The exact number of immigration enforcement officers carrying out President Trump's "Operation Metro Surge" in Minneapolis, MN, has not been publicly announced. Estimates stretch well into the thousands. Though Trump's newly designated "border czar" Tom Homan declared on February 12 that the operation would end, no details have been released, and people in Minneapolis continue to report ICE activities. Regardless, the damage lingers.
Democrats in the US Senate have blocked a funding package for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) amid ongoing fury over the Trump administration's crackdown and the deaths of two people in Minneapolis. Thursday's vote means that the department is almost certain to shut down at midnight on Friday evening, affecting a range of services yet largely leaving the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) the target of Democrats' ire unaffected because it is already the recipient of lavish federal funding.
Black families who have lost loved ones to police violence said the killings in Minnesota have brought back painful memories of their own fights for justice as law enforcement agencies spun up narratives to suggest officers had no other choice but to kill their relatives. And these law enforcement agencies often make no effort to publicly correct misstatements or falsehoods that might have impact on a fair justice process, experts said.
Pretti was shot multiple times Jan. 24 as Border Patrol officers tried to arrest him while he was recording immigration officers on his phone. Blanche says the probe is separate from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's shooting investigation of the incident. "It means talking to witnesses. It means looking at documentary evidence, sending subpoenas if you have to," Blanche told reporters at a news briefing Friday on multiple topics.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security surged 3,000 federal immigration agents to Minnesota - a state more than a thousand miles from the southern border that's not known for having a sizable population of immigrants in the U.S. illegally - calling it the largest such operation ever. Many people have wondered: Why Minnesota? Vice President JD Vance, who visited Minneapolis on Jan. 22 to defend federal immigration enforcement, gave a misleading answer.
I'm heartbroken by the events in Minneapolis, and my prayers and deepest sympathies are with the families, with the communities, and with everyone that's been affected. This is a time for deescalation. I believe America is strongest when we live up to our highest ideals, when we treat everyone with dignity and respect no matter who they are or where they're from, and when we embrace our shared humanity.
