(Minneapolis) The mayor of Minneapolis said Sunday that sending active-duty troops to Minnesota to help with immigration enforcement is a “ridiculous” and “unconstitutional” idea. He also urged protesters to remain peaceful so that the president would not see the need to send in the military.
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Protests have occurred throughout January since the Department of Homeland Security increased immigration enforcement measures in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul by bringing in more than 2,000 federal agents.
In a diverse neighborhood where Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are frequently seen, U.S. postal workers marched Sunday chanting, “Protect our routes. Chase away the ICE.”
The Pentagon has ordered about 1,500 active-duty troops based in Alaska, specialized in operations in Arctic conditions, to be ready in case of deployment to Minnesota, two defense officials announced Sunday.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said two infantry battalions of the 11e Army airborne division had been ordered to prepare for deployment.
A defense official said troops stand ready to deploy to Minnesota if President Donald Trump invokes the Insurrection Act.
The rarely used 19th-century law would allow him to send military troops to Minnesota, where protesters have clashed with federal immigration agents for weeks. He has since walked back his threat, at least for now.
“It’s ridiculous, but we will not be intimidated by the federal government’s actions. It’s not fair, it’s not equitable and it’s completely unconstitutional,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said Sunday on the show State of the Union from CNN.
PHOTO ADAM GRAY, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey
Thousands of Minneapolis citizens are exercising their First Amendment rights and the protests are peaceful, he stressed.
“We’re not going to take the bait. We will not respond to Donald Trump’s chaos with our own chaos here,” Frey added.
Gov. Tim Walz mobilized the Minnesota National Guard, although no units were deployed on the streets.
Peter Noble joined dozens of other U.S. postal workers on their only day off Sunday to protest the immigration crackdown. They drove past the spot where an officer fatally shot Renee Good, a U.S. citizen and mother of three, during a Jan. 7 confrontation.
“I saw them driving recklessly through the streets while I was on my tour, putting lives at risk,” Mr Noble said.
Mail carrier Susan Becker said she came out to protest on the coldest day since the crackdown began because it’s important to continue to tell the federal government that she thinks what it’s doing is wrong.
PHOTO YUKI IWAMURA, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
People march in Minneapolis during a protest against the presence of ICE agents on Sunday.
She reported that people she met during her tour told her that ICE was breaking into apartment buildings and tackling people to the ground in shopping center parking lots.
“These people are mostly citizens and immigrants, and they deserve to be here. They have earned their place and they are good people,” said M.me Becker.
A Republican member of the House of Representatives called on Mr. Walz to tone down his comments about fighting the federal government and instead help law enforcement.
Most Minnesota officers are neighbors just doing their jobs, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer told Minneapolis station WCCO-AM.
“They’re not bad people, but right now they feel like they’re being attacked. They don’t know where the next attack will come from or who will carry it out. So people have to keep in mind that it starts at the top,” said Emmer.
Videos were posted on social media showing federal agents pepper spraying protesters, breaking down doors and forcibly arresting people. A federal judge ruled Friday that immigration agents cannot detain or gas peaceful protesters who do not obstruct authorities, including when they observe agents during the crackdown in Minnesota.
