Miller Claims Minnesota Police Stand Down to ICE
Stephen Miller, Trump’s senior adviser, declared on social media that local and state law enforcement in Minnesota have been “ordered to stand down and surrender” to federal immigration officers, claiming only federal agents are “upholding the law.” Miller’s assertion followed escalating anti-ICE protests in the state and came days after he characterized demonstrators as conducting “an insurgency against the federal government.”
Miller’s statement amplified rhetoric from New York Post columnist Miranda Devine, who claimed local police had “gone AWOL.” The post targeted Minneapolis residents protesting the fatal shooting of 37-year-old poet Renee Good by an ICE officer during the Trump administration’s largest immigration enforcement operation, which deployed approximately 2,100 federal agents to the city.
On The Charlie Kirk Show, Miller framed Minneapolis protesters as an insurgency, stating they “describe the federal government as an occupying force.” This rhetoric preceded Trump’s threats to invoke the Insurrection Act to deploy military forces against U.S. citizens in Minnesota, effectively weaponizing federal authority against domestic dissent and civilians exercising constitutional rights.
Miller’s false claim about law enforcement stand-down orders contradicts reporting from Minneapolis officials and protest documentation. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed protester grievances over Good’s death, while Vice President JD Vance falsely claimed the ICE shooter enjoys “absolute immunity” from prosecution, misrepresenting federal law.
Miller’s inflammatory language—labeling citizens exercising First Amendment rights as an “insurgency”—normalizes federal suppression of dissent. The combined effect of federal militarization, false stand-down claims, and immunity assertions for lethal force signals an administration consolidating control over local governance while silencing opposition to its mass deportation agenda.