(Corrected by deleting former paragraphs 22-23, which incorrectly mentioned criminal defendant Abdikadir Noor as plaintiff in civil action)
Author: Brad Brooks and Joseph Akers
MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump warned Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey on Wednesday that he was “playing with fire” by insisting that local police not enforce federal immigration laws. A day earlier, the president said he intended to “de-escalate a little” tensions in the city.
Amid mixed signals from the White House, tensions remained high in Minneapolis, where observers and activists said eviction attacks under Trump’s “Operation Metro Surge” had not abated but appeared more targeted on Wednesday.
Confrontations between protesters and heavily armed immigration officers have rocked the city, with unrest intensifying after two U.S. citizens, Renee Good on January 7 and Alex Pretti on Saturday, were shot dead by federal officers.
Demonstrations have spread to cities large and small across the country in recent weeks, and Minneapolis entered pop culture on Wednesday when singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen released a protest song honoring Pretty and Goode.
In a sign that immigration agents may be changing tactics, an internal memo reviewed by Reuters instructs officials to avoid unnecessary communication and contact with protesters.
After weeks of fiery rhetoric, Trump and other senior administration officials struck a conciliatory tone in public comments, a day after he struck another tone Wednesday.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said on social media that federal agents arrested 16 people in Minnesota on Wednesday on suspicion of assaulting, resisting or obstructing federal law enforcement.
“There is nothing stopping us from continuing to make arrests and enforce the law,” Bundy wrote.
A federal judge in Minneapolis said Wednesday that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was in contempt of the law by ignoring dozens of federal court orders during a surge in immigration enforcement this month.
U.S. District Judge Patrick Schlitz canceled a contempt hearing against Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons and cited at least 96 court orders he said ICE violated in 74 cases after the agency belatedly complied with an order to release an Ecuadorian man who was wrongfully detained.
“This list should give anyone who cares about the rule of law — regardless of his or her political beliefs — pause,” Schlitz wrote. “In January 2025, ICE may have violated more court orders than some federal agencies have violated since their inception.”
Meanwhile, a Department of Homeland Security spokesman said the two immigration officers who fired at Preti have been placed on administrative leave, adding that this was “standard procedure.”
Mixed messages, new strategy?
The Trump administration said on Tuesday it would soften its approach, sending in border czar Tom Homan to replace Border Patrol Official Gregory Bovino, whose aggressive tactics have drawn widespread criticism and legal challenges.
A senior administration official said Homan’s arrival would mark a shift toward more traditional, narrowly targeted operations rather than the broad street sweeps Bovino has led in several cities.
The change appears to have been incorporated into ICE’s new internal directive, instructing agents to avoid contact with “agitators” while on duty and warning that confrontational postures “serve no purpose other than to inflame a situation.”
The guidance, seen by Reuters, also orders ICE officers to pursue only immigrants with criminal charges or convictions, a departure from previous tactics that included randomly asking individuals on the street about their immigration status.
ICE activity appeared to slow on Tuesday before resuming full force on Wednesday, albeit with a more targeted focus than before, observers and activists told Reuters.
In several parts of the city on Wednesday, ICE agents were seen arriving in three-vehicle caravans, with six to eight agents in total, arriving at homes and businesses before knocking on doors and looking around, seemingly looking for a specific person.
Observers said if that person was not found, the agents would leave. Over the past few weeks, agents may have begun approaching people and asking for written proof of legal status.
“Playing with fire”
Amid growing political pressure, Trump walked back his rhetorical attacks on Frey and Gov. Tim Walz and vowed to work with them to ease friction after speaking with the two Democrats following Pretty’s killing.
But on Wednesday, Trump took to social media to accuse Frey of reiterating local leaders’ position that the city would not enforce immigration laws. Trump wrote: “Please explain to the person deep in his heart that this statement is a very serious violation of the law and he is playing with fire!”
Trump has threatened to cut off funding to states, including so-called sanctuary jurisdictions, which limit how much they can cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
In response, Frey wrote on social media, “Our police job is to keep people safe, not to enforce federal immigration laws.”
Preeti, 37, a critical care nurse, was shot dead during protests near his home on Saturday, and some government officials immediately accused him of planning to kill police officers, citing the handgun he was carrying.
But video verified by Reuters showed that Preeti was only holding a cell phone when Border Patrol agents pushed him to the ground. The video also shows one agent finding the gun near Preeti’s waist and moving it away seconds before another agent shot Preeti in the back while she was restrained.
(Reporting by Brad Brooks in Minneapolis; Additional reporting by Maria Alejandra Cardona, Ted Hesson, Andrew Guzward, Jana Winter, Andrew Hay and Jonathan Allen; Writing and additional reporting by Joseph Akers in New York and Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Donna Bryson, Nick Ziminski and Michael Perry)
