‘Playing With Fire!’: Trump Warns Minneapolis Mayor After He Doubles Down On Sanctuary Policy

President Donald Trump issued a strong warning to Minneapolis Democratic Mayor Jacob Frey on Wednesday morning after the mayor doubled down on refusing to cooperate with federal immigration agents.

After speaking with Trump by phone on Monday and meeting with border czar Tom Homan on Tuesday, Frey said Minneapolis would not cooperate in enforcing federal immigration laws. Trump blasted the mayor over the remark, which he called “a very serious violation of the Law.”

“Surprisingly, Mayor Jacob Frey just stated that, ‘Minneapolis does not, and will not, enforce Federal Immigration Laws.’ This is after having had a very good conversation with him,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Could somebody in his inner sanctum please explain that this statement is a very serious violation of the Law, and that he is PLAYING WITH FIRE!”

Frey shot back at Trump on Wednesday morning, saying, “The job of our police is to keep people safe, not enforce fed immigration laws. I want them preventing homicides, not hunting down a working dad who contributes to [Minneapolis] & is from Ecuador. It’s similar to the policy your guy Rudy [Giuliani] had in NYC. Everyone should feel safe calling 911.”

Democrat-run Minneapolis has long been considered a “sanctuary city” as it has enacted laws limiting how local authorities can work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials. Minneapolis revised its “separation ordinance” in December to state that the city would “vigorously oppose any effort to require the use of city resources for the enforcement of civil federal immigration laws.” The revised ordinance also states that city property and facilities cannot be used to enforce federal immigration laws.

Frey met with Homan in Minneapolis on Tuesday as more chaos has erupted in the city after Border Patrol shot and killed anti-ICE demonstrator Alex Pretti during a confrontation. Frey said he “shared with Mr. Homan the serious negative impacts” of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis, “as well as the strain it has placed on our local police officers.”

“I also made it clear that Minneapolis does not and will not enforce federal immigration laws, and that we will remain focused on keeping our neighbors and streets safe,” Frey added. “City leaders will continue to stay in conversation with Mr. Homan and his team.”

Trump sent Homan to Minneapolis in a shift in strategy on the enforcement operation there as the administration faces criticism for its response to the shooting death of Pretti. The move effectively sidelined Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s role there, and Border Patrol commander-at-large Gregory Bovino, who had been leading the Minneapolis deployment, was reassigned.

“I don’t think it’s a pullback, it’s a little bit of a change,” Trump told Fox News host Will Cain. “Everybody in this room that has a business, you make little changes.”

“You know, Bovino is very good, but he’s pretty out-there kind of a guy. In some cases, that’s good. Maybe it wasn’t good here,” he added.

Both Frey and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said that they made progress in their talks with the Trump administration after Homan arrived in Minneapolis, but the Democratic leaders continue to call for federal immigration agents to leave the city and the surrounding area.

“Tom Homan’s a professional, which is a lot more than Bovino and Kristi Noem,” Walz told CNN on Tuesday night. “But look, I think the thing we said is we’re very clear about this: we need these folks out of Minnesota and we need justice for Renee Good and for Alex [Pretti].”