In a concerning development, President Donald Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act in response to ongoing protests against federal immigration agents in Minneapolis. The act, which allows the President to use the military domestically to suppress an invasion or rebellion, has raised alarm bells among civil liberties advocates.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has urged Trump to “turn the temperature down,” but the White House has stated that Walz and the President have not spoken today. During a meeting with Trump, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer warned that ICE raids “are dangerous and putting more people at risk.”
Federal agents have deployed tear gas to disperse dozens of protesters outside a federal building in Minneapolis that houses Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino has confirmed that “recent arrests” were made outside the building.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, claiming that it has used federal law enforcement to target Somali and Latino communities in Minnesota. The ACLU is suing on behalf of three US citizens from the state, all of whom were arrested or accosted by federal immigration officers.
In other news, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado met with Trump at the White House and a bipartisan group of senators on Capitol Hill. After the meetings, she claimed to have presented Trump with her Nobel Peace Prize medal.
An appeals court has also dismissed Mahmoud Khalil’s lawsuit challenging his initial detention, opening the path for his re-arrest. Khalil, a green card holder and Columbia graduate, was released from an immigration detention facility last year after being arrested for his role in pro-Palestinian protests against Israel’s war in Gaza.
At a press conference, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that “the president was simply joking” when Trump said “when you think of it, we shouldn’t even have an election” during an interview with Reuters yesterday.
Furthermore, Trump has selected the members of an international “Board of Peace” designed to temporarily govern Gaza as part of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. Reuters reports that the names are expected to be announced at Davos next week.
Lastly, the Justice Department is undertaking an unprecedented effort to collect sensitive voter information about tens of millions of Americans. The department has asked at least 43 states for their comprehensive information on voters, including the last four digits of their social security numbers, full dates of birth, and addresses, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
