Minnesota ICE protests: Trump says DHS won’t intervene in ‘riots’ in Democratic-led cities as protesters march throughout US

Donald Trump says federal government won’t step in ‘until they ask for help’

Thousands protest against ICE in Minneapolis

President Donald Trump said he ordered the Department of Homeland Security not to intervene in “protests and/or riots” in Democratic-led cities unless local leaders ask for help.

In a Truth Social post shared Saturday, Trump noted federal officers will still be “very forceful” in their protection of federal property amid protests against his mass deportation campaign, with anti-ICE rallies taking place in cities across the country.

State and local governments “must use the word, ‘PLEASE’” before asking for the federal government’s help, he wrote.

Protesters stage a march calling for an end to taxpayer spending on ICE on Saturday in Minneapolis (Getty)

Organizers said more than 300 “ICE Out of Everywhere” protests were scheduled Saturday as outrage grows over a surge of agents into Democratic cities and the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.Saturday’s actions follow Friday’s “national shutdown” event, in which organizers encouraged people to skip work, school and shopping in protest.

Saturday’s demonstrations kicked off as a federal judge denied Minnesota’s request to block officers from surging into the state while a closely watched legal challenge continues.

Meanwhile, Trump has labeled Pretti an “agitator” and “perhaps, insurrectionist” after the release of a video that shows a confrontation in the days before Pretti’s death between federal agents and the ICU nurse, who was shot dead by border patrol agents one week later.

“Nothing that happened a full week before could possibly have justified Alex’s killing,” Steve Schleicher, an attorney for Pretti’s family, told The Independent.

Key Points

• Trump says 'people will suffer' if they spit on DHS officers
• Hundreds of 'ICE Out of Everywhere' protests planned nationwide
• Judge won’t halt Trump's Minnesota surge while lawsuit plays out
• Judge orders release of 5-year-old and father detained by ICE
• Lawmakers calls for investigation into charges against Don Lemon

[1 February 2026 13:05 · Isabel Keane]

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[29 January 2026 20:36 · Rachel Dobkin]

New details about the face recognition app that federal agents use to speed up arrests

New details have emerged about the face recognition app that federal immigration agents use to identify people and speed up arrests.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s use of Mobile Fortify has already been reported on, but the Department of Homeland Security’s 2025 AI Use Case Inventory released Wednesday gave new insight into the technology that agents are using to carry out President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts.

Customs and Border Protection said the app became “operational” in early May 2025, and ICE got access to it later that month, according to Wired.

Read more about Mobile Fortify:

[29 January 2026 21:00 · Graig Graziosi]

ICE has Hispanic people so afraid of being arrested they are drinking less, tequila maker claims

The world's largest tequila maker is blaming President Donald Trump's heavy-handed immigration crackdowns on its slumping sales.

Proximo Spirits — the U.S. distribution arm for Becle, which owns Jose Cuervo tequila — said that fear in the Hispanic community has kept some at home rather than going out and having drinks.

“The tension of the immigration policies has created a very difficult atmosphere with consumers, especially with immigrants, with Hispanics, [who] obviously make up a big portion of our particular business,” Lander Otegui, Proximo Spirits' head of marketing, told The Financial Times.

Read more...

[29 January 2026 21:20 · Rachel Dobkin]

Hakeem Jeffries spars with Fox News host over immigration crackdown

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries sparred with Fox News’ Martha MacCallum Thursday over President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

Earlier Thursday, the Senate failed to advance a six-bill government funding package that the House previously passed, as Democrats refused to fund the Department of Homeland Security following the two fatal shootings of U.S. citizens by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis this month.

“These six bills were signed as part of the hangover from the last [government] shutdown, and they were all agreed to before what happened in Minneapolis, which was very tragic,” MacCallum said.

Jeffries tried to interject, but the host continued, “But Minneapolis is a unique situation.”

“Well, let me just address the statement that you just made because that’s inaccurate. The Homeland Security funding bill was...prior to the cold-blooded killing of Alex Pretti. And the overwhelming majority of House Democrats voted against it,” Jeffries said.

[29 January 2026 21:40 · Rachel Dobkin]

Congressional Hispanic Caucus calls on DHS to 'bring Liam home'

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus has called on the Department of Homeland Security to release five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father after the pair was taken into federal custody outside their Minnesota home last week.

The preschooler and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, are currently in a detention center in Texas.

[29 January 2026 21:52 · Mike Bedigan]

New video shows Alex Pretti tackled by federal agents after kicking car 11 days before fatal shooting

[30 January 2026 03:00 · Rachel Dobkin]

When asked about her 'domestic terrorism' comments, Noem shifts blame to Biden

When Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was asked by Fox News’ Sean Hannity Thursday night about her accusing Renee Good and Alex Pretti of “domestic terrorism,” she dodged the question and shifted blame to former President Joe Biden.

“People seem to be upset over the term domestic terrorism. Why do you believe that’s appropriate, because you used it in both cases?” Hannity said.

Noem replied, “We’re continuing to gather information, and the FBI leading this investigation is important to make sure that we talk about both these situations appropriately.”

“We’ll continue to get to the truth of all of this, but we can’t distract from the fact of how we got here,” Noem added. “We got here because we had a Biden administration that allowed an invasion over our southern border and allowed millions of people to come into our country unvetted.”

Good and Pretti, both U.S. citizens, were fatally shot by federal immigration agents in two separate incidents in Minneapolis this month. No evidence has been provided to the public to back Noem’s claims that Good and Pretti were domestic terrorists.

[30 January 2026 03:30 · Rachel Dobkin]

Trump calls border czar Tom Homan 'terrific'

President Donald Trump called his border czar, Tom Homan, “terrific” at a screening for Melania Trump’s new film.

“I think he’s terrific, but we have to get rid of the criminals. We have to take criminals out of our country — so from that standpoint nothing’s going to change,” the president said Thursday.

Trump sent Homan to Minnesota after two U.S. citizens were fatally shot by federal immigration agents in two separate incidents in Minneapolis this month.

At a press conference in Minneapolis earlier Thursday, Homan said he’d be “staying ‘til the problem’s gone.”

[30 January 2026 04:00 · Rachel Dobkin]

Senate will not vote tonight on funding bills after Trump said a deal was struck

The Senate will not vote tonight on funding bills to keep the government open, according to congressional reporters.

Trump announced on Truth Social earlier Thursday, “Republicans and Democrats in Congress have come together to get the vast majority of the Government funded until September, while at the same time providing an extension to the Department of Homeland Security (including the very important Coast Guard, which we are expanding and rebuilding like never before).

“Hopefully, both Republicans and Democrats will give a very much needed Bipartisan ‘YES’ Vote.”

The Senate previously failed to advance a six-bill government funding package that the House already passed, as Democrats refused to fund the Department of Homeland Security following the two fatal shootings of U.S. citizens by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis this month.

[30 January 2026 04:30 · Rachel Dobkin]

Another anti-ICE protest in Minnesota will take place Friday

Another economic blackout will take place in Minnesota on Friday to protest President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in the state.

But, according to The Minnesota Star Tribune, it won’t have as big a turnout as the strike last Friday, which saw hundreds of businesses temporarily close.