Frey is at the center of it all, caught between a President who casts him as a radical leftist defying federal authority and a progressive city of 430,000 that wants him to do more to resist the immigration crackdown and regain control. Frey’s governing creed, forged in the crucible of previous crises, is that resistance is most effective when it is deliberate and restrained. Part of the pushback is “showing that we can have Democratically run cities that can work,” he says: picking up trash, de-icing alleyways, removing graffiti, filling in potholes. He’s given fiery speeches, demanding ICE “get the f-ck out” after Renee Good was killed by an ICE agent in early January. But in some ways, his performance demonstrates the limits of his powers.
A reprieve appears to be coming. With polls showing a growing majority of Americans believe ICE has gone too far, the DOJ opened a civil rights probe into Pretti’s death. President Trump softened his tone and swapped out the aggressive commander of the Minneapolis operation for his border czar, Tom Homan, who announced a partial drawdown of federal forces. But a sizeable number of agents will remain. “There’s a very straightforward antidote, and that is to leave,” Frey told me. “They leave, those businesses have customers again. They leave and fear is reduced on the street. But of course, this is not about safety. This is not even about immigration. This is a political narrative that they’re trying to concoct.”
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