When Federal Agents Become the Enemy Within

In sub-zero Minneapolis weather, Alex Pretti knew the risks. Two weeks earlier, Renee Good had been shot and killed by an ICE agent. Videos circulated showing immigration officers kneeing pinned protesters, pushing civilians into traffic. Being white and English-speaking offered no protection—Good was both. Yet Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, still went out Saturday morning to observe federal operations.

He became the second person killed by immigration agents in Minneapolis within two weeks.

The shooting, captured on multiple videos, shows masked agents surrounding Pretti before shooting him in the back. Despite his concealed carry license, federal officials immediately labeled him a "would-be assassin" and "terrorist." President Trump posted images of Pretti's holstered weapon, calling it evidence of his threatening intent.

But the videos tell a different story—one that contradicts the federal narrative entirely.

The Making of an Occupation

What's happening in Minneapolis represents something unprecedented in modern American immigration enforcement. This isn't traditional ICE operations targeting specific individuals. It's what Atlantic staff writer Adam Serwer describes as a "semi-occupation"—federal agents deployed not just to enforce immigration law, but to break community resistance.

The scale is extraordinary. Tens of thousands participated in Friday's citywide blackout protest—no work, no school, no shopping—marching through temperatures that would empty most streets. Yet people keep showing up, equipped with phones, whistles, and remarkable courage.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey captured the surreal nature of the moment: "I just saw a video of more than six masked agents pummeling one of our constituents and shooting him to death. How many more residents, how many more Americans need to die?"

The question hangs in the frozen air because federal officials show no signs of de-escalation. If anything, they're doubling down.

The Innovation of Intimidation

Vice President J.D. Vance initially claimed ICE agents had "absolute immunity" from prosecution—a statement later walked back but never forgotten by Minneapolis residents. The message was clear: federal agents operate beyond normal legal constraints.

This represents what Serwer calls "authoritarian innovation." Blocked by courts from using military forces against civilians, the administration has weaponized immigration agents instead. They arrive in military-style gear, conduct operations that look more like raids than arrests, and operate with an impunity that would make occupation forces blush.

Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh's recent concurrence essentially legalized racial profiling, arguing it's "common sense" to suspect Spanish speakers at Home Depot of being undocumented. The legal guardrails aren't just bending—they're snapping.

Even off-duty Minnesota police officers have reported being racially profiled by ICE agents, highlighting how enforcement has expanded beyond any recognizable immigration mission.

The Courage to Resist

What makes Minneapolis remarkable isn't just the federal overreach—it's the response. Residents have organized sophisticated networks of observers who follow ICE vehicles until agents abandon their operations. They've created mutual aid systems that continue operating even as members face potential death.

The protesters know the stakes. They know ICE agents are armed and protected by federal immunity. They know that if killed, they'll be posthumously labeled terrorists. They continue anyway.

Pretti's parents called out "Trump's murdering and cowardly ICE thugs" in their statement—grief transformed into defiance. Their son was a "kindhearted man" and "good soul," but they refused to let his death be sanitized or his resistance diminished.

This isn't the Minnesota of cultural stereotypes about being "nice." This is Minnesota discovering what it's willing to fight for.

Beyond Minneapolis

The deployment pattern reveals strategic thinking. Portland, Maine—another city with significant Somali American populations—is experiencing similar operations. The common thread isn't immigration violations; it's community demographics that don't align with the administration's vision of America.

Stephen Miller's statements about preferring white refugees and imposing travel bans on non-white countries make the agenda explicit. This is demographic engineering disguised as law enforcement.

The resistance is spreading too. Other cities are studying Minneapolis tactics, preparing their own observer networks, learning from both successes and tragedies.

What we're witnessing in Minneapolis isn't just about immigration—it's a stress test of American democracy itself. When federal agents can kill citizens with impunity while labeling victims as terrorists, when racial profiling becomes Supreme Court doctrine, when community self-defense is criminalized as obstruction—we're not talking about policy differences anymore.