Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said law enforcement has made over 10,000 arrests in Minneapolis as part of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
In a social media publication, Noem described those targeted as “criminal illegal aliens who were killing Americans, hurting children and reigning terror in Minneapolis because Tim Walz and Jacob Frey refuse to protect their own people and instead protect criminals.”
PEACE AND PUBLIC SAFETY IN MINNEAPOLIS! We have arrested over 10,000 criminal illegal aliens who were killing Americans, hurting children and reigning terror in Minneapolis because Tim Walz and Jacob Frey refuse to protect their own people and instead protect criminals. In the…
— Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) January 19, 2026
“In the last 6 weeks, our brave DHS law enforcement have arrested 3,000 criminal illegal aliens including vicious murderers, rapists, child pedophiles and incredibly dangerous individuals. A HUGE victory for public safety,” Noem added.
The operation in Minneapolis has dominated the public conversation over the past days, especially after the fatal shooting of Renee Good and ensuing protests.
In this context, the Wall Street Journal reported that ICE agents are under pressure to conduct apprehensions as the agency set a daily quota of 3,000 arrests across the country. The outlet added that they are being given rewards for making arrests even if the people they take in are then released.
Agents are walking and driving through the city looking for people to arrest, with the outlet noting that these scenes help explain why they are clashing more with locals than in other cities they have been deployed to.
And matters could escalate further, as the FBI asked agents from field offices across the country to travel to Minneapolis for temporary assignments, NBC News reported. The call is voluntary, sources told the outlet.
Moreover, some 1,500 active-duty soldiers stationed in Alaska have been placed on standby for potential deployment to the city, CBS News reported. Asked about the preparations, chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said “the Department of War is always prepared to execute the orders of the Commander-in-Chief if called upon.”
President Donald Trump also threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act to allow federal troops to the city if “don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of ICE, who are only trying to do their job.” The Minneapolis Police Department said on Saturday that demonstrators of a recent protest remained peaceful in the presence of agents.
Originally published on Latin Times
