Two American citizens lie dead at the hands of federal agents, refugees cower in fear of dawn raids, and a US state teeters on the edge of political meltdown. This is Minneapolis today, where President Donald Trump's aggressive deportation drive has ignited fury, prompting his 'border tsar' Tom Homan to step in with promises of change.
Homan's ICE Drawdown Dangles Carrot Amid Minneapolis Shootings Chaos
Tom Homan, Trump's hardline border enforcer, held a press conference in Minneapolis that offered few specifics but dangled a carrot for local leaders. He vowed to make ICE operations there 'safer, more efficient, by the book,' seeking 'common sense co-operation that allows us to draw down on the number of people we have here.' While acknowledging the 'challenging environment' for ICE and Border Patrol officers, Homan warned that unprofessional behaviour 'will 'be dealt with.''
Homan's arrival follows the fatal shootings of protesters Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal officials, tragedies that have thrust Minnesota into chaos. The White House has named him the 'main point of contact on the ground', replacing US Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino, who faced backlash alongside Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for their handling of the operations and post-shooting remarks.
Critics from both parties have piled on Noem, with some Republicans like Senator Thom Tillis calling her response 'amateurish' and urging her removal, arguing it undermines Trump's immigration wins. For families shattered by the violence—Good, a mother of three gunned down in her car, and Pretti, an intensive care nurse—such leadership shake-ups feel too little, too late.
The human toll weighs heavy: communities live in dread, protests rage, and questions swirl over agent accountability, with those involved in Pretti's death now on leave. Homan's push for jail alerts on deportable immigrants aims to shift to 'targeted strategic enforcement operations' prioritising public safety threats, potentially easing street-level presence if state officials play ball.
Judge Halts Refugee Terror as Klobuchar Charges into Fray
A federal judge dealt a blow to the administration's tactics, issuing a temporary restraining order barring arrests and detentions of legally admitted refugees in Minnesota without warrants. Judge John Tunheim ruled they are not committing crimes on our streets, nor did they illegally cross the border, affirming their 'right not to be subjected to the terror' of current enforcement. This targets Operation PARRIS, launched in January to re-examine the legal status of Minnesota's 5,600 refugees without permanent status, leading to over 100 unlawful arrests, including children, with some shackled and shipped to distant facilities.
IRAP lawyer Kimberly Grano branded it 'a campaign of terror to try to strike fear into these communities'. She noted many detainees were mid-process for green cards, frozen since the government halted most applications last year: 'These people are being arrested even if they have submitted a green card application, and the government is just choosing not to decide it.' Families endure intense questioning and weeks in limbo, their painstaking vetting cast aside in what advocates call a betrayal of US refugee commitments.
Amid this, Senator Amy Klobuchar launched her bid for Minnesota governor, stepping into the void left by Tim Walz's withdrawal over a welfare fraud scandal. In a video on X, she decried Trump's 'division' and the shootings: 'Minnesota, we've been through a lot.' Pledging to protect all residents, she declared, 'I'm running for every Minnesotan who wants ICE and it's abusive tactics out of the state we love.' Her campaign taps into statewide outrage, positioning her as a 'transformative' foil to federal overreach.
Shutdown spectres loom as Democrats block funding without ICE reins—warrants for arrests, clearer ID rules. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer vowed: 'I will vote no on any legislation that funds ICE until it is reined in and overhauled, and Senate Democrats are overwhelmingly united on this issue.' With only 53 GOP senators, Democratic votes are key; failure means lights out at midnight Friday. Republicans like John Thune eye 'productive' talks, but escalating calls for Noem's ouster and ICE restructuring complicate matters.
As Trump convenes his cabinet—meetings he once called 'boring as hell'—eyes turn to whether Minnesota dominates the agenda. The stakes are sky-high: families torn apart, a state in flux, and America's immigration fault lines cracking wide open.
Originally published on IBTimes UK
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