President Donald Trump has resumed threatening Minneapolis officials, warning the city’s mayor that he’s “playing with fire” if he fails to help federal ICE agents round up and deport citizens.
After a day of toning down the rhetoric amid national outrage over the shooting of nurse Alex Pretti, Trump put out a post on Wednesday morning, telling his followers: “Surprisingly, Mayor Jacob Frey just stated that, “Minneapolis does not, and will not, enforce Federal Immigration Laws.”
“This is after having had a very good conversation with him. Could somebody in his inner sanctum please explain that this statement is a very serious violation of the Law, and that he is PLAYING WITH FIRE!”
The comment came after Frey met border czar Tom Homan, who Trump sent to Minneapolis in a bid to “diffuse the chaos” that has fomented as a result of ICE’s operations and the administration’s incendiary response to Pretti’s death.
The killing has also sparked a new MAGA civil war in the administration, with White House top aide Stephen Miller and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem now at loggerheads over the botched response to Pretti’s death.
During Frey’s meeting with Homan, the Democratic mayor—who notoriously told ICE to “get the f–- out” after the killing of Renee Good earlier this month—made clear that his city has long embraced a “sanctuary city” policy.
This policy exempts local government and police from assisting federal immigration authorities in enforcing immigration laws, such as questioning people about their status, detaining people for ICE or helping deport people solely for being undocumented.
Frey also called on Homan to end Operation Surge Metro, the immigration mission that led to the fatal shooting of Pretti and Good, which some agents have privately admitted is a “lost cause.”
While the federal government argues that Trump has the mandate to conduct the operation as part of his deportation strategy, local officials say the mass presence of ICE and its heavy handed tactics is intimidating citizens, fueling protests and making things worse.
“I shared with Mr. Homan the serious negative impacts this operation has had on Minneapolis and surrounding communities, as well as the strain it has placed on our local police officers,” Frey said.
Trump’s decision to send in Homan sidelined Noem, who is often referred to as ICE Barbie for her cosplay antics, and also benched her trenchcoat-loving immigration enforcer Greg Bovino.
Both had spent the weekend hitting the airwaves trying to justify the shooting as an act of self-defense and painting Pretti as a “domestic terrorist” intent on harming law enforcement, despite videos and witnesses saying otherwise.
But the blame game has now erupted within Trump world, with Noem, who is facing pressure to quit or be impeached, passing blame to Miller for her response.
“Everything I’ve done, I’ve done at the direction of the president and Stephen,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told one source who relayed her comments to Axios.
Miller also portrayed Pretti as a “domestic terrorist” over the weekend, even going so far as to describe him as a “would-be assassin” who wanted to “massacre” law enforcement.
But Miller, the architect of Trump’s deportation strategy, has in turn blamed information provided by Customs and Border Protection, which is under Noem’s Department of Homeland Security.
Asked on Monday why Miller and other administration officials had jumped to conclusions, Leavitt replied: “Look, this has obviously been a very fluid and fast-moving situation throughout the weekend. As for President Trump, whom I speak for, he has said that he wants to let the investigation continue and let the facts lead in this case.”
Trump also struck a more conciliatory tone on Tuesday, saying he wanted an “honest and honorable” review of Pretti’s death. Asked if Noem would be required to step down, he replied: “No.”
He said on Tuesday that “we’re going to de-escalate a little bit” when it comes to his immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.
