Pentagon Prepares to Deploy Federal Troops to Minneapolis

Following the murder of Minneapolis woman Renee Good by an ICE officer, tensions have risen between immigration enforcement and protestors across Minnesota. In response, President Donald Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, which would allow the national government to place troops on U.S. streets. 1,500 U.S. troops were put on notice to be deployed to Minnesota as the administration weighs its next actions.

Trump’s second campaign ran on a policy of mass deportations, which he has followed through on by significantly expanding ICE’s (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) reach and funding. The agency more than doubled its workforce in the past year after the federal government quadrupled its funding through Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill. The Department of Homeland Security has also removed regulations on how, when and where ICE officers can make arrests, allowing officers to detain people in schools, hospitals and churches. ICE’s massive increase in manpower and funding has not been coupled with a similar increase in oversight.  ICE has faced significant public outcry due to poor conditions in detention centers, arrests of U.S. citizens on suspicion of being illegal immigrants and violent encounters with protestors.

Renee Good, a Minnesota artist and mother, was murdered by an ICE agent in Minnesota on January 7. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem claimed that Good had attempted to “weaponize her vehicle” to run over an ICE officer, while President Trump posted that Good “violently, willfully, and viciously ran over” the officer. The Trump administration’s reporting of the incident differs significantly from conclusions reached by state and local law enforcement, which have both strongly disputed the claims. In videos taken at the scene, Good attempted to pull away from two ICE agents who were stopped in the road and then accelerated forward as a third agent stepped in front of the car. Good appeared to glance at the third officer as she tried to drive away, and the officer fired three shots into the car as she drove away, ultimately killing her.

Good’s death has fanned the flames of already escalating protests in Minneapolis. Following her death, a protest with more than 1,000 attendees took place in downtown Minneapolis. 29 people were arrested, and some took to damaging windows. One threw a chunk of ice at an officer, injuring him. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said that the “vast majority” of protestors were peaceful, condemned violence, and urged protestors to “stand… up to Donald Trump's chaos not with our own brand of chaos, but with care and unity.”

President Trump posted on TruthSocial January 15th, “If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT.” The Insurrection Act is a rarely used federal law that allows the President to deploy U.S. troops domestically. The last time the Act was invoked was 1992, more than 30 years ago.

Defense officials told NBC that two battalions were put on notice to deploy to Minneapolis, totaling approximately 1,500 US Army personnel. This does not mean that a deployment is imminent or guaranteed, but it is a meaningful escalation in the conflict. Mayor Frey responded to news of soldiers being put on alert to deploy, saying, “This act was clearly designed to intimidate the people of Minneapolis,” and calling the act “ridiculous” and “unconstitutional.”

Read more here:

• Donald Trump, Truth Social

• Eric Katz, Government Executive

• Altman et al., National Immigration Law Center

• NAFSA

• Amanda Musa, CNN

• Holmes Lybrand, CNN

• Duster et al., NPR

• Smith et al., NBC

• Park et al., CNN