Trump warns Minneapolis mayor he is ‘playing with fire’ as ICE raids continue despite pledged de-escalation
MINNEAPOLIS — President Donald Trump warned Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey he was “playing with fire” for refusing to have local police enforce federal immigration laws, even as the White House signaled it would scale back tactics in the city after weeks of protests and deadly confrontations tied to “Operation Metro Surge.”
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The mixed messages left Minneapolis on edge Wednesday. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity appeared to shift but not stop, according to observers, after two U.S. citizens — Renee Good, 37, on Jan. 7 and Alex Pretti, 37, on Saturday — were shot and killed by federal officers. Demonstrations against the operation have spread nationwide and regularly drawn clashes between protesters and heavily armed agents.
Two immigration officers who opened fire on Pretti were placed on administrative leave, which the Department of Homeland Security described as standard protocol. Video verified by Reuters appears to contradict initial claims by some administration officials that Pretti was preparing to kill officers; in the footage, he holds a phone as Border Patrol agents push him to the ground, an agent removes a handgun from near his waist, and another agent then shoots Pretti in the back while he is restrained.
On Tuesday, the administration said it would soften its approach in Minneapolis, dispatching border czar Tom Homan to take over from Gregory Bovino, the Border Patrol official whose broad street sweeps in multiple cities drew sharp criticism. A senior administration official said Homan’s arrival would shift the operation toward more traditional, targeted arrests. It remained unclear how much would change on the ground.
ICE teams were seen Wednesday rolling up to homes and businesses in small caravans — typically three vehicles carrying six to eight agents — knocking on doors and appearing to look for specific individuals, according to volunteer observers who track movements and warn residents. If the person sought was not found, agents left, they said. In prior weeks, agents had at times randomly stopped people and demanded proof of legal status, a practice that inflamed tensions.
“They definitely shift around — let up for a few days so people let their guard down, I think,” said Patty O’Keefe, a community ICE observer in south Minneapolis. Tracking the scale of raids is difficult; authorities do not release numbers, and activists say federal communications have moved to encrypted, hyper-local channels to avoid monitoring.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said on social media that federal agents had arrested 16 people in Minnesota on allegations of assaulting, resisting or impeding federal officers. “Nothing will stop us from continuing to make arrests and enforce the law,” she wrote.
Among those arrested was Abdikadir Noor, a plaintiff in a civil case accusing immigration agents of using excessive force against protesters. A federal judge had issued a temporary injunction limiting arrests and tear gas against peaceful demonstrators, but a U.S. appeals court lifted that order while the case proceeds.
Trump had briefly dialed back his rhetoric after speaking with Frey and Gov. Tim Walz, both Democrats, in the wake of Pretti’s killing, saying he intended to “de-escalate a little bit.” On Wednesday, he renewed criticism of Minneapolis’ stance on immigration enforcement, writing that Frey’s position was a “very serious violation of the Law” and that the mayor was “PLAYING WITH FIRE!”
Trump has threatened to cut federal funding to “sanctuary” jurisdictions that limit cooperation with immigration authorities. Frey responded on social media: “The job of our police is to keep people safe, not enforce fed immigration laws.”
The deaths of Pretti, an intensive care nurse, and Good, a mother of three, have become a political crisis for the administration, with a growing number of Republicans in Congress calling for independent investigations. Whether Homan’s leadership amounts to a substantive change in tactics — or simply a narrower focus that keeps the operation’s intensity intact — will be tested in the coming days as protests continue and federal agents adjust their posture in Minneapolis.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
