Can Hasasu and Seda Sevencan
January 28, 2026•Update: January 28, 2026
MINNEAPOLIS, US / ISTANBUL
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations continue in Minneapolis despite growing public backlash and unresolved questions over the status of a senior commander following recent protests in Minnesota.
The controversy centers on Gregory Bovino, a special operations commander appointed to lead ICE under an expanded mandate from US President Donald Trump. Claims circulating in recent days suggested Bovino had been removed from his post following the deaths of two protesters during demonstrations over ICE operations, which have been ongoing for the past 17 days. The administration has denied those claims, but the issue has remained a focus of public debate.
ICE officers were seen conducting enforcement actions in several Minneapolis neighborhoods with large Latino populations, according to an Anadolu reporter who observed the operations.
Tensions escalated near Frost Lake Elementary School in the Saint Paul area during afternoon dismissal, when ICE officers in unmarked vehicles were spotted nearby. Residents and volunteer activists gathered to protest, alleging the agency was targeting parents picking up their children.
Protesters and ICE officers later engaged in a prolonged standoff that included vehicle pursuits through residential streets for about an hour. ICE officers subsequently diverted protesters’ attention and detained two individuals elsewhere in the neighborhood.
As criticism of ICE operations intensifies in Minnesota, Trump has dispatched Tom Homan, a longtime immigration enforcement official, to the state. Homan was appointed in January 2025 as the Department of Homeland Security’s “border czar” and previously served as acting ICE director during Trump’s first term.
