The Pentagon has instructed roughly 1,500 active-duty personnel to get ready for a potential deployment to Minnesota, where significant protests against the government’s deportation strategies have been happening, as reported on Sunday.
According to the Washington Post, referencing an unnamed defense official, the military asked certain units to prepare for possible deployment if violence escalates in the northern states, though it’s still uncertain whether any soldiers will actually be sent.
The White House commented that the Pentagon generally “prepares for every decision the president may or may not make.”
The Pentagon and White House haven’t responded to inquiries from Reuters.
On Thursday, President Trump hinted at using the Insurrection Act to mobilize the military if state officials fail to halt protesters who are confronting immigration agents amid an increase in Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel.
Military Threat Amid Rise in Immigration Agents
“I will enact the Insurrection Act if it will stop the corrupt politicians in Minnesota from attacking the patriots in ICE who don’t abide by the law and are just trying to do their job,” Trump stated on his Truth social platform.
The troops are from two U.S. Army infantry battalions that focus on cold-weather operations and belong to the Alaska-based 11th Airborne Division, as reported by the Washington Post and ABC News.
Frictions have been mounting between locals and federal agents after ICE agents fatally shot Renee Good, an American citizen and a mother of three, during an incident in Minneapolis on January 7.
Trump has dispatched around 3,000 federal agents from ICE and Border Patrol to Minneapolis and nearby St. Paul recently as part of broader actions, mainly in cities led by Democratic officials.
He argued that deploying troops to cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Memphis, and Portland is crucial for tackling crime and safeguarding federal facilities and staff from protests.
However, he announced intentions to withdraw the National Guard from Chicago, Los Angeles, and Portland this month due to various legal issues.
Local authorities have accused the president of federal overreach, claiming he is exaggerating isolated incidents of violence to rationalize the troop deployment.
Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota, whose Justice Department has initiated a criminal investigation, has activated the National Guard to support local law enforcement and emergency response efforts, according to a statement from the state Department of Public Safety on Saturday.
Trump has frequently referenced a scandal involving the misappropriation of federal funds intended for social welfare programs in Minnesota as a justification for deploying immigration agents.
The president and his administration have notably pointed to the Somali immigrant communities in the state.
The Insurrection Act is a federal statute that allows the president to deploy troops within the United States and organize the National Guard to quell domestic uprisings.
