The Pentagon has initiated preparations to deploy approximately 1,500 active-duty soldiers from Alaska to Minnesota, according to U.S. officials who spoke to Reuters on Sunday. This military mobilization comes in response to escalating tensions in the midwestern state, where widespread protests have erupted against intensified Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations.
The development follows President Donald Trump’s Thursday threat to invoke the Insurrection Act, which would authorize military deployment if state officials fail to contain demonstrations targeting immigration authorities. While the Army has placed units on prepare-to-deploy status, officials emphasized that actual deployment remains uncertain and contingent on potential violence escalation.
Tensions in Minneapolis intensified dramatically after the January 7th fatal shooting of Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, by ICE officer Jonathan Ross during a vehicle encounter. The administration has already dispatched 3,000 immigration and Border Patrol officers to the region, despite local officials characterizing the protests as largely peaceful.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey expressed strong opposition to military intervention, stating on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ that ‘We don’t need more federal agents to keep people safe. We are safe.’ He warned that military deployment would further exacerbate tensions in the city.
The situation has grown increasingly complex with multiple incidents drawing national attention. The Justice Department has launched an investigation into a protest at a St. Paul church where demonstrators disrupted a service to protest a pastor’s alleged ICE affiliations. Meanwhile, ICE agents conducted a Sunday operation in St. Paul, removing a Hmong community member from his home while facing vocal opposition from neighbors.
President Trump has justified the increased federal presence by referencing a social welfare funds scandal in Minnesota, specifically targeting the state’s Somali immigrant community. However, enforcement actions have expanded to include other immigrant groups, including the recent arrest of three workers from a family-run Mexican restaurant in Willmar.
The potential deployment involves soldiers from two infantry battalions under the 11th Airborne Division, specializing in cold-weather operations. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell stated that the Department of War ‘is always prepared to execute the orders of the commander-in-chief if called upon,’ using the administration’s preferred terminology for the Defense Department.
This development represents the latest chapter in the administration’s pattern of federal interventions, primarily targeting cities governed by Democratic officials. While the president maintains these actions are necessary to combat crime and protect federal property, local leaders accuse the administration of federal overreach and exaggerating isolated violence incidents to justify military deployment.