Nationwide strike called Friday to protest ICE; Don Lemon arrested for Minnesota church protest
Organizers are calling for a nationwide strike on Friday — urging Americans to stay home from work, school and abstain from shopping — in protest against Operation Metro Surge and Immigration and Customs Enforcement action across the United States.
Protesters are also expected to gather again Friday at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, the site of daily demonstrations since the operation began on Dec. 1, 2025.
What to know about the latest developments in Minnesota and across the nation:
- The attorney for journalist and former CNN host Don Lemon says he was arrested Thursday night in Los Angeles in connection to his presence at a recent protest inside in a St. Paul, Minnesota, church.
- A top ICE official has sent a memo ordering agents not to engage with protesters, according to a Reuters report.
- Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison disputes a claim by border czar Tom Homan that the two reached an agreement on county jails notifying Immigration and Customs Enforcement of the release dates for criminals so they can take custody of them when they get out.
- President Trump, commenting on a newly surfaced video of Alex Pretti yelling at federal agents and kicking out their vehicle's tail light 11 days before his killing in Minneapolis, called the ICU nurse an "agitator and, perhaps, insurrectionist."
- Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, who oversees state prosecutions in Minneapolis, told CBS News the state is deciding whether to file criminal charges in the deadly shootings of Pretti and Renee Good by federal officers.
- Several Twin Cities suburbs submitted an amicus brief on Thursday asking the judge to issue a temporary restraining order in the lawsuit against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and other Trump administration officials.
- The Trump administration's deployment of troops to six different U.S. cities last year cost roughly $496 million through the end of December, according to estimates released by the Congressional Budget Office this week.
Walz, Ellison to testify at House Oversight Committee hearing on fraud in March
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison will testify at a House Oversight Committee hearing on fraud and the "misuse" of federal funds in the state in March, Chairman James Comer, R-Kentucky, said on Friday.
Republicans on the committee launched an investigation into Walz's handling of a series of multimillion-dollar fraud schemes in Minnesota last December. Members, at the time, asked in letters the governor and Ellison for "documents and communications showing what your administration knew about this fraud and whether you took action to limit or halt the investigation into this widespread fraud."
The hearing is scheduled for March 4. WCCO has reached out to Walz and Ellison for comment.
Republican Minnesota state Reps. Kristin Robbins, Walter Hudson and Marion Rarick, along with Brendan Ballou, a former prosecutor for the Justice Department who is appearing as the Democrats' witness, testified in front of the committee earlier this month.
Robbins said, as chair of a fraud prevention committee in the Minnesota House, she's been "working to uncover the massive fraud under Tim Walz, propose solutions and hold state agencies accountable."
Democrats on the committee acknowledged concerns about fraud during the Jan. 7 hearing, but said the response should not punish communities unjustly, while pointing to what they said was hypocrisy among their GOP colleagues in taking fraud allegations seriously.
Walz has defended his handling of the crisis, saying his administration has "spent years cracking down on fraudsters" and has accused President Trump of "politicizing the issue to defund programs that help Minnesotans."
A spokesperson for Walz, in response to the Jan. 7 hearing, said, without expanding, "We're always happy to work with Congress, though this committee has a track record of holding circus hearings that have nothing to do with the issue at hand."
Justice Department opens civil rights investigation into Alex Pretti's death
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche says the Department of Justice has opened a civil rights investigation into the death of Alex Pretti, who was shot and killed by two Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis amid a federal immigration crackdown.
Blanche said he did not want to overstate the move, and instead characterized it as a "standard investigation by the FBI when there are circumstances like what we saw last Saturday."
"And that investigation, to the extent it needs to involve lawyers at the civil rights division, it will involve those," he said.
FBI takes the lead in investigation into fatal shooting of Alex Pretti
The FBI is now leading the investigation into the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, with Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations branch supporting the investigation, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said.
CBS News has reached out to the FBI for comment.
Indigenous Americans rush to prove their citizenship amid ICE crackdown
About 70% of Native Americans today live in urban areas, including tens of thousands in the Twin Cities, one of the largest urban Native populations in the country.
There, in early January, a top ICE official announced the "largest immigration operation ever."
