ICE officers receive new directive not to engage with ‘agitators’ in Minnesota
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ICE officers in Minnesota received new operational orders directing them to limit arrests to individuals who have a criminal nexus (including arrests, not just convictions) adn to avoid communicating or engaging with protesters or other “agitators.” The guidance, sent by Marcos Charles of ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, instructs officers to issue commands only, use megaphones to verbalize every step of arrest processes, and not try to persuade or debate with onlookers.
The policy shift follows the recent deaths of two civilians who confronted ICE operations and comes amid heightened scrutiny and violent incidents targeting officers nationwide. Federal officials have also reassigned senior enforcement leadership in Minnesota—bringing in border czar Tom Homan to coordinate changes—and said more operational adjustments will be announced publicly. The Department of Homeland Security cited sharp increases in threats and assaults against ICE personnel as part of the context for the new directives.
ICE officers receive new directive not to engage with ‘agitators’ in Minnesota
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were given two new critical directives on Wednesday that will change how they conduct operations in Minnesota.
The new orders instruct ICE officers to focus on only arresting illegal immigrants who have criminal charges or convictions. The updated information came in an email from Marcos Charles, the chief of ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division, Reuters reported.
“We are moving to targeted enforcement of aliens with a criminal history,” read the new directive. “This includes arrests, not just convictions. ALL TARGETS MUST HAVE A CRIMINAL NEXUS.”
The policy change comes after a tumultuous month in Minnesota in which two civilians, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were shot and killed while confronting ICE officers engaged in illegal immigration enforcement operations. Charles’s email also advised officers not to engage with protesters, demonstrators, or anyone antagonizing officers.
“DO NOT COMMUNICATE OR ENGAGE WITH AGITATORS,” officers were advised in an email, Reuters reported. “It serves no purpose other than inflaming the situation. No one is going to convince the other. The only communication should be the officers issuing commands.”
As part of the operational pivot, ICE officers will be supplied with megaphones to communicate loudly and clearly during their operations. Officers will use them to issue commands to protesters, demonstrators, and others in public, while ensuring they “verbalize every step of the arrest process.”
The new directive is the latest change the Trump administration has implemented this week after Pretti’s death on Saturday. The most significant change so far has been the appointment of border czar Tom Homan as a de facto replacement in Minnesota for Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Commander-at-Large of the Border Patrol Gregory Bovino.
Homan met with Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) and Democratic Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey on Tuesday and posted on social media that it was a “productive” meeting. Homan is scheduled to hold a press conference on Thursday morning, during which he is expected to announce some of the changes being implemented in Minnesota.
DEMOCRATS DRAW RED LINE ON NEW ICE GUARDRAILS: ‘FIX SHOULD COME FROM CONGRESS’
ICE and other law enforcement officers have come under significant scrutiny in Minnesota after the deaths of Good and Pretti. Democrats have criticized the officers’ tactics and strategies, categorizing them as dangerous and far too aggressive. However, large groups of protesters have targeted ICE operations throughout the country even before the incidents in Minnesota, beginning after President Donald Trump ordered illegal immigration enforcement operations to commence.
On multiple occasions, protests have turned violent with participants trying to harm ICE officers in a variety of ways, including throwing Molotov cocktails at officers, weaponizing automobiles to target ICE officers, and a sniper trying to shoot officers at a detention facility. ICE officers have endured an “8,000% increase in death threats against them and a more than 1,300% increase in assaults against them,” said the Department of Homeland Security.
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