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Minneapolis live updates: ICE arrest powers expanded, memo says

The memo was dated Jan. 28 and signed by by Acting Director Todd Lyons.

Last Updated: January 31, 2026, 5:23 PM EST

A 37-year-old man was shot and killed Saturday morning in Minneapolis -- the second shooting of a U.S. citizen this month by federal agents in the city.

The shooting of Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse, ratcheted up tensions, as protesters clashed in the streets with law enforcement in the aftermath of the shooting.

The incident followed the fatal shooting of Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother, on Jan. 7.

Jan 31, 2026, 1:44 PM EST

ICE expands administrative arrest powers, memo says

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) expanded their agents ability to make arrests when they don't have a warrant, according to a memo reviewed by ABC News.

"It is without a doubt that ICE immigration officers will encounter additional aliens present in violation of the immigration laws or otherwise removable during at-large operations," the Jan. 28 memo, signed by Acting Director Todd Lyons, said.

Department of Homeland Security police officers block the entrance of the Bishop Whipple Federal Building while protesters oppose ICE detentions almost week after Alex Pretti was killed by ICE agents in Minneapolis, January 30, 2026.
Octavio Jones/AFP via Getty Images

"In that case, immigration officers must immediately determine whether an administrative warrant can be timely obtained. If an authorized supervisory immigration officer is present or otherwise accessible, he or she may immediately issue Form I-200 if probable cause of removability is established," he added.

"If no supervisor is available to issue an administrative warrant, or a supervisor cannot timely issue an administrative warrant, then the officer or agent must consider whether a warrantless immigration arrest is permissible," the memo said.

A protester shouts at officers of the Sheriff's office that were clearing demonstrators from the main road leading to the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, Minnesota, January 30, 2026.
Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images

ICE has said they are going after those who are targets of an enforcement operation, but the memo expands that authority, administratively.

The memo allows for ICE agents to arrest someone for being in the U.S. illegally, if an officer feels the subject is "likely to escape" before a warrant can be issued.

-ABC News' Luke Barr

Jan 30, 2026, 7:26 PM EST

Don Lemon released following arrest

Don Lemon speaks to the media after a hearing at the Edward R. Roybal Federal Courthouse in Los Angeles, Jan. 30, 2026.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

A federal judge in Los Angeles allowed Don Lemon to be released on his own recognizance following the former CNN journalist's arrest in connection with an incident in which anti-ICE protesters disrupted a Minnesota church service.

In brief remarks outside the courthouse on Friday, Lemon said he was arrested for "something that I've been doing for the last 30 years, and that is covering the news," and vowed to not stop that work.

"The First Amendment of the Constitution protects that work for me and for countless of other journalists who do what I do," he said. "I stand with all of them, and I will not be silenced. I look forward to my day in court."

Lemon and eight others are charged with conspiracy against rights of religious freedom and an attempt to injure while exercising religious freedom in the two-count indictment, which was unsealed Friday.

Jan 30, 2026, 3:10 PM EST

Walz responds to news that FBI is investigating Pretti shooting

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz responded on social media to the news that the FBI is now leading the investigation into the shooting of Alex Pretti, suggesting the move is not unbiased.

"Trump's right hand cannot be responsible for investigating his left hand. We need an independent, impartial investigation now," he said in his post.

-ABC News' Isabella Murray

A person holds a picture during a vigil for Alex Pretti, who was shot and killed by federal immigration enforcement in Minneapolis, Jan. 28, 2026, in Henderson, Nev.
John Locher/AP

Jan 30, 2026, 1:27 PM EST

Trump calls Pretti 'insurrectionist' after earlier video surfaces

President Donald Trump, in a post to his Truth Social account overnight, called Alex Pretti an "agitator" and “perhaps” an "insurrectionist" after video of Prett's interactions with federal agents on Jan. 13 surfaced on social media.

Pretti was killed in a shooting by federal agents on Jan. 24 in an incident that sparked an uproar nationwide.

This is the first time the president has commented publicly on Pretti's Jan. 13 interaction with federal agents -- 11 days before Pretti got into a confrontation with federal agents when he was shot and killed in Minneapolis.

President Donald Trump speaks during an event in the Oval Office of the White House, Jan. 30, 2026, in Washington.
Evan Vucci/AP

In the post on social media, Trump criticized the video of Pretti kicking a vehicle used by federal agents in Minneapolis, describing Pretti's actions as a "display of abuse and anger."

"Agitator and, perhaps, insurrectionist,” said Trump in the post. “Alex Pretti’s stock has gone way down with the just released video of him screaming and spitting in the face of a very calm and under control ICE Officer, and then crazily kicking in a new and very expensive government vehicle, so hard and violent, in fact, that the taillight broke off in pieces.”

The president further commended the ICE officers' actions, saying he was "calm and cool."

In the Jan. 13 video the president is referring to, Pretti is wrestled to the ground and surrounded by multiple agents after he kicked the car, escaping from the agents shortly after.

Before the video of Pretti's interaction with federal agents in Minnesota on Jan. 13 surfaced, Trump had been more cautious in how he characterized the shooting than several other administration officials.

Videos verified by ABC News show that Pretti appeared to be using his phone to record the agents before he was shoved by a federal officer. Seconds later, a federal officer repeatedly pepper-sprayed Pretti and then appeared to pull him into the street.

While Pretti seems to have been pinned on the street by officers, one of the agents is seen in multiple verified videos emerging from the scrum with a handgun that appears to match the weapon federal officials say Pretti was carrying. Before the first shot is fired, another agent can be seen drawing his own handgun, while another repeatedly hits Pretti before two officers fire their guns at Pretti.

In total, 10 shots were fired in less than five seconds, according to a forensic audio analysis of the videos. Pretti was declared dead on the scene.

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