Masked, heavily armed agents traveling in convoys of unmarked SUVs became commonplace in some neighborhoods. By this week, more than 3,400 people had been arrested, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. At least 2,000 ICE officers and 1,000 Border Patrol officers were on the ground.
Representatives from at least 10 tribes traveled hundreds of miles to Minneapolis — the birthplace of the American Indian Movement — to accept ID applications from members there. Among them were the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Ojibwe of Wisconsin, the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate of South Dakota and the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa of North Dakota.
Journalist Don Lemon arrested by federal agents in LA
The attorney for journalist and former CNN host Don Lemon says he was arrested Thursday night in Los Angeles in connection to his presence at a recent protest inside in a St. Paul, Minnesota, church.
Attorney Abbe Lowell said Lemon was covering the Grammy awards when he was taken into custody.
"Don has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different than what he has always done," Lowell said. "The First Amendment exists to protect journalists whose role it is to shine light on the truth and hold those in power accountable. There is no more important time for people like Don to be doing this work."
Lemon was among a group that entered Cities Church off St. Paul's Grand Avenue on Jan. 18, where one of its pastors, David Easterwood, leads the local ICE field office.
"Instead of investigating the federal agents who killed two peaceful Minnesota protesters, the Trump Justice Department is devoting its time, attention and resources to this arrest, and that is the real indictment of wrongdoing in this case," Lowell said. "This unprecedented attack on the First Amendment and transparent attempt to distract attention from the many crises facing this administration will not stand. Don will fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly in court."
Richfield Public Schools says federal agents were on school bus route
Richfield Public Schools notified families Thursday of an incident involving federal agents.
The district says agents were on one of the school's bus routes Thursday afternoon.
They say administrators were notified and leadership went to the bus to make sure students were safe. WCCO has reached out to school officials to learn more.
Border czar, president take conflicting "drawdown" stances
Conflicting information from the top voices on the federal crackdown is causing some confusion.
On Thursday morning, border czar Tom Homan spoke for the first time since arriving in Minnesota. Homan says Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison told him that county jails may notify Immigration and Customs Enforcement of the release dates for criminals so they can take custody of them when they get out.
Ellison, however, said no agreements were made.
"I did not negotiate with Mr. Homan, come to any agreement or offer any compromise on the goal of keeping Minnesotans safe," Ellison said.
Then later Thursday, President Trump shared a different message when it comes to the possibility of drawing back.
"We will keep our country safe, we'll do whatever we can to keep our country safe. So not pulling back? No, no not at all," Trump said.
U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who announced her Minnesota gubernatorial campaign early Thursday, appeared on CNN Thursday night to share her thoughts on the Trump administration's mixed signals.
"I literally could not believe that the president said this tonight after trying to change the tone, trying to deescalate," Klobuchar said. "But maybe I should believe it, because this shouldn't have happened in the first place."
Trump calls Pretti "agitator and, perhaps, insurrectionist"
President Trump commented early Friday on the video showing Alex Pretti confronting federal immigration officers on a Minneapolis street 11 days before he was fatally shot in another encounter with Customs and Border Protection agents.
On his Truth Social platform, Mr. Trump described Pretti as an "agitator and, perhaps, insurrectionist."
The president said Pretti's "stock has gone way down with the just released video of him screaming and spitting in the face of a very calm and under control ICE Officer, and then crazily kicking in a new and very expensive government vehicle, so hard and violent, in fact, that the taillight broke off in pieces. It was quite a display of abuse and anger, for all to see, crazed and out of control. The ICE Officer was calm and cool, not an easy thing to be under those circumstances!"
Some businesses that closed for Minnesota strike won't for national one
A nationwide strike is planned for Friday to stand with immigrant communities and protest ICE activity, but some Minnesota businesses may not be as involved this time around.
Minnesota showed up for a massive anti-ICE protest last week. Thousands took to the streets and an estimated more than 300 businesses closed.
Some, however, say another shutdown is not possible.
"This has been not just my reality, but this has been my worst nightmare," said Daniel Hernandez, the owner of Colonial Market.
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.
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.
