A helicopter flies low across the water at night before heavily armed figures rappel to the ground, take their positions and break down a door. It's not a trailer for a movie, a video game or a recap of a Pentagon operation. Instead, it's a video from the Department of Homeland Security showcasing Border Patrol agents at work. Despite the combative visuals, it is captioned with the Bible verse, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God."
"Stand up for America," Jacob Frey, the mayor of Minneapolis, implored on Saturday, after federal agents shot to death another one of his constituents. "Recognize that your children will ask you what side you were on. Your grandchildren will ask you what you did to act to prevent this from happening again-to make sure that the foundational elements of our democracy were rock solid. What did you do to protect your city? What did you do to protect your nation?"
We're very much in a trust but verify mode, Walz said. He added that he expected to hear more from the administration in the next day or so about the future of what he said has been an occupation and a retribution campaign against the state. While Walz said he's hopeful at the moment because every indication I have is that this thing is winding up, he added that things could change.
While the details of the contemplated agreement are not clear, border czar Tom Homan's remarks on Thursday morning and reports of his negotiations with state and local leaders suggest dialing back Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is contingent on striking an agreement for increased cooperation between federal and local law enforcement: Minnesota must agree to participate in ICE roundups by turning over undocumented immigrants in its custody, ending various sanctuary city protections,
President Donald Trump said he got along swimmingly with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) when the two spoke on the phone on Monday during a Tuesday interview with Fox News' Will Cain. The president discussed the call which focused on Trump sending Border Czar Tom Homan to Minnesota to lead his crackdown on illegal immigration following the shooting death of Alex Pretti during an interview on The Will Cain Show.
The corporate response to the Trump administration's immigration enforcement actions has been muted at best. After the killings of two U.S. citizens by federal law enforcement in Minneapolis, the CEOs of more than 60 Minnesota-based companies issued a carefully worded letter calling for "an immediate de-escalation of tensions." Target's incoming CEO Michael Fiddelke sent a video message to employees calling the events "incredibly painful."
For many, one particular breakdown is a final, damning cause for despair: Minnesota's apparent inability to investigate and potentially prosecute the federal agents responsible. The Department of Homeland Security on Saturday reportedly blocked Minnesota officials from examining the scene of Alex Pretti's shooting. Access was refused even after state officials got a judicial search warrant. As a result, key forensic evidence was almost certainly lost. This comes after state officials were excluded from the investigation into Renee Good's death.
Minnesota, we've been through a lot, Klobuchar said in a video posted on X on Thursday morning, calling out political violence across the state, including the recent killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents dispatched to the area by Donald Trump. She continued: We cannot sugar coat how hard this is, but in these moments of enormous difficulty, we find strength in our Minnesota values of hard work, freedom and simple decency and good will.
America has never seen a moment in modern history like the federal occupation of Minneapolis. Thousands of masked federal officers with uncertain authority are rampaging through the region, assaulting protesters and innocent people, abusing constitutional safeguards, staking out daycares and schools, snatching people off the streets in unmarked vans based on the color of their skin or their accent, and recklessly, relentlessly provoking violent confrontations with civilians-all against the loud, repeatedly expressed wishes of local and state officials.
The killings in Minneapolis of Renee Good and Alex Pretti have been compared to the murder of George Floyd, because they all happened within a few miles of one another, and because of the outrage they inspired. There's an important difference, though: In 2020 the United States was in turmoil, but it was still a state of law. Floyd's death was followed by investigation, trial, and verdict-by justice. The Minneapolis Police Department was held accountable and ultimately made to reform.
