Immigration Agents Draw Guns, Arrest Activists in Minneapolis

Immigration officers with guns drawn arrested some activists who were trailing their vehicles on Tuesday in Minneapolis, a sign that tensions have not eased since the departure last week of a high-profile commander. At least one person who had an anti-ICE message on clothing was handcuffed while face-down on the ground. An AP photographer witnessed the arrests.

• Federal agents in the Twin Cities lately have been conducting more targeted immigration arrests at homes and neighborhoods, rather than staging in parking lots, the AP reports. The convoys have been harder to find and less aggressive. Alerts in activist group chats have been more about sightings than immigration-related detainments.

• Several cars followed officers through south Minneapolis after there were reports of them knocking at homes. Officers stopped their vehicles and ordered activists to come out of a car at gunpoint. Agents told reporters at the scene to stay back and threatened to use pepper spray.
• A federal judge last month put limits on how officers treat motorists who are following them but not obstructing their operations. Safely following agents "at an appropriate distance does not, by itself, create reasonable suspicion to justify a vehicle stop," the judge said. An appeals court, however, set the order aside.
• Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino, who was leading an immigration crackdown in Minneapolis and other big US cities, left town last week, shortly after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, the second local killing of a US citizen in January. Trump administration border czar Tom Homan was dispatched to Minnesota instead. He warned that protesters could face consequences if they interfere with officers.

• Meanwhile, Tuesday was the deadline for the Minnesota governor, state attorney general, and the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul to produce documents to a federal grand jury in response to a Justice Department request for records of any effort to stifle the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. Officials have denounced it as a bullying tactic.
• Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey's office said it was complying with the grand jury subpoena requesting documents about the city's response to Operation Metro Surge, but it released no other details. "We have done nothing wrong and have nothing to hide, but when the federal government weaponizes the criminal justice system against political opponents, it's important to stand up and fight back," spokesperson Ally Peters said.