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Trump says federal government won’t step in ‘until they ask for help’
Bel Trew in Minneapolis, Rachel Dobkin, Mike Bedigan, Owen Scott & Katie HawkinsonSunday 01 February 2026 01:00 GMT- Bookmark
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President Donald Trump said he ordered the Department of Homeland Security not to intervene in “protests and/or riots” in Democratic-led cities unless local leaders ask for help.
In a Truth Social post shared Saturday, Trump noted federal officers will still be “very forceful” in their protection of federal property amid protests against his mass deportation campaign, with anti-ICE rallies taking place in cities across the country.
State and local governments “must use the word, ‘PLEASE’” before asking for the federal government’s help, he wrote.
Organizers have said more than 300 “ICE Out of Everywhere” protests are scheduled Saturday as outrage grows over a surge of agents into Democratic-cities and the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.Saturday’s actions follow Friday’s “national shutdown” event, in which organizers encouraged people skip work, school and shopping in protest.
Saturday’s demonstrations kicked off as a federal judge denied Minnesota’s request to block officers from surging into the state while a closely watch legal challenge continues.
Meanwhile, Trump has labeled Pretti an “agitator” and “perhaps, insurrectionist” after video the release of a video that shows a confrontation in the days before Pretti’s death etween federal agents and the ICU nurse, who was shot dead by border patrol agents one week later.
“Nothing that happened a full week before could possibly have justified Alex’s killing,” Steve Schleicher, an attorney for Pretti’s family, told The Independent.
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Key Points
- Hundreds of 'ICE Out of Everywhere' protests planned nationwide
- Judge won’t halt Trump's Minnesota surge while lawsuit plays out
- Judge orders release of 5-year-old and father detained by ICE
- In pictures: Protesters clashed with police in LA
- Bruce Springsteen plays at Renee Good and Alex Pretti fundraiser
ICYMI: Senate votes to avert shutdown but parses out spending for Homeland Security
The Senate voted on Friday afternoon to avert a government shutdown while also passing a stopgap measure to fund the Department of Homeland Security as Democrats and Republicans negotiate guardrails for immigration enforcement agencies.
Senate votes to avert shutdown but parses out spending for Homeland Security
The Department of Homeland Security–which houses ICE and CBP–will be funded through a stopgap bill as the Senate attempts to negotiate reforms to the agenciesEric Garcia1 February 2026 01:00Teachers and school officials for preschooler detained by ICE say they 'feel under siege'
Liam Conejo Ramos and 2-year-old Chloe were among at least seven Minneapolis-area children detained by federal agents in recent days, according to Zena Stenvik, the superintendent for Colombia Heights public school district.
Speaking to The Independent, she welcomed the news of Liam’s release and thanked the community for the “outpouring of support for him.” But she warned that children in her district remain at risk, saying teachers and students feel “hunted.”
“We have had several ICE agents driving up and down, and around our schools, circling throughout the day over the last few weeks,” she continued.
“We have staff members stationed at arrival and dismissal times at every corner of every school, even a couple of blocks away as constitutionally-trained observers” to look after the children, she said.
“We feel hunted,” she said. “We feel under siege.”
Jason Kuhlman, the principal of Liam’s school, told The Independent that two other students were detained by ICE on Thursday alone.
They now have a system where teachers walk children from at-risk communities to school, and are running ride-share programs to try to keep people safe because parents are too afraid to do the journey to school. Dozens of students are now learning online because they are too afraid to leave their homes.
“This is not political. This is about little humans wanting to come to school,” he said. “Education is being interfered with — kids can’t learn ... Racial profiling, terrorizing families and children, pulling Black and Brown people out of cars: I call it a snatch and grab.”
He added that when Liam is ready to return to his classroom, “everything is there waiting for him.”
(AFP via Getty Images)Bel Trew1 February 2026 00:13Gregory Bovino made disparaging remarks about prosecutor’s Jewish faith, report says
U.S. Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino mocked a Jewish prosecutor’s faith during a recent phone call, a new report claims.
Read more:
Gregory Bovino made disparaging remarks about prosecutor’s Jewish faith, report says
The Border Patrol commander has helped lead the Trump administration’s high-profile immigration enforcement operationsKatie Hawkinson1 February 2026 00:00ICYMI: Judge says she won’t halt the immigration enforcement surge as a lawsuit proceeds
A federal judge says she won’t halt the immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota and the Twin Cities as a lawsuit over it proceeds.
Read the full story below:
Judge says she won’t halt the immigration enforcement surge as a lawsuit proceeds
A federal judge says she won’t halt the immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota and the Twin Cities as a lawsuit over it proceedsKatie Hawkinson31 January 2026 23:00What did a federal judge say in his order to release Liam Conejo Ramos?
