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 nonprofitCommunities United Against Police Brutality, said she was just starting to feel better about the Minneapolis Police Department,six years after the murder of George Floyd.
But now, she said, that trust will evaporate unless she sees the police stand up to ICE and other federal authorities.
Federal agents continue surge of immigration enforcement in Minnesota
"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."
Confrontations between the public and federal agents across the country have put local police in a difficult spot. If they side with immigration agents, 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," saidJill Snider, a retired New York Police Department detective and criminal justice director for the R Street Institute on pubic policy. "I have a lot of empathy for local law enforcement right now."
Federal, local officers acting like adversaries
As tensions remain 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, andtwo protesters were shot by federal agentsearlier this month.
Her concerns also extend to the state of Maine, where federal officials said they havemade more than 100 arrestsin the first three days of what they call "Operation Catch of the Day."
In both of those states, local law enforcement are not cooperating with federal officers. Maine'snew lawprohibiting its law enforcement from investigating, detaining, arresting, or searching a person solely for immigration enforcement purposes is in effect months earlier than initially scheduled.
"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 theJohn Jay College of Criminal Justicein New York City.
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
The Minneapolis police department has tried since the shooting of George Floyd in 2020 to improve their relationship with residents.
"There's been some good progress made between the (Minneapolis) police and the community," saidMinnesota State Sen. Aisha Gomez, a Democrat whose district includes the south Minneapolis neighborhood where an ICE agentfatally shot Renee Nicole Goodon Jan. 7. "But, all it will take is another really bad episode to challenge the work that has been done."
MinneapolisMayor Jacob FreytoldCNN on Jan. 22that his city has worked for years with federal agencies, including the ATF, FBI, DEA and the U.S. Attorney's office, to drive down violent crime. 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 agents) 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."
The F-bomb heard across America:Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey tries to break ICE
Minnesota State House Republican Floor LeaderHarry 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," saidMichael 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 of 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 agents in the region at the moment.
MinnesotaState 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 north Minneapolis 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 toldCNN on Jan. 22that he's seen several videos of federal agents 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."
The chief 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," O'Hara 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."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Will ICE affect police-community relations in Minneapolis?
