Report: Memo orders ICE agents not to engage with protesters
After weeks of chaotic clashes, a top Immigration and Customs Enforcement official has reportedly sent a memo ordering agents not to engage with protesters.
Mary, a lifelong Minneapolis resident and owner of Thrifty Nifty, says this isn't the city she grew up in.
"I'm in fear for my life because I don't know if they're going to be coming for us next," she said.
Thursday morning, Border Czar Tom Homan discussed the ongoing crisis between ICE and protesters, saying the agency is working to alter how it operates.
"I do not want to hear that everything's been done here has been perfect. Nothing's ever perfect. Anything can be improved on. And what we've been working on is making this operation safer, more efficient by the book," Homan said.
Reuters reports one of those changes is a memo headlined "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," the memo reportedly reads.
"I believe they're still going to be around and still going to be terrorizing us," Mary said.
Mary's skepticism is shared by many of her neighbors, like this group, who are watching out for ICE in the Powderhorn Park neighborhood.
"I really don't trust anything that they're saying about any of this," said a man who is part of a neighborhood watch, vigilantly watching for ICE. "Everything they're doing is just intimidation and repression tactics to try to get us to stand out of their way, but we're not going to do that, because we know what they're doing is wrong."
With the future uncertain, neighbors say they're banding together. They say they aren't letting their guard down, despite indications of drawdowns from the federal government.
"I think we all need to come together more closer. It doesn't matter what your skin color is; it's about love and family," Mary said.