ICE officers in Minnesota directed not to interact with ‘agitators’ in new orders

Washington: ICE officers in Minnesota have been directed to avoid engaging with “agitators” as they carry out US President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, according to internal guidance.

The new guidance, reviewed by Reuters, offers the most detailed look so far at how operations would change after two fatal shootings of US citizens in Minneapolis this month. It also orders US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers only to target immigrants who have criminal charges or convictions.

That would mark a departure from the broad sweeps that have provoked backlash and legal challenges in Minneapolis and other US cities.

“DO NOT COMMUNICATE OR ENGAGE WITH AGITATORS,” said an email disseminated by a top ICE official. “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.”

In response to a request to the White House for comment, an administration official said, “There are ongoing conversations on how to most effectively conduct operations in Minnesota. No guidance should be considered final until it is officially issued.”

The operational shift comes after Trump said this week that he aimed to “de-escalate” tension in Minneapolis and St Paul after federal immigration officers killed ICU nurse Alex Pretti and mother-of-three Renee Good there this month.

In both cases, Trump officials swiftly portrayed the deceased as aggressors, an assertion undercut by video evidence. Trump tasked border tsar Tom Homan to take over operations in Minnesota, in what a senior official told Reuters would be a shift to a more “targeted” approach to enforcement. He effectively replaced Border Patrol commander-at-large Greg Bovino, who had been the face of the special enforcement operation in Minneapolis and attracted criticism for saying – without evidence – that it looked like Pretti intended to “massacre” officers.

Pretti’s killing on January 24 ignited widespread criticism, including from Republicans. Democrats have threatened to block funding for the Department of Homeland Security unless restrictions are placed on enforcement operations.

State and local officials have called for independent investigations into both killings and for a reduction in the federal presence, warning that aggressive enforcement tactics risk further loss of life.

Two US Border Patrol agents involved in the fatal shooting of Pretti had been placed on administrative leave, Customs and Border Protection said, in a move it described as “standard protocol” after an officer-involved shooting.

Under the new guidance outlined in the email, ICE officers will receive megaphones so that they can issue commands to the public and “need to verbalise every step of the arrest process”.

The guidance does not describe what sort of actions would trigger commands or what officers should do if commands were not followed.

The updated guidance came from Marcos Charles, the top official in ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division, the email said. It said officers could only target immigration offenders who had a previous criminal history.

“We are moving to targeted enforcement of aliens with a criminal history,” it read. “This includes arrests, not just convictions. ALL TARGETS MUST HAVE A CRIMINAL NEXUS.”

Under former US president Joe Biden, ICE officers were required to focus on serious criminals, but the Trump administration rescinded that policy, allowing officers to arrest non-criminals without restrictions.

ICE officers could run licence plate checks for possible targets and should make an arrest if the registered owner of the vehicle was an immigrant with a criminal history, the guidance said.

ICE would run the Minnesota operation with Border Patrol in a support role, it said, a reversal after months of Bovino-led clashes in city streets.

The guidance states that ICE has been getting more co-operation from state and local officials in Minnesota, and that the agency could have more opportunities to pick up immigrants released on parole or probation.

Meanwhile, details of the man accused of squirting an unknown substance on Democratic US Representative Ilhan Omar at a town hall in Minneapolis have begun to emerge, showing he has a criminal history and has made online posts supportive of Trump.

Anthony Kazmierczak, 55, was convicted of felony auto theft in 1989, has been arrested multiple times for driving under the influence and has had numerous traffic citations, Minnesota court records show. There are also indications he has had significant financial problems, including two bankruptcy filings.

Police say Kazmierczak used a syringe to squirt a liquid on Omar during the event on Tuesday (Minnesota time) after she called for the abolishment of ICE and the firing or impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem following the fatal shootings of Good and Pretti.

Officers immediately tackled and arrested Kazmierczak, who was jailed on a preliminary third-degree assault charge, police spokesperson Trevor Folke said.

Photos of the syringe, which fell when the man was tackled, show what appears to be a light-brown liquid inside. Authorities haven’t publicly identified the substance, though US media reports said that tests by police concluded the substance was apple cider vinegar.

Omar continued speaking for about 25 minutes after Kazmierczak was ushered out, saying she wouldn’t be intimidated. While leaving, she said that she felt a little flustered but wasn’t hurt and that she was going to be screened by a medical team.

She later posted on X: “I’m ok. I’m a survivor so this small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work. I don’t let bullies win.”

Kazmierczak hadn’t been formally charged or scheduled for an initial court appearance as of Wednesday morning. The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office has until Thursday to charge him but could seek an extension.

It’s unclear if Kazmierczak has a lawyer who could speak on his behalf. The county’s chief public defender, Michael Berger, said the case hasn’t been assigned to his office.

Omar, a progressive, has been a frequent target of Trump’s barbs since she joined Congress in 2019.

That year, Trump urged Omar and three other freshmen congresswomen of colour known as “the squad” to “go back” to their countries if they wanted to criticise the US. Omar was the only one of the four born outside the US, having immigrated to the country as a child when her family fled violence in Somalia.

During a Cabinet meeting in December, Trump referred to her as “garbage”. Earlier on Tuesday, the president criticised her as he spoke to a crowd in Iowa, saying his administration would only let in immigrants who “can show that they love our country”.

When asked about the attack, Trump told ABC News that he hadn’t watched the footage and accused Omar of staging the attack.

“She probably had herself sprayed, knowing her,” Trump said.

Reuters, Bloomberg, AP

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