Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey made national headlines when he used an expletive to demand Immigration and Customs Enforcement leave the city after an ICE agent fatally shot a resident.
But he didn’t utter new statements saying he wants city police to “fight ICE.” Some social media posts mischaracterized comments Frey made during a Jan. 14 press conference.
In an X post that clipped 55 seconds of a 15-minute press conferenceconservative influencer Mario Nawfal focused on six of Frey’s words.
“‘Fight ICE agents on the street’ is an insane thing to say out loud as a mayor,” Nawfal’s Jan. 15 post said before referencing Police Chief Brian O’Hara, who stood near Frey as he spoke.
“Watch the chief,” Nawfal’s post said. “You can literally see him dissociate in real time. The 1000 yard stare of someone calculating his pension and whether it’s worth it.”
Earlier that same day, President Donald Trump had threatened to use the Insurrection Act in the wake of protests, lawsuits and statements by Frey and other Minnesota politicians challenging ICE’s tactics.
Frey and O’Hara addressed the media Jan. 14 to share details about an ICE-involved shooting in north Minneapolis that evening, a week after another ICE agent fatally shot Renee Good.
But Frey’s full comments make it clear he was not calling for police to fight ICE. He was describing Minneapolis residents’ pleas for local officials to rebuff ICE and explaining why such a “fight” is not possible. Frey called for deescalation of violence and peace amid anti-ICE protests.
Here’s what he said. (The sentences in bold were among those social media posts referenced as well as moments when he called for peace.):
“What I can tell you for certain is that this is not sustainable. This is an impossible situation that our city is presently being put in and at the same time, we are trying to find a way forward, to keep people safe, to protect our neighbors, to maintain order. And we’re in a position right now where we have residents that are asking the very limited number of police officers that we have, to fight ICE agents on the street, to stand by their neighbors. We cannot be at a place right now in America where we have two governmental entities that are literally fighting one another.
“We cannot be at a place right now in America where we have two governmental entities that are literally fighting one another. Why are we put in this position? We’re put in this position because we have approximately 600 police officers in Minneapolis, far fewer that are able to work at any given time. And there are approximately 3,000 ICE agents in the area. Three thousand. The 600 police officers that we have are charged on any given day with investigating crime, stopping homicides from taking place, preventing carjackings. That’s the work of a police officer in a city. Meanwhile, we have ICE agents throughout our city and throughout our state who along with border control are creating chaos. This is not the path that we should be on right now in America.
“Thankfully there’s another path, and I want to talk to everybody who’s out there, even people who aren’t living in Minneapolis right now. Maybe you just put your kids to bed, maybe you’re cleaning up the dishes. I’m sure you love your family, there’s no doubt in my mind that you love your town. Imagine if that city or that town was suddenly invaded by thousands of federal agents that do not share the values that you hold dear. Imagine if your daily routines were disrupted. The local cafe that you eat at was shut down because they’re scared that their own family might get torn apart. Imagine if schools shut down and suddenly parents got to figure out what to do for daycare. This is not creating safety. It’s certainly not creating safety when a huge percentage of the shootings that have taken place so far this year in Minneapolis have been by ICE. So let’s be very clear. I have seen conduct from ICE that is disgusting and is intolerable. If it were your city, it would be unacceptable there too. And for anyone that is taking the bait tonight, stop, that is not helpful. Go home, we cannot counter Donald Trump’s chaos with our own brand of chaos.”
He also said he applauded peaceful protests, but said protesters who do not remain peaceful are “not helping the undocumented immigrants in our city.”
Minnesota has an estimated 130,000 unauthorized immigrants, according to 2023 data analyzed by the Pew Research Center; about 2% of the state population.
Frey has not called the Minneapolis police to fight ICE in any of his other recent public statements. Frey’s spokesperson Ally Peters told PolitiFact that Frey has consistently called for peace.
Minnesota, Minneapolis and St. Paul filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration Jan. 12, calling the surge of federal law enforcement into the state “unlawful violent conduct” and “excessive force.”
The lawsuit seeks a court order to halt the immigration crackdown. So far no temporary measures have been ordered, and the lawsuit is pending.
PolitiFact Senior Correspondent Amy Sherman contributed to this report.
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