Trump lit the match. Minneapolis decided to play with gasoline.
President Donald Trump warned Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey on Wednesday after the mayor publicly reiterated that the city “does not, and will not, enforce Federal Immigration Laws.”
“Surprisingly, Mayor Jacob Frey just stated that, ‘Minneapolis does not, and will not, enforce Federal Immigration Laws.’ This is after having had a very good conversation with him,” the president wrote on Truth Social.
“Could somebody in his inner sanctum please explain that this statement is a very serious violation of the Law, and that he is PLAYING WITH FIRE!” Trump warned.
Frey answered on X, framing the dispute as a question of priorities and public trust.
“The job of our police is to keep people safe, not enforce fed immigration laws. I want them preventing homicides, not hunting down a working dad who contributes to MPLS & is from Ecuador. It’s similar to the policy your guy Rudy had in NYC. Everyone should feel safe calling 911,” the mayor wrote, invoking former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
The exchange followed a Tuesday sit-down between Frey and the administration’s border czar, Tom Homan, as federal operations in the city continue to reverberate through local politics.
“Today, Chief O’Hara and I met with Border Czar Homan and had a productive conversation. I reiterated that my main ask is for Operation Metro Surge to end as quickly as possible. Public safety works best when it’s built on community trust, not tactics that create fear or division,” Frey wrote.
“I shared with Mr. Homan the serious negative impacts this operation has had on Minneapolis and surrounding communities, as well as the strain it has placed on our local police officers,” he added.
“I also made it clear that Minneapolis does not and will not enforce federal immigration laws, and that we will remain focused on keeping our neighbors and streets safe. City leaders will continue to stay in conversation with Mr. Homan and his team,” Frey wrote.
It is, in miniature, the country’s larger argument: who enforces the border, who pays the political price, and who gets to say “no” when Washington says “do it.”
