When Federal Force Meets Local Resistance in Minneapolis

On Saturday, Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old US citizen, was shot and killed at close range by a Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis. Pretti was a registered nurse and legal gun owner who had been pepper-sprayed, beaten, and forced to his knees before the fatal shooting.

This marks the third shooting by immigration agents in the Minneapolis area this year, and the second fatality. It comes just three weeks into what Trump officials have heralded as the "largest immigration operation ever."

But the shootings, while grabbing headlines, represent only the tip of an iceberg that reveals something far more troubling: the systematic breakdown of constitutional protections when federal power operates without local consent.

From Law Enforcement to Occupying Force

The tone was set on January 7, when ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed Renee Good as she attempted to drive away. Despite video evidence suggesting otherwise, the White House and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem immediately backed Ross, labeling Good a "domestic terrorist" and calling the shooting justified.

The message was clear: federal agents would have full support for aggressive tactics. Since then, ICE and CBP agents have operated more like an occupying force than law enforcement, using masks to hide their identities while deploying tactical gear, riot control agents, and assault weapons.

The federal-local divide has become so stark that a Minneapolis-area police chief reported his own off-duty officers being harassed and racially profiled by immigration agents. Federal agents have even weaponized Good's death as a threat, telling one woman documenting their actions, "Have y'all not learned?" before seizing her phone.

Citizens Aren't Safe Either

The pattern of abuse extends far beyond undocumented immigrants. Two Target employees, both US citizens according to a Minnesota state representative, were violently detained and later released, with one left injured in a parking lot.

A US citizen driving to a doctor's appointment was dragged from her car after agents broke her windows, carrying her face-down by her arms and legs. Another detained man was pepper-sprayed in the face at close range while already in custody.

Perhaps most shocking was the treatment of a family of eight returning from a basketball game. Federal agents tear-gassed the entire family inside their vehicle, including a 6-month-old baby who required CPR and five other children.

Constitutional Protections Under Siege

The case of ChongLy "Scott" Thao illustrates how far constitutional protections have eroded. This US citizen was arrested at gunpoint in his home without a warrant and taken away in sub-freezing temperatures wearing only underwear, sandals, and a blanket. Hours later, he was released without apology or compensation for damage to his home.

According to an internal memo obtained by the Associated Press, ICE has decided it can enter homes with only administrative warrants—documents that don't require judicial approval and can be issued by ICE agents themselves. This represents a fundamental violation of Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.

Even children haven't been spared. Agents attempted to use a 5-year-old as "bait" to detain others by having him knock on his home's door after taking his father into custody. A 2-year-old and her father were detained Thursday and temporarily removed to Texas.

The Silence of Federal Power

"How many more residents, how many more Americans need to die or get badly hurt for this operation to end?" Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey asked Saturday. His question echoes across a city where local officials have pleaded with federal agents to leave their state.

But for the Trump administration, these deaths don't appear to be much of a problem at all. If anything, they seem to view the escalating violence as proof of their commitment to enforcement.

The Minneapolis operation represents something unprecedented in recent American history: federal agents operating with apparent impunity against the wishes of local government, targeting citizens and non-citizens alike with militarized force.