ICE officers in Minnesota told not to interact with ‘agitators’
ICE officers in Minnesota were instructed on Wednesday to avoid engaging with “agitators” while carrying out President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, according to internal guidance reviewed by Reuters.
The guidance, providing the most detailed look yet at operational changes following two fatal shootings of U.S. citizens during protests in Minneapolis, directs officers to focus only on immigrants with criminal charges or convictions.
This represents a shift from broader enforcement sweeps that have sparked public backlash and legal challenges in Minneapolis and other cities. An email circulated by a senior ICE official warned: “DO NOT COMMUNICATE OR ENGAGE WITH AGITATORS. 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.”
In response to a White House request for comment, an administration official said, “There are ongoing conversations on how to most effectively conduct operations in Minnesota. No guidance should be considered final until it is officially issued.”
The operational change follows President Trump’s remarks this week emphasizing a goal to “de-escalate” tensions in Minneapolis and St. Paul after federal immigration officers killed two U.S. citizens earlier this month. In both incidents, Trump officials initially described the deceased as aggressors, though video evidence contradicted those claims.
Trump assigned border czar Tom Homan to oversee operations in Minnesota, signaling a shift to a more “targeted” enforcement approach, a senior official told Reuters. Meanwhile, Border Patrol commander-at-large Gregory Bovino, who led confrontational sweeps in cities including Los Angeles and Chicago, was demoted and is set to retire.
Under the new guidance, ICE officers will use megaphones to issue commands and must “verbalize every step of the arrest process.” The instructions do not specify what triggers commands or the protocol if orders are ignored.
Targeted Arrests, Border Patrol in Support Role
The updated guidance, issued by Marcos Charles, the head of ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division, instructs officers to focus exclusively on immigrants with prior criminal histories.
“We are moving to targeted enforcement of aliens with a criminal history,” the email said. “This includes arrests, not just convictions. ALL TARGETS MUST HAVE A CRIMINAL NEXUS.”
Under President Trump’s previous administration, ICE officers could detain non-criminal immigrants without restrictions, a policy that replaced the Biden-era focus on serious criminals. Officers in Minnesota may conduct license plate checks and arrest immigrants with criminal histories linked to the vehicles.
ICE will conduct operations with Border Patrol in a supporting role, marking a reversal from months of aggressive street-level confrontations led by Bovino.
The guidance also notes increased cooperation from state and local officials in Minnesota, which could provide more opportunities to detain immigrants released on parole or probation.
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