After protest, agitation and chaos rocked Minneapolis this weekend, President Donald Trump extended an olive branch to leaders there and put the political ball squarely in their court.
Trump’s offer to Mayor Jacob Frey and Governor Tim Walz began with a very real concession, replacing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and enthusiastic Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino with the arguably more moderate border czar Tom Homan on the ground. The move angered many border hawks in his own party.
President Trump says he has spoken with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and announced that border czar Tom Homan will meet with him as riots continue amid immigration enforcement. (Getty Images)
Some rightly fear that if the hardcore agitators who harass and obstruct federal agents consider this a victory, it could spread like wildfire across the blue cities.
But Trump didn’t just offer carrots to the hapless leadership in the Gopher State, he also handed down some sticks. They came in the form of very basic demands to extradite illegal immigrants into Minnesota’s criminal justice system.
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Here are Trump’s four demands:
- Turn over illegal aliens in local jails or who are subject to arrest warrants to the FBI.
- Let state and local law enforcement commit to turning over illegal immigrants to the FBI.
- Let local police help the FBI track down and detain illegal immigrants wanted for crimes.
- Work with the FBI to “protect American citizens in the swift removal of all criminal illegal aliens in our country.”
As for Trump, if these demands are met, he promises to reduce the federal footprint in Minnesota because, frankly, many officers would no longer be needed with the cooperation of local law enforcement.
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Before we get to Frey’s highly irresponsible response to this offer, we should be clear that all four of these points should already be in practice, given the Constitution’s supremacy clause, as is the case in most American countries.
White House border czar Tom Homan was deployed to Minnesota on January 26, 2026, to lead immigration policy in the state. (Jim Watson/Getty Images)
So the offer is basically: hand over your criminals as the law says you should, and suddenly no one will be robbed in the wild anymore, and no ‘law-abiding’ illegal aliens will be involved in the process.
Within hours of discussing Trump’s offer with Homan, Frey turned to
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In other words, “Move over, Mr. President.”
On Wednesday, Trump fired back.
“Surprisingly, Mayor Jacob Frey just stated that Minneapolis does not and will not enforce federal immigration laws. Can someone in their inner sanctum explain that this statement is a very serious violation of the law, and that he is playing with fire!” he wrote in a post on Truth Social.
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My only complaint is that Trump claims to be surprised.
For his part, Walz has taken a different approach so far. After meeting with Homan on Tuesday, his office said rather gently: “The governor and Homan agreed on the need for continued dialogue and will continue to work toward those goals, which the president also agreed to yesterday.”
The key difference here might be that Walz represents the entire state, while Frey only represents crazy Minneapolis, where many if not most of his voters don’t want any cooperation with Trump.
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On Tuesday, even the capital of neighboring, equally left-wing St. Paul was stormed by demonstrators chanting “ICE out now” and “Do your job,” presumably a message to their own governor.
Walz is starting to sound like he wants a way out of the chaos, but Frey, of George Floyd-era kneeling and crying fame, isn’t ready to let go of his role as leader of the Trump resistance.
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What Frey’s stubbornness toward a common-sense solution tells Minnesota and the nation is that, inexplicably, he values protecting criminal illegal aliens over peace on his own streets.
Leadership is more than just riding the wave of popular sentiment, as Trump demonstrated by disappointing immigration hardliners with his outrage over Noem and Bovino. Sometimes a leader must tell his own people that compromise is needed.
A Border Patrol member pepper sprays observers after getting into a car accident on Blaisdell Avenue on January 21, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
Hopefully Frey understands that Trump’s offer is the best chance he has to quell the chaos and violence that has rocked his city, assuming that’s what he wants, and assuming he doesn’t want more clashes with the FBI.
If Frey refuses, Trump’s only options are to continue his activities or allow a two-person mayor of Minneapolis to single-handedly undo the federal law, something that should not happen.
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No one knows what Trump is actually threatening when he says Frey is “playing with fire,” but if the mayor decides not just to stand up to the federal government, but to stand up to the federal government, then Trump will undoubtedly have every opportunity to put an end to that resistance.
Mayor Frey, the choice is yours.
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