Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey delivered a stern message one week ago to federal agents following the deadly shooting of a Minnesota woman who was protesting their efforts to round up immigrants in the state. “Get the f**k out of Minneapolis,” Frey said.
The remark immediately put Frey in the national spotlight and at the center of the fiercest battle yet over President Donald Trump’s federal crackdown in cities across the country.
Tensions between local protesters and federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have only continued to boil over, after a federal agent shot and injured a man Wednesday night who had allegedly assaulted the agent. Seeking to deescalate the situation, Frey urged protesters to go home afterward.
“We cannot counter Donald Trump’s chaos with our own brand of chaos,” he said Wednesday night, after local police said protesters were shooting fireworks at officers. “For those that have peacefully protested, I applaud you. For those that are taking the bait, you are not helping, and you are not helping the undocumented immigrants of our city. You are not helping the people who call this place home.”
The city’s efforts over the past week to respond to the ICE crackdown — and the Trump administration’s decision to double down on its Minneapolis surge — demonstrates the difficult situation Frey and other state and local Democrats face. Standing up to the Trump administration bought Frey respect in his overwhelmingly Democratic city — but it also made him a target of the White House and its Republican allies.
Polls show that public opinion has shifted rapidly against the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement actions. A CNN poll conducted by SSRS found that 56% of Americans believe Renee Good’s killing was an inappropriate use of force, while just 26% of Americans say that they view the shooting as an appropriate use of force. Americans say, 51% to 31%, that ICE enforcement actions are making cities less safe rather than safer.
But Trump, who campaigned on pledges to lead a mass deportation effort, has dug in, placing a particular emphasis on Minnesota — a Democratic-led state that he wrongly said he believes he won in three consecutive presidential elections. His administration plans to send another 1,000 immigration agents to the state. And on Thursday he threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, a centuries-old law, to deploy American troops to Minnesota if local political leaders don’t “stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking” immigration agents.
“Jacob Frey is a disgrace,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement. “Immediately after an ICE officer was attacked, he rushed to publicly lie and incite more violence against law enforcement. He must stop smearing law enforcement and apologize for his lies.”
‘What Frey said’
When Frey told ICE agents to “get the f**k out” at a news conference last week, councilwoman Linea Palmisano initially cringed. “Ooh, did he have to do that?” she thought.
But she quickly realized Frey was speaking for much of the city.