United States President Donald Trump has ordered the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to avoid getting involved in protests in Democrat-run cities unless they ask for federal help.
The announcement on Saturday followed weeks of protests sparked by a large deployment of Border Patrol and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to the city of Minneapolis, and the killing of two US citizens by federal agents there.
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Trump, a Republican, said on his Truth Social platform that he has instructed DHS Secretary Kristi Noem that “under no circumstances are we going to participate” in Democrat-run cities with regard to protests “unless, and until, they ask us for help”.
But ICE and Border Patrol will act aggressively to protect federal buildings, he wrote.
“There will be no spitting in the faces of our Officers, there will be no punching or kicking the headlights of our cars, and there will be no rock or brick throwing at our vehicles, or at our Patriot Warriors. If there is, those people will suffer an equal, or more, consequence,” he said.
“We will not allow our Courthouses, Federal Buildings, or anything else under our protection, to be damaged in any way, shape, or form,” he added.
There was no immediate comment from the DHS or the office of Minnesota Mayor Jacob Frey.
Trump launched the immigration crackdowns last year, targeting Democrat-led states and cities, including Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland, saying the militarised operations were necessary to remove criminals from the US.
The crackdown in Minneapolis, the biggest city in the state of Minnesota, is the largest federal immigration enforcement operation ever carried out, according to federal officials, with some 3,000 agents deployed. The operation began in November, with officials tying it in part to allegations of fraud involving residents of Somali origin.
The surge has pitted city and state officials against the federal government, prompted daily clashes between activists and immigration officers, and led to the killings of Alex Pretti on January 14 and Renee Good on January 7 by federal agents, who said they were reacting to threats. Bystander videos and witness accounts contradict those claims, however.
Thousands of people took to the streets of Minneapolis and other US cities on Friday to demand the withdrawal of federal immigration agents from Minnesota.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and others also challenged the immigration enforcement surge in the state, arguing that DHS is violating constitutional protections.
But a federal judge has said she will not halt enforcement operations as the lawsuit proceeds. Department of Justice lawyers have called the lawsuit “legally frivolous”.
Al Jazeera’s Manuel Rapalo, reporting from Minnesota, said Trump’s latest announcement signals a softer tone from the White House on the immigration crackdown.
He noted that it followed the Trump administration’s decision to replace the senior Border Patrol commander, Greg Bovino, who had been leading the crackdown in Minneapolis, with border tsar Tom Homan.
The top official said on Thursday that federal agents would focus on targeted operations in Minneapolis, shifting away from broad street sweeps that have drawn outrage, and that he would reduce the number of agents deployed to the city if he received “cooperation” from state and local leaders.
“All of this signals more cooperation between local authorities and federal officials, which has created a little bit of a sense of optimism here in the city that tensions may be beginning to calm down,” said Rapalo.
