800 Border Patrol agents now in Minneapolis area, official confirms to CBS News
The Trump administration is revoking the Temporary Protected Status of roughly 2,500 Somali immigrants, who are now set to lose their legal status and work permits on March 17.
The move comes months after Mr. Trump called Somali immigrants living in the United States "garbage" said he wanted them to leave. His administration have cited a massive fraud scandal implicating members of the Somali community to deploy thousands of federal immigration agents to Minneapolis area.
Days after 2,000 federal agents descended in Minnesota, ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot Renee Good, a U.S. citizen who was behind the wheel of her car. While Mr. Trump, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and other federal officials have tried to paint Good as an aggressor who was attempting to harm the agent, expert analysis of the video evidence has discredited that narrative.
On Monday, the state of Minnesota, along with the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, announced a lawsuit against Noem and other federal officials in an effort to stop the surge of ICE agents from coming to Minnesota.
The suit maintains that the surge is a violation of the 10th Amendment, which states that "the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
Here is the latest on the ICE surge in Minnesota
- Several career prosecutors in the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division announced their resignation this week after learning there would be no civil rights probe into the fatal shooting of Renee Good.
- Protesters and federal agents clashed again Monday evening at the Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis. WCCO saw at least three people detained as federal agents used chemicals and flashbangs after warning people to clear the street and stop blocking traffic.
- Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said her office has received a "substantial" number of submissions to the evidence portal her office launched last week after the FBI took sole authority of Good's shooting.
- Students in the Twin Cities, including in Maple Grove, Minneapolis and Roseville, held walkouts on Monday to protest ongoing ICE operations.
- The Trump administration secretly reimposed a policy limiting Congress members' access to immigration detention facilities a day after the fatal ICE shooting, attorneys for several congressional Democrats said Monday in asking a federal judge to intervene.
- Families of Minnesotans killed by law enforcement offered their support to Good's family, saying "you have a group of people out here that are willing to be here and to support you."
AP: Justice Department sees no basis for civil rights probe in Minnesota ICE shooting
The Justice Department does not believe there is currently any basis to open a criminal civil rights investigation into the killing of a woman by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis, a top department official said Tuesday.
The decision to keep the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division out of the investigation into the fatal shooting of Renee Good marks a sharp departure from past administrations, which have moved quickly to probe shootings of civilians by law enforcement officials for potential civil rights offenses.
On Tuesday, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement that "there is currently no basis for a criminal civil rights investigation." The statement, first reported by CNN, did not elaborate on how the department had reached a conclusion that no investigation was warranted.
Federal officials have said that the officer acted in self-defense and that the driver of the Honda was engaging in "an act of domestic terrorism" when she pulled forward toward him.
Bovino claims "90% to 95% of Minnesotans" support immigration crackdown
Earlier this week, WCCO's Esme Murphy sat down with U.S. Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino to discuss the ICE crackdown in Minnesota.
During their interview, Bovino said he is convinced that most Americans and Minnesotans support ICE's actions.
"We're glad to be here, and for those 90% to 95% of Minnesotans that, that like us here, we salute you, we respect you and we love you," he said.
A national YouGov poll this month says 52% of Americans disagree with the ICE operations, but WCCO has not found evidence of any recent Minnesota-centered polling on ICE's activities.
"People are scared to death about what's going on on the streets of Minneapolis," Murphy asked Bovino. "What do you say to those people who are genuinely worried?"
"If they are a criminal alien or an illegal alien, then they should probably be very scared," Bovino said.
Federal agent shoved Minneapolis City Council president, video shows
Minneapolis City Council President Elliot Payne says he was assaulted by immigration officials this week, and video appears to show the encounter.
The incident happened shortly after filming a PSA with state Sen. Dorian Clark and City Council Member Jason Chavez. Video posted to Payne's social media shows the interaction.
"Looked like they had no training whatsoever. They were completely unprepared," Payne said.
Fencing goes up around Whipple Building as demonstrators continue to make their voices heard
Just under a week after Renee Good was killed, tensions are still boiling at Fort Snelling, which is the site of large demonstrations.
Crews constructed a long line of fencing in response to the protests, building a second barrier around a building that already has a permanent barrier around it.
Demonstrators have traveled from near and far to make their voices heard.
"I understand how difficult it is to not just be in law enforcement, but deal with so much distraction out here to do your job," said Chris Stone, who drove from the west metro.
He appeared to be the only person on site who held that particular belief. While most appeared to shout negatively at the agents driving in and out, Stone says that's okay too.
"I have just as many rights out here as the opposition does," he said. "I'm okay with them saying what they have to say."
