(Corrects typographical error in judge’s last name, paragraphs 10-11)
By Brad Brooks and Joseph Ax
MINNEAPOLIS, Jan 28 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump warned Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey on Wednesday he was “playing with fire” for insisting that local police would refrain from enforcing federal immigration laws, a day after the president said he intended to “de-escalate a little bit” in the city.
Amid the mixed signals from the White House, tensions remained high in Minneapolis, where observers and activists said deportation raids carried out by Trump’s “Operation Metro Surge” had not slackened but seemed more targeted on Wednesday.
The city has been convulsed by running confrontations between protesters and heavily armed immigration agents, with unrest heightened after two U.S. citizens were shot dead by federal officers – Renee Good on January 7 and Alex Pretti on Saturday.
Demonstrations have spread to cities large and small across the country in recent weeks, with Minneapolis finding its way into the pop culture on Wednesday as singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen released a protest song honoring Pretti and Good.
In one sign of how immigration agents might be changing their tactics, an internal memo reviewed by Reuters directed officers to avoid unnecessary communication and engagement with protesters.
A day after striking a conciliatory tone in their public comments following weeks of heated rhetoric, Trump and other top administration officials were talking tough again on Wednesday.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said on social that federal agents had arrested 16 people on Wednesday in Minnesota for allegedly assaulting, resisting or impeding federal law enforcement.
“Nothing will stop us from continuing to make arrests and enforce the law,” Bondi wrote.
A federal judge in Minneapolis said on Wednesday that it was the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that was flouting the law by ignoring dozens of federal court orders during the immigration enforcement surge this month.
While canceling a contempt-of-court hearing for acting ICE chief Todd Lyons, after the agency belatedly complied with an order to release a wrongly detained Ecuadorean man, U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz listed at least 96 court orders he said ICE has violated in 74 cases.
“This list should give pause to anyone – no matter his or her political beliefs – who cares about the rule of law,” Schiltz wrote. “ICE has likely violated more court orders in January 2025 than some federal agencies have violated in their entire existence.”
At the same time, the two immigration officers who opened fire on Pretti have been placed on administrative leave, according to a U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, adding that it was “standard protocol.”
MIXED MESSAGE, NEW TACTICS?
Trump’s administration had indicated on Tuesday it would soften its approach, dispatching border czar Tom Homan to take over the operation from Gregory Bovino, the Border Patrol official whose aggressive tactics drew widespread criticism and legal challenges.
A senior administration official said Homan’s arrival would mark a shift to more traditional, narrowly aimed operations rather than the broad street sweeps Bovino had led in multiple cities.
That change appeared codified in a newly issued internal ICE directive instructing agents to avoid engaging with “agitators” while on duty, warning that an antagonistic posture “serves no purpose other than inflaming the situation.”
The guidance, reviewed by Reuters, also orders ICE officers only to go after immigrants who have criminal charges or convictions, a departure from earlier tactics that had included randomly questioning individuals on the street about their immigration status.
Observers and activists told Reuters that ICE activity appeared to slow somewhat on Tuesday before resuming in full on Wednesday, though in a more targeted manner than before.
On Wednesday, ICE agents were seen in several parts of the city rolling up to homes and businesses in caravans of three vehicles with six to eight agents in total, then knocking on doors and looking around, seemingly for a specific person.
If that person were not found, observers said, the agents were seen leaving. In past weeks, agents might have begun approaching people and demanding documented proof of legal status.
‘PLAYING WITH FIRE’
Among the 16 individuals who Bondi said were in custody on Wednesday was Abdikadir Noor, a plaintiff in a civil lawsuit that accused immigration agents of using excessive force against protesters.
A federal judge in that lawsuit issued an injunction to restrain officers from arresting or tear-gassing peaceful protesters, but a U.S. appeals court has lifted that order while the case as a whole remains under review.
Under mounting political pressure, Trump had dialed back his rhetorical attacks on Frey and Governor Tim Walz after speaking with both Democrats in the wake of Pretti’s killing, vowing to work with them to ease friction.
But on social media on Wednesday, Trump faulted Frey for reiterating the position of local leaders that the city would not enforce immigration laws. Trump wrote: “Could somebody in his inner sanctum please explain that this statement is a very serious violation of the Law, and that he is PLAYING WITH FIRE!”
Trump has threatened to cut off funding for states that include so-called sanctuary jurisdictions, which limit how much cooperation they give federal immigration authorities.
In response, Frey wrote on social media, “The job of our police is to keep people safe, not enforce fed immigration laws.”
Pretti, 37, an intensive care nurse, was shot dead during protests near his home on Saturday, and some administration officials immediately accused him of planning to kill officers, citing the handgun he was carrying.
But video verified by Reuters showed Pretti held only a phone in his hand when Border Patrol agents pushed him to the ground. Video also showed that an agent found Pretti’s gun near his waist and removed it seconds before another agent shot a restrained Pretti in the back.
(Reporting by Brad Brooks in Minneapolis; Additional reporting by Maria Alejandra Cardona, Ted Hesson, Andrew Goudsward, Jana Winter, Andrew Hay and Jonathan Allen; Writing and additional reporting by Joseph Ax in New York and Steve Gorman in Los Angeles, Editing by Donna Bryson, Nick Zieminski and Michael Perry)
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