The Federal Bureau of Investigation has issued a nationwide call for agents to volunteer for temporary assignments in Minneapolis, as the city grapples with escalating unrest following the fatal shooting of a mother by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.
Federal Surge and Escalating Tensions
According to sources familiar with the situation who spoke to Bloomberg News, the FBI has sent messages to its field offices across the United States seeking personnel to transfer temporarily to the Minnesota city. The request comes amid a significant federal law enforcement surge ordered by the Trump administration, which has seen several thousand additional ICE and Customs and Border Protection agents deployed to Minneapolis in recent weeks.
The flashpoint for the current crisis was the death of Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, who was shot dead in her car by an ICE agent on 7 January 2026. While the FBI's request for agent volunteers did not explicitly mention the ongoing anti-ICE protests, the move is widely seen as a response to the growing demonstrations and civil disobedience that have followed Good's killing. The specific duties for the additional FBI agents remain unclear, and the Bureau declined to comment when approached by The Independent.
Threat of Military Deployment and Political Backlash
The situation threatens to escalate further, with reports indicating that roughly 1,500 active-duty soldiers are preparing for potential deployment to the state. This preparation follows threats from former President Donald Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act, a move that would allow for the use of U.S. military force against civilians on American soil.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has voiced fierce opposition to the federal government's actions. "I never thought in a million years that we would be invaded by our own federal government," Frey stated in a CNN interview on Sunday, 18 January. He criticised the presence of approximately 3,000 ICE and Border Patrol agents and the potential military deployment as "ridiculous," asserting that the people of Minneapolis "are not going to be intimidated."
Broader Immigration Crackdown and Conflicting Narratives
The heightened activity in Minneapolis is part of a broader immigration enforcement campaign targeting Minnesota since the start of the year. The administration has focused on an alleged fraud ring involving daycare centres operated by Somali-Americans. The Twin Cities area is home to about 80,000 people of Somali ancestry, most of whom are legal residents or U.S. citizens. The Department of Homeland Security claims its officers have made more than 2,500 arrests in the region in recent weeks.
Narratives surrounding the initial shooting and the federal response remain deeply divided. Trump and his officials have defended the ICE officer involved in Good's death, claiming his life was at risk. Conversely, Democratic officials and law enforcement analysts have challenged the federal account of events.
Trump addressed the conflict in a post on Truth Social on Sunday, framing the ICE operations as removing "violent criminals" and criticising Minnesota officials for resisting. He also labelled protesters as "highly paid professional agitators and anarchists." Meanwhile, Mayor Frey argues that safety for the community will not be achieved through an influx of more federal agents or military personnel, setting the stage for a continued constitutional and political standoff.
