Pentagon orders 1,500 soldiers to prepare for possible Minnesota deployment as immigration crackdown sparks protests and political standoff.
WASHINGTON: The Pentagon has ordered 1,500 US soldiers to prepare for a possible deployment to Minnesota, a state experiencing unrest over an immigration crackdown.
The reported preparations follow President Donald Trump’s threat to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits military use to suppress domestic violence.
The troop alert was first reported by ABC News, citing two unnamed defence officials.
The officials said 1,500 active-duty Army paratroopers based in Alaska are on standby, pending a final presidential decision.
The Pentagon and White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Sunday.
The Insurrection Act was last invoked over 30 years ago, and a federal military deployment would escalate a standoff with Minnesota’s local authorities.
Protests have erupted in Minneapolis, with crowds clashing with immigration officers since a US woman was fatally shot by a federal agent on 7 January.
On Saturday, Minnesota mobilised its national guard to support local law enforcement at Governor Tim Walz’s direction.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey described the 3,000 federal agents conducting the crackdown as an “occupying force that has quite literally invaded our city.”
He told CBS that federal agents outnumber the city’s 600 police officers by five to one.
Frey also expressed concern about reports of 1,500 federal troops preparing to join the operation.
“This is not about safety. What this is about is coming into our city by the thousands and terrorizing people simply because they’re Latino or Somali,” he said.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said the crackdown would continue until all “dangerous people” are apprehended and deported.
In June and July, the Pentagon deployed about 700 US Marines to Los Angeles during protests over immigration enforcement.
Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act then but ultimately did not, with soldiers only guarding federal properties.