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By Dan Gooding and Billal Rahman
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Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials in Minnesota have been directed to avoid engaging with "agitators" during enforcement operations amid fallout from two high-profile shootings in the state, according to a memo.
The memo, which was obtained by Reuters, instructs agents to limit interactions to issuing clear commands, noting that confrontations with agitators “serve no purpose other than inflaming the situation.”
Officers are now advised to focus on immigrants with criminal charges or convictions, shifting away from the catch-everyone approach.
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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not directly comment on the memo, telling Newsweek that agents had prioritized arresting illegal immigrant criminals since day one of the second Trump administration.
Why It Matters
The directive comes after two high-profile fatal shootings involving federal immigration agents in Minneapolis this month. One of the victims, Alex Pretti, a U.S. citizen and ICU nurse, was killed by a Border Patrol agent on January 24. Renee Nicole Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent on January 7, with both shootings sparking national outrage. The agents involved have been placed on administrative leave.
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What To Know
The new guidance provides the clearest picture yet of how federal immigration operations in Minnesota will change following the shootings during protests. The shift comes as Trump signaled this week that his goal was to “deescalate” tensions in Minneapolis and St. Paul. In both incidents, Trump administration officials initially described the deceased as "domestic terrorists," a claim that was contradicted by video footage.
“Agitators” is the term that DHS and ICE are using to refer to protesters and other bystanders who confront or oppose immigration enforcement actions.
After a weekend of outrage over Pretti’s death, the White House pulled Gregory Bovino, the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol chief who had been running the Minneapolis operation, from the city, sending border czar Tom Homan to oversee the situation.
Homan has taken a milder approach and signaled earlier Thursday that agents would start to leave the Twin Cities, having repeatedly called for calmer rhetoric on both sides.
The new guidance seen by Reuters, from ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Acting Executive Associate Director Marcos Charles appeared to reflect the change in tone, with agents receiving megaphones to speak to protesters from a distance, rather than directly engage with them. It also said agents must vocalize each step of the arrest process.
Charles also appeared to strike a milder tone when speaking about operations last week following reports of children being detained. He sought to paint agents as caring and professional—traits critics have said are missing from ICE.
The main focus for agents now should be as advertised by the Trump administration as immigrants with known criminal histories.
What People Are Saying
Lisa Wayne, executive director, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), told Newsweek in a statement: "The Eighth Circuit's decision to lift the stay on ICE's brutal tactics, combined with this new 'distance' memo, creates a legal vacuum where the First Amendment is effectively suspended. Simply standing further back doesn't cure a constitutional breach.
"By greenlighting the use of chemical irritants and retaliatory arrests, the court has signaled to agents that as long as they shout orders and spray from a distance, they appear to be above the law. True accountability requires protecting the right to witness, not just moving the line of confrontation. This ruling allows ICE to resume using less lethal munitions and unnecessary crowd-dispersal tools according to their own biased and evidence-free internal policies while the full appeal is litigated."
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Newsweek in a statement: “We’re glad to see the media finally reporting what we have been saying since day 1: DHS law enforcement is prioritizing the arrest and removal of dangerous public safety threats. Under President Trump’s and Secretary Noem’s leadership, DHS has always remained been steadfast in targeting dangerous criminal illegal aliens, including murderers, rapists, pedophiles, drug traffickers, gang members, and terrorists. 70% of ICE’s arrests are of criminal illegals charged or convicted with a crime in the U.S.
“While our prioritization is criminal illegal aliens, let this serve as a reminder: If you are in the country illegally, you are not off the table. We are not going to ignore the rule of law. We encourage all illegal aliens to avoid arrest by using the CBP Home app to receive a $2,600 and a free flight home."
Shayna Kessler, director of the Advancing Universal Representation initiative at the Vera Institute of Justice, told Newsweek in a statement: “Communities across the United States are rightly outraged by ICE’s deadly actions and this administration's violent anti-immigrant agenda. People exercising their right to protest should not fear violence or death at the hands of an untrained militarized government force. What we need are DHS forces off our streets, their funding cut, and instead, policies that support safety, due process, and stability for immigrants and our communities."
Border czar Tom Homan, on Thursday morning: “I begged for the last two months on TV for the rhetoric to stop. I said in March, if the rhetoric didn’t stop, there’s going to be bloodshed, and there has been. I wish I wasn’t right."
What Happens Next
Homan said Thursday that the number of agents in Minnesota will reduce while maintaining that the administration wants to see illegal immigrants with criminal records detained and deported.
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