Federal ICE tensions rise in Twin Cities
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President Trump's threat to use the Insurrection Act to deploy federal troops to Minneapolis ratcheted up the pressure amid rising turmoil over ICE's sustained presence in the Twin Cities.
Why it matters: While officials are calling for a de-escalation, there's still no clear path to a resolution over the increasingly tense situation.
Driving the news: Trump vowed yesterday to invoke the rarely used powers to "put an end" to local protests, unless "corrupt politicians ... obey the law" and stop "professional agitators" from "attacking the patriots of I.C.E."
- The post on Truth Social came hours after an ICE agent shot a Venezuelan man in the leg during an arrest, sparking another round of protests.
- The Department of Homeland Security said the agent was "ambushed," but much of the federal government's narrative of the incident hasn't been independently corroborated.
Between the lines: Every modern use of the Insurrection Act has come either at a governor's request or to expand civil rights protections over state objections.
- Trump would flip that script, sending troops against a governor's wishes to crush protests of the federal government's own actions.
The response: Gov. Tim Walz, who last week described the federal government as "at war" with the state, urged Trump to "turn the temperature down" and "stop this campaign of retribution," while at the same time reiterating his call for Minnesotans to protest peacefully.
- His office said the governor is "attempting to get ahold of the president," and is "convening business leaders, members of Congress, other governors and civic leaders to make an appeal to the administration to reverse course."
Friction point: ICE replied on X, saying it's on Walz to "tone down the hostile, inflammatory anti-ICE rhetoric" and honor ICE's requests to hold non-citizens who are arrested until they can be taken into custody and deported.
Yes, but: While the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office and some other jurisdictions have policies against working with ICE in local jails, the state Department of Corrections says it "honors all federal and local detainers," even though it's not required to under state law.
- State corrections leaders accused DHS of conflating "local jail custody, ICE custody, and state prison custody," calling claims that Minnesota has released hundreds of undocumented criminals "categorically false, unsupported by facts, and deeply irresponsible."
Reality check: News reports and lawsuits have also documented instances of agents going beyond the administration's stated goal of removing dangerous criminals, as allegations of racial profiling, excessive force, and lawful residents getting swept up in the crackdown mount.
- A Fox 9 analysis found that about 5% of the first 2,000 people arrested had violent convictions.
Go deeper: How Trump could use the Insurrection Act against Minnesota