MINNEAPOLIS: Thousands of protesters took to the streets of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/trump-battles-minneapolis-shooting-fallout-as-agents-put-on-leave" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Minneapolis</a>&nbsp;on Friday in the latest show of anger over President Donald Trump&#39;s immigration crackdown, as a prominent US journalist was charged over his coverage of protests in the northern city. People marched with signs blasting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency leading Trump&#39;s mass deportation drive, in response to a call for a &quot;national shutdown&quot; across the United States. Minneapolis has become the epicenter of the immigration policy backlash after two protesters, both US citizens, were shot dead by federal agents this month. &quot;I don&#39;t think our federal government should be terrorizing our people like this,&quot; Sushma Santhana, 24, told AFP as protesters chanted &quot;our streets!&quot; around her. The crowd gathered in freezing temperatures after Bruce Springsteen performed at an <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/ice-agents-to-help-with-security-at-winter-olympics" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">anti-ICE</a> concert in the city. The US rock legend recently released &quot;Streets of Minneapolis,&quot; a tribute to the two killed protesters. Another protester, 24-year-old Max Maffor, said he was demonstrating &quot;to conserve what we would consider our democracy and all the liberties that we get from living in America.&quot; Rallies were also underway across Los Angeles, where immigration raids last year sparked protests, with thousands carrying signs outside City Hall. Journalist charged Earlier Friday, the Trump administration charged former CNN anchor Don Lemon and eight others with civil rights violations, after he and other reporters covered a protest at a church where an ICE official is a pastor. The journalist&#39;s lawyer said he was taken into custody in Los Angeles overnight, adding that his work covering the protest &quot;was no different to what he has always done.&quot; He faces two charges of conspiracy to deprive rights and interfering with First Amendment rights, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told AFP, referencing the constitutional protection for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/trump-honors-charlie-kirk-with-presidential-medal-of-freedom-on-what-would-be-his-32nd-birthday" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">freedom</a>&nbsp;of expression, including religion. Political figures and media advocates condemned Lemon&#39;s arrest, with Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries calling for his immediate release. &quot;This is an egregious attack on the First Amendment and on journalists&#39; ability to do their work,&quot; said Committee to Protect Journalists CEO Jodie Ginsberg. Three other journalists were also arrested as part of the case and were later released, according to US media. Civil rights probe Trump meanwhile walked back his conciliatory tone to describe Alex Pretti, the 37-year-old nurse gunned down on Saturday, as an &quot;agitator and, perhaps, insurrectionist&quot; after new footage allegedly of Pretti emerged. AFP could not immediately verify the video, in which a man said to be Pretti is seen kicking and breaking the taillight of the agents&#39; car before they emerge and tackle him to the ground. Some Minneapolis residents were unstirred by the footage. &quot;So the guy kicked a car&#39;s light, does that mean he deserved to die?&quot; Pedro Wolcott, a Latino sandwich shop owner, told AFP. The Justice Department has opened a civil rights investigation into Pretti&#39;s death, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told reporters Friday. There is no similar probe for Renee Good, also fatally shot by agents in January. Government shutdown Trump had claimed he wanted to &quot;de-escalate a little bit&quot; in the fallout of the deaths and appointed a new point man in Minneapolis, top immigration adviser Tom Homan. Homan said that &quot;certain improvements could and should be made,&quot; a marked difference in tone from his predecessor on the ground, combative Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino. He also said his staff was &quot;working on a drawdown plan&quot; for some of the more than 3,000 federal agents, if there was greater cooperation from the local authorities in the Democratic-run city. Backlash over the deaths of Pretti and Good has landed in Congress, just before a government funding deadline. Democrats have drawn a red line around funding for the <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/afghan-national-arrested-near-dc-for-isisk-support-homeland-security" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Department of Homeland Security, </a>demanding it be stripped out and renegotiated to impose new constraints on immigration enforcement agencies.

Americas

Minneapolis has become the epicenter of the immigration policy backlash after two protesters, both US citizens, were shot dead by federal agents this month.

Thousands rally in Minneapolis as immigration anger boils

ROME: Agents from the divisive Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will help support US security operations for the <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/ski-body-blocks-russian-belarusian-athletes-from-2026-winter-olympics" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Winter Olympic</a> Games in Italy next month, a spokesperson told AFP. &quot;At the Olympics, ICE&#39;s Homeland Security Investigations is supporting the US Department of State&#39;s Diplomatic Security Service and host nation to vet and mitigate risks from transnational criminal organizations,&quot; the agency said in a statement. &quot;All security operations remain under Italian authority.&quot; It added: &quot;Obviously, ICE does not conduct immigration enforcement operations in foreign countries.&quot; The potential presence of ICE agents at the February 6-22 Games has sparked huge debate in Italy, following the outcry over the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/second-death-in-minneapolis-crackdown-heaps-pressure-on-trump" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">deaths</a>&nbsp;of two civilians during an immigration crackdown in Minneapolis. Italian authorities initially denied the presence of ICE and then sought to downplay any role, suggesting they would help only in security for the US delegation. US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are attending the opening ceremony in Milan on February 6. On Monday, the president of the northern Lombardy region, which is hosting some of the Olympic events, said their involvement would be limited to monitoring Vance and Rubio. &quot;It will be only in a defensive role, but I am convinced that nothing will happen,&quot; Attilio Fontana told reporters. However, his office then issued a statement saying he did not have any information on their presence, but was responding to a hypothetical question. Thousands of <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/us-ice-agent-shoots-venezuelan-man-amid-record-immigration-enforcement" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">ICE agents</a> have been deployed by President Donald Trump in various US cities to carry out a crackdown on illegal immigration. Their actions have prompted widespread protests, and the recent killings of US citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both 37, on the streets of Minneapolis sparked outrage.

Europe

ICE agents will support US security operations at Italy’s Winter Olympics, officials said, prompting controversy amid recent immigration crackdowns, protests and civilian deaths in the United States.

Articles tagged with "Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)"

Thousands rally in Minneapolis as immigration anger boils

ICE agents to help with security at Winter Olympics