Obama backs Minneapolis protesters, slams ‘unprecedented’ ICE tactics in Minnesota
Barack Obama publicly endorsed demonstrators in Minneapolis and St. Paul and condemned what he called the “unprecedented” deployment of federal immigration agents in Minnesota, saying the sustained protests helped force a rethink of the crackdown.
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Speaking in an interview published Saturday with progressive YouTuber Brian Tyler Cohen, the former president argued that public pressure remains the most effective check on government overreach and praised the Twin Cities protests that surged after two people were killed by federal agents.
“The reason I point out that I don’t think the majority of the American people approve of this is because ultimately, the answer is going to come from the American people,” Obama said. “We just saw this in Minnesota, in Minneapolis.”
He called out the conduct of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal personnel in the metro area. “It is important for us to recognize the unprecedented nature of what ICE was doing in Minneapolis, St Paul, the way that federal agents, ICE agents were being deployed, without any clear guidelines, training, pulling people out of their homes, using five-year-olds to try to bait their parents, all the stuff that we saw, teargassing crowds simply who were standing there, not breaking any laws,” he said.
The Twin Cities have seen ongoing protests against immigration enforcement tactics, which intensified following the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti at the hands of federal agents. Demonstrators and local advocates framed the response as a defense of civil liberties and due process, drawing national attention and high-profile support.
Amid the outcry, Tom Homan, the U.S. border czar, said this week that the Trump administration would draw down its immigration crackdown in Minnesota, following earlier escalations by immigration agencies. Many have credited the decision as evidence that the demonstrations succeeded in shifting the administration’s approach in the state.
“Right now, we’re being tested, and the good news is, what we saw in Minneapolis and St Paul, and what we’re seeing in places across the country, including here in Los Angeles, has been the American people saying no,” Obama said. “At least a good number of the American people saying, we’re going to live up to those values that we say we believe in.”
“As long as we have folks doing that, I feel like we’re going to get through this,” he added.
Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama have repeatedly weighed in on events in Minnesota. Last month, they called the killing of Alex Pretti “a heartbreaking tragedy” and “a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.”
In that statement, the Obamas said federal law enforcement and immigration agents were not operating in a lawful or accountable way in Minnesota and argued that the tactics employed by ICE and other federal agents appeared “designed to intimidate, harass, provoke and endanger the residents of a major American city.”
The remarks underscore how Minnesota has become a national flashpoint over immigration enforcement and civil rights, with community organizers, local leaders and now a former president framing the confrontation as a test of constitutional norms and public accountability. With the administration signaling a pullback after weeks of protests, advocates say the next measure of change will be whether federal agencies alter their practices on the ground.
By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
