Pentagon puts 1,500 Alaska soldiers on alert for possible deployment to Minnesota amid immigration protests
The Pentagon has ordered about 1,500 active-duty soldiers in Alaska to prepare for a possible deployment to Minnesota as protests mount over a deportation crackdown and the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer, two U.S. officials said.
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The U.S. Army placed the units on prepare-to-deploy orders in case unrest escalates in the Minneapolis–St. Paul area, the officials said. It remains unclear whether any troops will be sent. President Donald Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act to deploy federal forces if local officials do not stop protesters from targeting immigration personnel after a surge of ICE agents to the Twin Cities.
Tensions have simmered since Jan. 7, when Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was shot and killed behind the wheel of her car by ICE officer Jonathan Ross. Demonstrations have intensified following the federal surge, with confrontations reported between residents and officers outside federal facilities.
“That would be a shocking step,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” responding to the prospect of a military deployment. “We don’t need more federal agents to keep people safe. We are safe,” he said.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told CBS’ “Face the Nation” that Frey should establish “a peaceful protest zone” for demonstrators. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. ABC News first reported the alert orders.
The alert comes as Trump repeatedly cites a scandal over stolen federal social-welfare funds in Minnesota as justification for sending in immigration agents and has singled out the state’s community of Somali immigrants. “I think what he’d be doing is just putting another match on the fire,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said on ABC’s “This Week” when asked about the potential troop deployment.
If troops are deployed, it is unclear whether the administration would invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows a president to deploy the military or federalize the National Guard to quell domestic unrest. Even without invoking the act, a president can deploy active-duty forces for certain domestic purposes, including the protection of federal property — a rationale Trump cited when sending Marines to Los Angeles last year.
In addition to regular forces, the Pentagon could attempt to use newly created National Guard rapid-response units for civil disturbances. “The Department of War is always prepared to execute the orders of the commander in chief if called upon,” Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said, using the administration’s preferred name for the Department of Defense.
The soldiers identified for potential deployment specialize in cold-weather operations and belong to two Army infantry battalions under the 11th Airborne Division, which is based in Alaska, the officials said.
Trump, a Republican, sent the surge of ICE and Border Patrol agents to Minneapolis and neighboring St. Paul early last week as part of a broader series of interventions across U.S. cities, many led by Democratic officials. He has said federal deployments in Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Memphis and Portland, Oregon, are necessary to fight crime and protect federal personnel and facilities from protesters. Earlier this month, he said he would remove National Guard units from Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland after legal setbacks and challenges.
Local leaders in multiple cities have accused the White House of federal overreach and of exaggerating isolated episodes of violence to justify sending in troops. In Minnesota, Gov. Tim Walz has mobilized the state’s National Guard to support local law enforcement and protect the rights of peaceful demonstrators, the state Department of Public Safety said in a post on X.
As officials weigh the next steps, the military alert underscores the stakes in Minnesota: an intensifying showdown over immigration enforcement, public safety and the limits of federal power in American cities. Whether any of the Alaska-based units are ultimately deployed will hinge on the trajectory of the protests — and on a political confrontation moving rapidly from rhetoric to force posture.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
