The US Department of Defense has placed approximately 1,500 active-duty soldiers on standby for a potential deployment to Minnesota, where protests against federal immigration enforcement have intensified. Officials confirmed the prepare-to-deploy orders on Sunday, citing concerns that unrest in the midwestern state could escalate.
Escalating Tensions Following ICE Killing
The decision follows increasingly tense confrontations in Minneapolis after a fatal shooting by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer. Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was killed by ICE officer Jonathan Ross on 7 January while in her car. Since then, residents and federal officers have clashed repeatedly.
President Donald Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, a law granting the president power to deploy the military to quell domestic uprisings, if Democratic state officials do not prevent protesters from impeding immigration agents. The Trump administration has already sent around 3,000 immigration and border patrol officers to the Minneapolis area.
Local Opposition and Failed Rally
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has strongly opposed any military intervention, calling the idea "ridiculous" and warning it would exacerbate tensions. "We don't need more federal agents to keep people safe. We are safe," Frey stated in an interview.
Meanwhile, efforts to rally support for the immigration crackdown have faltered. On Saturday, Jake Lang, a Christian nationalist pardoned by Trump for his role in the 2021 Capitol riot, attempted to lead an anti-Muslim rally. Only five people joined him, and they were met by hundreds of counter-protesters who chased them away. Images from scuffles were nonetheless circulated online as purported evidence of chaos.
Targeting Immigrant Communities
The administration's focus has extended beyond the initial protests. Trump has repeatedly cited an unrelated scandal involving social welfare funds in Minnesota to justify the immigration agent surge, specifically singling out the state's Somali immigrant community.
ICE operations have also targeted other groups. On Sunday, agents in St Paul entered a home and removed an elderly man from the Hmong community, an ethnic group from Laos that allied with the US during the Vietnam War. The incident, where the man was taken wearing only underwear and a blanket, further inflamed local sentiment.
Legal and Logistical Considerations
It remains unclear whether the Trump administration would formally invoke the Insurrection Act if troops are deployed. A president can deploy active-duty forces for certain domestic purposes, such as protecting federal property, without using the Act—a justification Trump employed last year to send marines to Los Angeles.
The soldiers placed on standby are specialists in cold-weather operations based in Alaska, a detail that has drawn ironic comparisons from Minnesotans to Napoleon's ill-fated invasion of Russia. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell stated, "The Department of War is always prepared to execute the orders of the commander-in-chief if called upon," using the administration's preferred name for the Defence Department.
This potential deployment is part of a broader pattern of federal interventions in cities led by Democratic politicians, including Los Angeles, Chicago, and Portland. While Trump claims these actions protect federal property, local leaders accuse him of federal overreach and exaggerating violence to justify sending troops.
