Tensions rise in Minnesota as troops stand by amid immigration crackdown

(MENAFN) Tensions rise in Minnesota as the federal government prepares for a possible deployment of 1,500 troops in response to ongoing protests against Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

Officials say the operations target the "worst of the worst," but critics warn that migrants without criminal records and even US citizens are being affected.

"It could be anybody," says Sunshine, a local resident, as she navigates her neighborhood in St. Paul. Snow and ice swirl across the streets of the Twin Cities, which include Minneapolis.

Sunshine uses a pseudonym for safety concerns, worried about potential repercussions for her actions.

"I have decided for my own safety to give them more space," she explains, referring to unmarked vehicles driven by immigration agents she tracks and films in an effort to hold them accountable.

Residents in loosely organized groups patrol their streets daily, attempting to observe and record the actions of immigration officers. "I, we, have the legal right to drive on the streets of our own city and we have the legal rights to observe [the ICE agents], but they seem to have forgotten that," Sunshine adds.

The situation in Minneapolis has become a standoff between a Republican president testing the limits of federal authority and local Democratic officials resisting what they view as overreach. Recent weeks have seen protests intensify outside federal buildings, even as freezing temperatures grip the city.

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