Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free
Your guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the world
The Trump administration will send “hundreds more” officers to Minnesota amid widespread protests that erupted after an immigration agent killed a woman in Minneapolis.
“We’re sending more officers — today and tomorrow they’ll arrive,” Kristi Noem, the secretary of homeland security, said on Sunday on Fox News. “There will be hundreds more.”
The Department of Homeland Security has already deployed thousands of federal agents in the state after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed Renée Nicole Good in a residential area of Minneapolis on Wednesday.
The killing has sparked a national outcry with protests across the country over the weekend, and highlighted deep divisions over the US president’s immigration clampdown.
Trump administration officials, including the US president and vice-president JD Vance, have claimed that the ICE agent acted in self-defence, alleging that Good drove her car at him.
But Minnesota officials and others point to videos of the incident they say show the vehicle was veering away from the officer when he fired three shots. Noem also accused Good of “domestic terrorism” earlier in the week without offering evidence, prompting some to accuse her of pre-empting an investigation into the incident.
Local officials in the Democrat-controlled state have condemned the killing and have called on federal agents to leave.
School officials have reported border patrol officers entering buildings, prompting some schools to cancel classes.
Local officials have also attacked the decision by the FBI to block state investigators from involvement in the probe into Good’s death.
House Minority leader Hakeem Jeffries also refused to rule out impeaching Noem should the Democrats win back a majority of representatives in midterms in November.
Noem said it was “horrific” that local officials were using Good’s death as “an opportunity to divide”, and on Sunday claimed the massive federal deployment was necessary because “corrupt elected officials at the city level and at the state level allowed fraud to happen”.
“It’s ground zero for the stealing of taxpayer dollars and protecting criminals,” Noem said.
Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey, who has called for ICE to leave the city, said of Noem’s comments: “Sounds like she doesn’t believe a single word she’s saying”.
Federal prosecutors have been investigating accusations of fraud related to aid provided during the Covid-19 pandemic. In recent weeks, investigators have claimed scams involving Somali immigrants were on a wider scale than previously thought.
US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent on Friday visited the state to announce a crackdown on all of those involved in the fraud that his department claims has cost American taxpayers billions of dollars.
“Whether they are the Minnesota government or they are sitting in east Africa, we will find them,” he said.
Local governor Tim Walz, who rose to national prominence as Kamala Harris’ running mate in the 2024 presidential election, said on Monday that he will not seek re-election on the back of the latest fraud allegations.
Credit: Source link
