Police improved community relations after George Floyd. Is ICE a setback?

Booming flash bangs and fireworks rattled the frigid windows of Michelle Gross’ home in North Minneapolis. 

"It sounded like a war zone outside," Gross said about the confrontation between federal agents throwing grenades and protesters lighting firecrackers on Jan. 14, after a man was shot. "I really feel like our federal government is out to get us. I never, ever thought I would say anything like this."

Gross, 68, the longtime leader of the nonprofit Communities United Against Police Brutality, said she had seen some changes with the Minneapolis Police Department and the community, six years after the murder of George Floyd.

But now, she said, that burgeoning goodwill will evaporate unless she sees the police stand up to ICE and other federal authorities.

"I think the Minneapolis Police, a department that is desperately in need of rehabilitating their reputation, could be the heroes if they stand up to the feds," Gross said. "Some people feel they are either letting ICE attack the community by standing by, or they are helping them."

Tensions may only intensify after ICU nurse Alex Pretti of Minneapolis was shot and killed by Border Patrol agents on Jan. 24. The Department of Homeland Security said Pretti, a licensed gun owner, had a handgun and approached Border Patrol agents during a targeted operation. He "violently resisted" when officers tried to disarm him, and an agent shot him in self-defense, the DHS said. Videos of the scene did not show Pretti drawing his gun at any point.

"I think it is horrific. What we have is an assault by the government on our community," Gross said hours after the Jan. 24 shooting. "I am outraged beyond belief."

Reactions also came swiftly from city and state leaders as Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Gov. Tim Walz urged President Donald Trump to end the operation known as "Operation Metro Surge."

"How many more residents, how many more Americans need to die, or get badly hurt for this operation to end?" Frey said at a news conference after watching videos of the shooting. "How many more lives need to be lost before this administration realizes that a political and partisan narrative is not as important as American values?

"How many times must local and national leaders plead with you, Donald Trump, to end this operation and recognize that this is not creating safety in our city?" Frey continued. He said that he's tired of hearing that the local leaders and the community are impeding the federal officers' operation, which he says are false narratives.

"That is what weakens our country. That is what erodes trust in both law enforcement and democracy itself," Frey said.

Trump says mayor and governor are 'inciting insurrection'

In response, Trump asked in a Truth Social post why local police did not protect ICE officers.

"The Mayor and the Governor called them off? It is stated that many of these Police were not allowed to do their job, that ICE had to protect themselves – Not an easy thing to do!" Trump said.

Trump also accused Frey and Walz of inciting violence.

"The Mayor and the Governor are inciting Insurrection, with their pompous, dangerous, and arrogant rhetoric!" Trump said. "Instead, these sanctimonious political fools should be looking for the Billions of Dollars that has been stolen from the people of Minnesota, and the United States of America. LET OUR ICE PATRIOTS DO THEIR JOB!"

A difficult spot for local law enforcement

Confrontations between the public and federal officers across the country have put local police in a difficult spot. If they side with immigration officers, they will alienate area residents, who they need as crime-fighting allies. If they side with local residents, they put themselves at odds with larger, better-armed federal forces.

Courts may eventually resolve some of the power imbalance, but in the meantime, local police have a tightrope to walk.

"I get with local law enforcement that their hands are somewhat tied, and they don’t want to be caught up in this, but at the same time, they don’t want to close the door to at least having effective communication with the federal agents and ICE and CBP agents that are working in their jurisdiction," said Jill Snider, a retired New York Police Department officer and a resident senior fellow at the R Street Institute on public policy. "I have a lot of empathy for local law enforcement right now."

Federal, local officers acting like adversaries

As tensions remain high in Minneapolis, Snider said she's worried about other ICE operations, including Portland, Oregon, where more than 1,100 immigration arrests have been made since January 2025, and two protesters were shot by federal officers in 2026.

Her concerns also extend to the state of Maine, where federal officials said they made more than 100 arrests in the first three days of what they call "Operation Catch of the Day."

In both states, local law enforcement is not cooperating with federal officers. In Maine, a new law limiting police involvement in immigration enforcement took effect months earlier than anticipated after Gov. Janet Mills allowed the measure to become law in December.

