On the evening of Wednesday, Jan. 28, CNN anchors Anderson Cooper and Sara Sidner moderated a “State of Emergency” town hall at a Minneapolis community center.
They were joined by Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, Police Chief Brian O’Hara, Attorney General Keith Ellison and Republican lawmakers in conjunction with Minnesotans across the political spectrum to address Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) presence in the city. Also in attendance were community leaders, educators and students who brought questions, fears and testimonies to press attention.
The town hall took place after two Minnesotans, 38- year-old VA nurse Alexi Pretti, and 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good, were killed by ICE agents last month. Many more have been injured, detained and deported.
“Operation Metro Surge,” as termed by President Trump, began in Minnesota in December 2025. Since then, at least 3,000 people have been arrested by ICE agents.
CNN’s town hall addressed inquiries about ICE’s patrolling tactics in communities, the culpability of local law enforcement and the views held among Republican leaders.
A central point of discussion rested on the fine line between local police’s responsibility to defend protestors and the use of crowd-control mechanisms against them.
Quin Mudry Nelson, a PhD student at the University of Minnesota, asked Police Chief Brian O’Hara about the Minnesota Police Department’s (MPD) use of tactics that mirror that of ICE’s, like tear gas and flash bang grenades. O’Hara, who criticized ICE’s tactics, said that some of the public gatherings were unlawful and invoked safety concerns, making it incumbent on officers to disperse them. Clashes that entailed arson and property damage in particular, O’ Hara expressed, warranted police intervention.
Dozens, he said, have been injured in the throes of confrontation between ICE and protestors, yet receive backlash for trying to de-escalate these situations.
“I know everyone sees things through one political perspective or another,” he said, but stated the responsibility of the Minneapolis Police Department to be one of neutral principle: keeping the streets safe.
Republican legislators State Reps. Elliot Engen and Nolan West, as well as Sen. Michael Holmstrong also weighed in. While they criticized Minnesotan Democrats, the three did diverge from Trump’s positions on the scale of immigration enforcement and the justifiability of certain tactics being used by ICE — representing varying grades in perspective.
Rep. Engen, the most outspoken of the group, repeatedly accused Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Mayor Frey and St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her of obstructing federal immigration enforcement.
In a letter sent to Gov. Walz on Saturday, Jan. 24, United States Attorney Gen. Pam Bondi demanded leaders to take three actions for the federal government to reduce ICE’s presence in the state. Among these was an injunction to repeal sanctuary statuses in Minnesota’s cities.
A sanctuary status can apply to cities, counties or entire states, and as explained by Frey, commit local law enforcement to abstaining from cooperation with ICE. Instead, he explored the possibility of pursuing a 287G agreement, an ordinance that allows local law enforcement to assume the role of DHS. According to Police Chief Brian O’Hara, this could rebuild trust and transparency through a community-first approach to civil immigration.
Gov. Walz, on multiple occasions, expressed his will to retain sanctuary city protections and protect the independence of Minnesota’s leadership and justice system, saying that it would have the last word.
Engen, however, turned the blame upon Democrats, alleging that “there was a roadmap for none of this to occur.”
He believed that the refusal to hand over the 1,600 people cited for deportation to the federal government was a catalyst for unrest and the increasingly repressive tactics being used by ICE on the streets. Engen, however, voiced his objection to the racial profiling used by ICE.
State Sen. Michael Holmstrong expressed his disagreement with President Trump’s comment that Pretti shouldn’t have been carrying a gun. A permit holder himself, Holmstrong advocated for Second Amendment rights but said that he believes gun-owners should exercise caution about the environment they choose to carry in.
“I’m not saying you can’t, I’m saying that you have a responsibility to exercise that right and all of your rights,” he said.
However, conflicting accounts of the events leading up to Pretti’s death emerge in the light of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) account of the shooting and the video footage provided by eyewitnesses. In the minutes before the fatal shots, Pretti is not holding a gun, but appears to be recording agents with his phone.
Frey emphasized the politically retributive nature of ICE’s operation, referring to the intentional pain inflicted on communities.
“This isn’t about safety,” Frey said.
As the session wrapped up, attention turned from the uncertainties of the immigration operation’s duration to what is ever present: the strongholds of faith and community.
CNN invited Rabbi Arielle Lekach Rosenberg of Shir Tikvah Congregation, Rev. Cassidy of St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church and United Methodist Pastor Elizabeth McCauley to share how Minnesotans are navigating loss amid ICE raids.
All three advocated for drawing upon faith and the God-given responsibility of resisting evil and justice, to energize spirits. In the view of Lekach-Rosenberg, conversations that probe into grief and anguish can promote healing in the collective. As Cassidy noted, they, as religious leaders, are there to journey with people in that process.
Mayor Jacob Frey, in accord with the interfaith panel’s reflections on resilience, expressed pride in his city.
“Minneapolis is a shining example of a city standing up for America,” he said.
Delivering groceries, escorting vulnerable community members to work and playing the citizen journalist role comprise those everyday acts of resistance.