A federal judge has ordered ICE to release five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father after they were detained last week in Minneapolis.
The judge condemned the administration’s apparent “ignorance of an American historical document called the Declaration of Independence” and Thomas Jefferson’s warnings against “a would-be authoritarian king over our nascent nation.”
He signed his three-page order with a now-viral image of Liam standing in his frozen driveway wearing a Spider-Man backpack and blue cap that has fueled outrage against the president’s anti-immigration agenda. Judge Biery also listed two Bible verses below it: Matthew 19:14 and John 11:35.
The verse from Matthew states roughly that “Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these,” while the verse from John is “Jesus wept.”
Read the full story below:
Judge quotes Bible and Thomas Jefferson as he orders release of 5-year-old from ICE
Judge Fred Biery lambasts Trump’s ‘ill-conceived and incompetently-implemented’ mass deportation campaignAlex Woodward & Katie Hawkinson31 January 2026 22:45Demonstrators in Milan protest ICE unit at Winter Olympics
Hundreds of people gathered in Milan to protest the presence of ICE agents at the upcoming Winter Olympics.
Read here:
Demonstrators in Milan protest ICE unit at Winter Olympics
Hundreds of demonstrators have gathered in Milan to protest the deployment of ICE agents during the upcoming Winter OlympicsKatie Hawkinson31 January 2026 22:24Democrats predict a surge in donations after anger over ICE raids: ‘They won’t be able to spend all the money in the midterms’
The fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal officers in Minneapolis have reportedly not only outraged key Democratic donors, but also spurred them on to give more, according to a new report.
Keep reading:
Democrats predict a surge in donations after anger over ICE raids
Some Democratic donors reportedly stopped giving after the party’s 2024 electoral losses, but recent events may moved them off the sidelinesGraig Graziosi31 January 2026 22:03Trump instructs federal agents to be 'very forceful' as they protect federal property amid protests
President Donald Trump said he instructed federal agents to be “very forceful” in their protection of federal property as protesters rally in several cities across the U.S. this weekend.
He added that the DHS will stay away from these cities unless local leaders request help.
“I have instructed Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, that under no circumstances are we going to participate in various poorly run Democrat Cities with regard to their Protests and/or Riots unless, and until, they ask us for help,” Trump wrote in a lengthy post on Truth Social.
“We will, however, guard, and very powerfully so, any and all Federal Buildings that are being attacked by these highly paid Lunatics, Agitators, and Insurrectionists. Please be aware that I have instructed ICE and/or Border Patrol to be very forceful in this protection of Federal Government Property,” he added.
People gather around a memorial site for Alex Pretti on Saturday in Minneapolis (AP)Katie Hawkinson31 January 2026 21:45Lawmakers calls for investigation into charges against Don Lemon
Representative Robert Garcia, a Democrat and ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, is calling for an investigation into the charges against Don Lemon, according to a letter obtained by journalist Jim Acosta.
Lemon, a former CNN journalist, pleaded not guilty Friday to federal charges related to his coverage of a protest at a Minnesota church. Independent journalist Georgia Fort was also charged.
“I call upon the Department of Justice’s Office of Inspector General to investigate the DOJ’s decision to charge and arrest Mr. Lemon after a federal magistrate judge already rejected federal prosecutors’ bid to charge him for reporting on a protest inside a church, which was upheld by both the district and circuit courts, as well as the DOJ’s decision to target Ms. Fort for the same,” Garcia wrote.
Katie Hawkinson31 January 2026 21:26Minneapolis protester speaks out against Trump administration
On Saturday, under the banner “March for the Martyrs,” more demonstrators are flooding the streets of Minneapolis.
The fliers for the march urge Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Governor Tim Walz, who have both criticised the Trump administration’s actions, to take firmer action.
“We want this executive overreach out of our state and out of the country. We are calling for protests and nationwide strikes if they keep this kidnapping up,” said a member of 50501 grassroots protest group that is backing Saturday’s demonstration. He asked to remain anonymous.
Like other Minnesotans interviewed by The Independent, he said he believes it is not about immigration, but rather about punishing states and cities that have shown strong anti-Trump protests. Minneapolis was the epicenter of nationwide rallies during Trump’s first term in office, following the 2020 killing of George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man who died after white police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes.
“Our message is that we are not going to back down. We are not going to give in. We are not going to play by your rules if you keep attacking us,” he added, warning that other states where ICE agents were being deployed could face similar crackdowns.
Protesters attend a rally in Minneapolis Saturday (REUTERS)Bel Trew in Minneapolis31 January 2026 21:15Newer1 / 11OlderMore about
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