Published January 13, 2026
Minnesota is in a state of tension as demonstrations against U.S. immigration authorities continue daily.
Federal authorities have used tear gas to disperse whistleblower activists, and state and local leaders filed a lawsuit Monday challenging the police crackdown that led to the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman last week.
Clashes between federal agents and protesters continued throughout Monday and spanned multiple cities. In Minneapolis, authorities fired tear gas as a crowd gathered around an immigration officer interrogating a man, while in the northwestern city of St. Cloud, hundreds of people protested outside a Somali-owned business after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrived.
Later that night, clashes broke out in the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul between demonstrators and police guarding federal buildings used as bases for the crackdown.
The state, joined by the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, has sued the Trump administration to stop or limit the surge, as the Department of Homeland Security pledges to send more than 2,000 immigration agents to Minnesota in what ICE calls the largest enforcement operation in history.
The complaint alleges that the Department of Homeland Security is violating the First Amendment and other constitutional protections. The group accuses President Donald Trump’s Republican administration of violating free speech rights by targeting progressive states that support Democrats and welcome immigrants.
The Department of Homeland Security said it has made more than 2,000 arrests in the state since December.
Since Renee Nicole Good was shot in the head by an ICE agent while behind the wheel of an SUV on Wednesday, dozens of protests and vigils have been held across the United States to honor the 37-year-old mother of three and sharply criticize the Trump administration’s tactics.
Following Monday’s lawsuit, Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin accused Minnesota officials of disregarding public safety.
The Trump administration has repeatedly defended the immigration officer who shot and killed Good, claiming she and her car posed a threat. But that account has been widely rejected by Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who cited video of the crash.