"It seems clear that the relationship between local law enforcement and the Justice Department has become adversarial, and these tensions seem like they’ve been intentionally created and enflamed by the federal government," said Stacey Young, a former 18-year employee of the Department of Justice who served as a senior attorney in the Civil Division and later in the Civil Rights Division. "We're likely to see a continued erosion of trust in American communities like Minneapolis and Portland."

Regular citizens likely don't understand the difference between local police and federal officials, painting them both with the same brush, said Snider, who also teaches at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City.

Many federal officers in Minneapolis are also wearing jackets loudly labeled "Police," which could add to the confusion.

Snider worries that if the agencies are operating in silos or at cross purposes, it could cause more harm than good, especially for local police.

"This could lead to fewer people willing to call 911 if they are the victim of a crime, they’re maybe less likely to cooperate if they are a witness to a crime, and police really rely on that type of information from the general public when they are trying to solve crimes," Snider said.  "Now, it seems more and more people are becoming skeptical of any actions that law enforcement is taking." 

Minneapolis still recovering from George Floyd's murder

Minnesota state Sen. Aisha Gomez, a Democrat whose district includes the south Minneapolis neighborhoods where Pretti and Renee Nicole Good were fatally shot by federal officers, said the Minneapolis police department has made progress to improve relations with the community.

But that progress is fragile, she said, and she is concerned by the local police's behavior during and immediately after Pretti's shooting.

"I’m frustrated when I see the police with their backs toward ICE and their faces pointed toward the community," said Gomez tearfully on Jan. 25. "Just that posture. It could be seen as a misinterpretation of betrayal. It’s a misinterpretation of where the real danger to our community is coming from. 

"The real danger for us is behind the police," said Gomez, referring to federal authorities.

Frey told CNN on Jan. 22 that his city worked well for years with federal agencies, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Attorney’s Office ‒ and they successfully drove down violent crime together. Frey cited a partnership that has worked especially well in North Minneapolis, where shootings are now at a record low.

"If this [situation with immigration officers] were about safety, there would be a whole lot of opportunity to partner up and do it. But this is not about safety, it’s not even about immigration," Frey said. "What we are seeing right now, this is about political retribution, and it’s about causing chaos on our streets. No, it’s not helpful."

Minnesota state House Republican floor leader Harry Niska, of suburban Ramsey, in a Jan. 15 statement accused state Democratic leaders of using  "extreme and reckless rhetoric," and said the unnecessary tension between local and federal officials could be easily defused.

"Here in Minnesota, the solution is straightforward," Niska said. "Defying federal law and demonizing federal law enforcement is not working and is only making the situation worse."

Either way, local police are in the middle, trying to strike "a delicate balance," said Michael Burbank, a vice president of law enforcement initiatives at the Center for Policing Equity.

"More communication, compassion, and transparency are needed to make people understand what’s happening for everybody's sake," Burbank said. "And perhaps less rhetoric, from both sides." 

Since former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was accused and later convicted of killing George Floyd, the department has been under a microscope, he noted.

The police departments of Minneapolis and neighboring St. Paul have 1,400 officers combined; there are reportedly 3,000 immigration officers in the region at the moment.

Minnesota state Senate President Bobby Joe Champion, whose North Minneapolis district was the site of the second federal agent shooting on Jan. 14, recalled a resident asking him whether they could get through this unprecedented crisis.

"I told them I think we will get through this, but the question is what sort of shape will we be in when we get to the other side?" Champion said, as he was out in his district in freezing temperatures, trying to calm residents down. "And I’m not just talking about what's happening in Minneapolis and Minnesota, I’m talking about the entire nation."

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara told CNN on Jan. 22 that he's seen several videos of federal officers using force with residents in ways that "do not align at all with Minneapolis Police policy or, in general, law enforcement training in the state of Minnesota."

O'Hara said those actions have an impact on all law enforcement, including the Minneapolis Police and its relationship with the community.

"The cops in this town have worked very hard over the last five years to try and rebuild the trust that was completely lost in 2020," he said. "Those officers lived for years through a time where, you know, they couldn't even go to local businesses and feel welcome.

"They felt ostracized wherever they went in this city," O'Hara continued. "They worked very, very hard to change the relationship with the community, and the concern is that what is happening here today is jeopardizing their hard work."