800 Border Patrol agents now in Minneapolis area, official confirms
There are now 800 U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in the Minneapolis area as part of a massive federal force there, a DHS official tells CBS News. That's on top of 2,000 ICE officers and agents.
"This is the largest DHS operation in history," the official told CBS News.
State representatives condemn termination of TPS
The Minneapolis Delegation of the Minnesota House of Representatives says the Trump administration's decision to end Temporary Protected Status for Somalis is "a significant departure from decades of bipartisan humanitarian policy."
"These decisions place long-standing Minnesota residents—who have lived, worked, and raised families here legally—at immediate risk of losing their lawful status and being forced into uncertainty," the delegation said in a written statement. "TPS exists because conditions in designated countries meet clear statutory standards related to conflict and instability. Ending these protections does not change the realities on the ground abroad, but it does create fear, disrupt families, and destabilize communities here at home."
The Minneapolis Delegation added that they stand with Somali Minnesotans and all communities impacted by the termination of TPS.
"Immigrant and refugee communities are an essential part of Minneapolis and Minnesota," the delegation said. "They are our neighbors, coworkers, healthcare workers, educators, small-business owners, and civic leaders. Our state is stronger because of their contributions, and we will continue to advocate for policies that protect the safety, dignity, and stability of every community impacted by these decisions."
The Minneapolis Delegation in the House includes Reps. Michael Howard, Fue Lee, Esther Agbaje, Sydney Jordan, Mohamud Noor, Katie Jones, Jamie Long, Aisha Gomez, Anquam Mahamoud, Samantha Sencer-Mura and Emma Greenman.
At least 6 Minnesota federal prosecutors resign amid pressure to treat Renee Good killing as assault on ICE agent
At least six career prosecutors in the Minneapolis U.S. Attorney's office — including Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson — have resigned as the office continues to face pressure to treat the investigation of the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman by an ICE officer as an assault on a federal officer case.
Thompson also previously served as the acting U.S. attorney for Minnesota; he was appointed by President Trump in June and served in the position until October. He resigned from the attorney's office along with Harry Jacobs, Melinda Williams, Thomas Calhoun-Lopez, Ruth Schneider and Tom Hollenhurst.
CBS could not immediately confirm the reasons for all the resignations. The New York Times has reported that senior DOJ officials were seeking a criminal investigation into the actions of the widow and whether she had ties to "activist groups."
Minnesota faith, union, community leaders call for economic blackout on Jan. 23
Faith leaders, union representatives and community members are calling for a Day of Truth and Freedom on Friday, Jan. 23 — urging all Minnesotans not to go to work, school or go shopping in response to Operation Metro Surge.
Organizers held a news conference Tuesday morning outside of the Hennepin County Government Center in downtown Minneapolis to announce the statewide day of mourning and action. It comes amid ongoing tensions over the federal law enforcement surge in Minnesota that escalated after ICE officer Jonathan Ross fatally shot 37-year-old Minneapolis resident Renee Good last week.
Auxiliary Minister JaNaé Bates Imari of St. Paul's Camphor Memorial United Methodist Church led the conference, calling for Minnesotans to "leverage our economic power, our labor, our prayer for one another."
"What we have seen and what we have witnessed, what we have all gone through is not normal," Bates Imari said. "[Renee Good was] standing up for her neighbor. Her whistle blowing was returned by bullets. We will not, we cannot let that stand. Minnesota will not continue to be a testing ground for the kind of fear and violence that is expected for the rest of this country."
Mass resignations hit Justice Department's Civil Rights Division amid lack of action in Minneapolis, sources say
Several career prosecutors in the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division announced their resignations this week shortly after they learned there would be no civil rights probe into the fatal shooting of Renee Good, according to five sources briefed on the matter.
At least six prosecutors, most of whom are supervisors in the Civil Rights Division's criminal section, will be leaving their jobs. Their decision to resign was announced in a meeting to staff on Monday, the sources told CBS News.
The announcement came after CBS News reported on Friday that career prosecutors in the section had offered to drop all of their work to help investigate the Minneapolis shooting, but they were told there would be no criminal civil rights investigation.
Trump administration ends legal protections for 2,500 Somali immigrants
The U.S. government is revoking the legal status of several thousand immigrants from Somalia, raising the specter of deportation for a community often assailed by President Trump.
A Department of Homeland Security official said the Trump administration had decided to terminate Somalia's Temporary Protected Status program, which allows beneficiaries to live and work in the U.S. without fear of deportation.
Nationals of Somalia enrolled in the TPS program are now set to lose their legal status and work permits on March 17. The DHS official said roughly 2,500 Somali immigrants with TPS are expected to be affected by the termination.
The Trump administration has urged TPS holders whose status will lapse to self-deport, warning that they will be found, arrested and deported if they fail to do so.
