ICE officers operating in President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota were directed on Wednesday to avoid engaging with “agitators,” according to internal guidance reviewed by Reuters.
The new guidance would mark a stark change in operational approach in the wake of two fatal shootings of US citizens by federal agents in the state in recent weeks, and as White House Border Czar Tom Homan takes over running immigration enforcement operations in the state.
“DO NOT COMMUNICATE OR ENGAGE WITH AGITATORS,” said an email disseminated by Marcos Charles, the top official in ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division, according to Reuters.
“It serves no purpose other than inflaming the situation. No one is going to convince the other. The only communication should be the officers issuing commands.”
“We are moving to targeted enforcement of aliens with a criminal history,” it reads, according to Reuters. “This includes arrests, not just convictions. ALL TARGETS MUST HAVE A CRIMINAL NEXUS.”
The new guidance has not yet been officially announced, and CNN has not reviewed the internal email.
In a response to a request for comment by Reuters, a White House administration official said, “There are ongoing conversations on how to most effectively conduct operations in Minnesota. No guidance should be considered final until it is officially issued.”
CNN has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the White House regarding the memo.
According to Reuters, under the new guidance outlined in the email, ICE officers will receive megaphones so that they can issue commands to the public and “need to verbalize every step of the arrest process.” It does not describe what sort of actions would trigger commands or what officers should do if commands were not followed.
The guidance also said officers could only target immigration offenders who had a previous criminal history.
ICE officers can run license plate checks for possible targets and should make an arrest if the registered owner of the vehicle is an immigrant with a criminal history, the guidance said, Reuters reports.
ICE will also run the Minnesota operation with Border Patrol acting in a supporting role, the email said, which marks a reversal of policy under Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino, who has since left the state and returned to his position in El Centro, California.
Homan is expected to deliver remarks at a press conference Thursday morning in Minneapolis.