Greg Bovino is leaving Minneapolis. What does this mean?
Greg Bovino is leaving Minneapolis. USA TODAY’s Trevor Hughes explains what this means for the Trump administration’s immigration strategy.
WASHINGTON – ICE officers in Minnesota were told on Jan. 28 to avoid engaging with “inciters” when carrying out President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement orders, according to internal guidelines reviewed by Reuters.
The new guidance provides the most detailed outlook yet on how operations will change in the wake of two fatal shootings of American citizens protesting in Minneapolis, and also orders U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to target only immigrants with criminal charges or convictions.
This would mark a departure from the large-scale sweeps that have sparked backlash and legal challenges in Minneapolis and other U.S. cities.
“Please do not communicate or engage with instigators,” said an email disseminated by ICE officials. “It has no purpose other than to inflame the situation. No one is trying to convince the other. The only communication should be for the officer to issue orders.”
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, did not respond to requests for comment.
The change in strategy comes after President Trump said this week he would seek to “de-escalate” tensions in the city after federal immigration agents killed two Americans in Minneapolis and St. Paul this month. In both incidents, Trump officials were quick to portray the dead as the aggressor, a claim that was refuted by video evidence.
President Trump has ordered Border Patrol Secretary Tom Homan to take over operations in Minnesota, but a senior official told Reuters he aims to move to a more “targeted” enforcement approach. Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino, who led conflict clearance efforts in cities such as Los Angeles and Chicago, has been demoted and will soon retire, Reuters reported.
Under the new guidelines outlined in the email, ICE officers will receive megaphones, be able to issue instructions to the public, and “must verbally explain every step of the arrest process.”
The guidelines do not say what actions trigger an order or what officers should do if they fail to comply with an order.
‘Targeted’ arrests, Border Force moved into support role
The latest guidance was provided by Marcos Charles, ICE’s head of enforcement and removal operations, according to an email. Officials said they can only target immigrant criminals with past criminal records.
“We are moving to a targeted crackdown on foreign nationals with criminal records,” it says. “This includes arrests as well as convictions. All targets must have a link to the crime.”
Under former President Joe Biden, ICE officers were required to focus their enforcement efforts on serious criminals, but the Trump administration reversed that policy and allowed officers to arrest non-criminals without restrictions.
ICE officers can check license plates for potential targets and must make arrests if the vehicle’s registered owner is an immigrant with a criminal record, the guidelines say.
ICE said it would carry out the operation in Minnesota in support of the Border Patrol, a reversal after months of Bovino-led street clashes.
The guidance says ICE is getting more cooperation from state and local officials in Minnesota, which could increase the agency’s chances of picking up immigrants released on parole or probation.
Christina Cook reports in San Francisco and Ted Hesson in Washington. Editing: Paul Thomas and Edmund Claman
