By Jacki Thrapp
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said he has mobilized his state’s National Guard on Jan. 17 and will have soldiers wear bright yellow reflective vests over their uniforms so protesters can “distinguish them from other agencies,” such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“These Soldiers are staged, and vehicles and personnel are ready to respond at locations across the metro.,” Army Maj. Andrea Tsuchiya, state public affairs officer for the Minnesota National Guard, confirmed to The Epoch Times in an email on Jan. 18.
Tsuchiya would not confirm how many service members were activated “due to safety concerns.”
Activated members of the state’s National Guard won’t be filling city streets just yet.
“They are not deployed to city streets at this time, but are ready to help support public safety, including protection of life, preservation of property and supporting the rights of all who assemble peacefully,” the Minnesota Department of Public Safety wrote in an X post on Jan. 17.
The local response comes as the Pentagon has ordered around 1,500 active-duty soldiers in Alaska to prepare for a possible deployment to Minnesota, according to Reuters.
The Pentagon would not confirm the report to The Epoch Times on Jan. 18 but shared that it was always ready to follow the president’s orders.
“The Department of War is always prepared to execute the orders of the Commander-in-Chief if called upon,” Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell wrote in a statement to the Epoch Times on Jan. 18.
Efforts to impede immigration agents’ work started in the Twin Cities in December 2025.
Demonstrators were honking horns, blowing whistles, and yelling at ICE agents as the agents attempted to arrest illegal immigrants. City officials including Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey used profanity to urge ICE to leave the state.
Tensions in the area escalated on Jan. 7 when an ICE officer fatally shot a protester, Renee Good, in her SUV, which hit him at the same time, as she tried to flee after being asked to exit her vehicle during an ICE operation.
The shooting triggered near-daily demonstrations on the street and outside of hotels where protesters suspected ICE agents were staying.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responded by sending 200 additional officers to Minneapolis.
“70% of those arrested by ICE are convicted criminals or have criminal charges,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem wrote in an X post on Jan. 18.
“This includes murderers, pedophiles, gangbangers, terrorists, war criminals, drug traffickers, rapists, and other thugs.”
More than 2,200 agents are in the area for ICE’s Operation Metro Surge, which began on Nov. 29, 2025, in the Twin Cities and was later expanded to include all of Minnesota, resulting in over 2,500 arrests so far.
