MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The mayor of Minneapolis said Sunday that sending active-duty troops to Minnesota to help crack down on immigration is a ridiculous and unconstitutional idea, urging protesters to remain peaceful so the president doesn’t feel the need to send in U.S. troops.
Daily protests have continued throughout January since the Department of Homeland Security deployed more than 2,000 federal officers to step up immigration enforcement in the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Three hotels in the area where protesters said Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were staying stopped accepting reservations Sunday.
On Sunday, U.S. postal workers marched through a diverse neighborhood frequented by immigration officials, chanting: “Protect our routes. Get rid of ICE.”
Soldiers specializing in Arctic missions told to be prepared
The Pentagon has ordered about 1,500 active-duty troops stationed in Alaska to prepare for a possible deployment to Minnesota, two defense officials said Sunday.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said two infantry battalions of the Army’s 11th Airborne Division have been ordered to prepare for deployment.
A defense official says troops are ready to deploy to Minnesota if President Donald Trump invokes the Insurrection Act.
The rarely used 19th-century law would allow the president to send troops to Minnesota, where protesters have been facing off against federal immigration officials for weeks. He has since dropped the threat, at least for now.
“It’s ridiculous, but we will not be intimidated by the actions of the federal government,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey told CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday. “It’s unfair, it’s unjust, and it’s completely unconstitutional.”
Frey said thousands of Minneapolis citizens were exercising their First Amendment rights and the protests were peaceful.
“We’re not going to take the bait. We’re not going to fight Donald Trump’s chaos with our own chaos,” Frey said.
Gov. Tim Walz has mobilized the Minnesota National Guard but has not yet deployed any troops to the streets.
Some hotels closed or stopped accepting bookings amid protests
At least three hotels in Minneapolis-St. Louis where protesters said officers were not taking reservations amid an immigration crackdown Sunday, Paul said. Rooms at the DoubleTree by Hilton and IHG InterContinental hotels in downtown St. Paul and the Hilton Canopy in Minneapolis cannot be reserved online until early February.
An InterContinental front desk employee said by phone that the hotel was closing for the safety of its employees but declined to comment on specific issues. The lobbies of the DoubleTree and InterContinental hotels were empty, with signs hanging in front of the doors saying “temporarily closed until further notice.” The Canopy Hotel is open but not taking reservations.
Canopy has been the site of noisy protests by anti-ICE demonstrators aimed at keeping agents from sleeping.
“In light of ongoing safety concerns in the region, the owners of the independently owned and operated InterContinental St. Paul have decided to temporarily close their properties to prioritize the safety of our guests and team members,” IHG Hotels & Resorts spokesperson Taylor Solomon said in a statement Sunday. “All guests with existing reservations can contact the hotel team for assistance with alternative accommodations.”
Earlier this month, Hilton and the local operator of the Hampton Inn Lakeville near Minneapolis apologized for not allowing federal immigrants to stay at the hotel. The Hampton Inn is part of the Hilton brand, but the Lakeville hotel is independently operated by Everpeak Hospitality. Everpeak said the cancellation was against their policy.
U.S. postal workers protest
Peter Noble joined dozens of other U.S. postal workers in a march against an immigration crackdown on Sunday, their only day off on the mail lines. They passed where Renee Good, a U.S. citizen and mother of three, was shot and killed by an immigration officer during clashes on January 7.
“When I’m on the road, I see them driving recklessly on the streets and putting lives at risk,” Noble said.
Postal worker Susan Becker said she came out to march on the coldest day since the crackdown began because it was important to keep telling the federal government that she believed what it was doing was wrong. Along the way, she said, there were reports of ICE breaking into apartment buildings and beating pedestrians in shopping mall parking lots.
“These people are citizens and immigrants by and large. But they are citizens and they deserve to be here; they have earned their place and they are good people,” Becker said.
Republican lawmakers ask governor to tone down comments
A U.S. House Republican member called on Walz to tone down his rhetoric about standing up to the federal government and start helping law enforcement instead.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer told WCCO-AM in Minneapolis that many police officers in Minnesota are neighbors and just doing the job they were assigned to do.
“These are not people with malicious intentions. But now, they feel like they’re being attacked. They don’t know where the next attack is going to come from or who it is. So people need to remember that this all starts at the top,” Emmer said.
Videos of federal officers pepper-spraying protesters, knocking on doors and forcibly detaining people were posted on social media. A federal judge ruled Friday that immigration officials cannot detain or tear gas peaceful protesters who do not impede authorities, including when they observe immigration officials during a crackdown in Minnesota.
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Contributing writers are Associated Press writers Konstantin Toropin in Washington; Steve Karnovsky in Minneapolis; Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations; Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina; and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles.
