Minneapolis ICE Operations

Legal experts say Fourth Amendment protections constrain ICE searches and seizures amid a surge of immigration enforcement in Minneapolis, advising residents they can refuse consent to searches and request warrants. A separate PBS fact-check found FBI Director Kash Patel’s blanket claim that guns are barred at protests is incorrect under Minnesota law — the state is a permit‑to‑carry jurisdiction that generally does not ban otherwise lawful firearms at demonstrations — and Patel later narrowed his remarks to say the FBI isn’t targeting peaceful, lawful gun owners absent threats.

Retired law‑enforcement leaders say Minneapolis is facing a dangerous breakdown in public order as massive anti‑ICE protests collide with aggressive federal immigration operations. Former LAPD detective Moses Castillo, a veteran of the 1992 LA riots, told Fox News the current tactics are "creating more mayhem than results" and warned that poorly coordinated raids risk a "friendly‑fire" killing, even if shootings are later ruled legally justified under Graham v. Connor. Retired lieutenant Randy Sutton, who runs The Wounded Blue, described an "unprecedented" mob mentality, with hundreds or thousands surrounding federal agents, and accused Minnesota’s governor and Minneapolis leaders of "abdicating" responsibility for public safety; he pointed to an incident where an ICE officer’s finger was reportedly bitten off as evidence that violence against officers is being normalized. The article notes these warnings come as President Trump dispatches Border Czar Tom Homan to Minnesota, framing the city as gripped by "violent chaos" while protests over recent fatal ICE and Border Patrol shootings continue and social media amplifies both anger at federal agents and calls to protect them. The retired officers’ comments underscore growing concern inside the policing community that the way these operations are being run is escalating risk for both agents and the public, beyond the underlying legal questions about individual shootings.

The Army has ordered a military police brigade at Fort Bragg to prepare to deploy to Minneapolis, and the Pentagon has put roughly 1,500 soldiers from the 11th Airborne in Alaska on similar standby amid ICE-related protests and an incident in which a CBP K‑9 was allegedly targeted at a Minneapolis‑area kennel. Officials say any active‑duty units would likely support civil authorities; the Minnesota National Guard has been mobilized but not deployed, Gov. Tim Walz has urged against sending more federal troops, and the orders — issued after presidential threats to invoke the Insurrection Act — do not guarantee deployment.

During unrest in Minneapolis, the FBI says multiple unmarked federal vehicles were vandalized and broken into while agents responded to a reported assault on a federal officer. Authorities say Raul Gutierrez, 33, identified as a member of the Latin Kings with a violent criminal history, stole FBI body armor and a firearm from one of the vehicles; the weapon was recovered and Gutierrez was arrested in a joint DOJ–ATF operation, and FBI Director Kash Patel vowed additional arrests.