DHS Secretary Noem says federal order limiting use of force 'didn't change anything' for agents

Star Tribune staff, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Jan 18, 2026

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U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Sunday that a judge’s order limiting the force federal law enforcement officers can use against demonstrators and observers “didn’t change anything” for how agents operate during ongoing immigration enforcement in the Twin Cities.

The Jan. 16 injunction blocks agents from arresting, detaining, retaliating against or using force and chemical irritants against peaceful protesters and observers.

“That federal order was a little ridiculous because that federal judge came down and told us we couldn’t do what we already aren’t doing,” Noem said on CBS Face the Nation.

But videos of federal agents employing aggressive tactics against bystanders and observers in Minnesota have proliferated this month as thousands of agents fan out across the state. Confrontations between federal agents and onlookers have escalated since ICE officer Jonathan Ross shot and killed Minneapolis resident Renee Good on Jan. 7.

About 1,500 active-duty Army paratroopers have been put on alert for a possible deployment to Minnesota, ABC News reported late Saturday, Jan. 17.

No final decision has been made by President Donald Trump, the network reported. The move, though, prepares the option.

The development comes as tensions remain high in the state over the federal crackdown on immigration. On Saturday, anti-Islam influencer and Jan. 6 rioter Jake Lang and his small cadre of allies were chased out of downtown Minneapolis by throngs of counterprotesters.

Protests against federal authorities have also remained charged at the Whipple Federal Building in Fort Snelling with federal agents continuing to rush the crowd and use chemical irritants this weekend.

The Department of Homeland Security has called the deportation operation in Minnesota its largest in history. The agency says it has arrested more than 2,500 people since Operation Metro Surge began Dec. 1 but has not released the names of all those detained.

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