill less, that they won’t attack people like us keeping watch on them,” he said.
Democrat Omar attacked
Under mounting political pressure, Mr Trump had dialled back his attacks on Mr Frey and Governor Tim Walz after speaking with both Democrats in the wake of Mr Pretti’s killing, vowing to work with them to lower the temperature.
But on social media on Jan 28, Mr Trump faulted Mr Frey for saying the city would not enforce immigration laws: “Could somebody in his inner sanctum please explain that this statement is a very serious violation of the Law, and that he is PLAYING WITH FIRE!”
Mr Trump has threatened to cut off funding for states that include so-called sanctuary jurisdictions, which limit how much cooperation they give federal immigration authorities.
In response, Mr Frey wrote on social media: “The job of our police is to keep people safe, not enforce fed immigration laws.” In another sign that political tensions remain heated, US Representative Ilhan Omar, a Minneapolis Democrat and a frequent Trump target, was sprayed with an unknown liquid
Ms Omar was unharmed. Minneapolis police arrested the suspect, Anthony Kazmierczak, 55, for third-degree assault. It was not clear whether Kazmierczak, who was booked into Hennepin County Jail, had an attorney. The FBI is investigating the attack, and authorities believe the substance was non-lethal and non-chemical, a Justice Department official said.
Mr Pretti, 37, was shot dead during protests near his home on Jan 24, and some administration officials immediately accused him of planning to kill officers, citing the handgun he was carrying. But video verified by Reuters showed Mr Pretti held only a phone in his hand when Border Patrol agents pushed him to the ground. Video also showed that an agent found Mr Pretti’s gun near his waist and removed it seconds before another agent shot a restrained Mr Pretti in the back.
The killing, coupled with the earlier fatal shooting of Ms Renee Good by an ICE officer, has become a political crisis for Trump. A growing number of Republicans in Congress, who rarely buck Trump, have called for independent investigations into the shooting. REUTERS
