Mayor Frey’s ICE Outburst: Grandstanding or Governance?

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey went on Fox & Friends on January 13, 2026 to answer the question on every patriot’s mind: does he want Immigration and Customs Enforcement abolished. Frey said he does not believe the entire agency should be dismantled, but he insisted the way ICE is being used under the current federal operation is unconstitutional and needs to change. His half-measured answer did nothing to calm the public or restore confidence in local leadership.

The backdrop to this interview is the deadly January 7, 2026 shooting in Minneapolis where an ICE officer shot and killed a 37-year-old woman, Renée Good, during an immigration operation, sparking protests and a national uproar. The tragedy reopened wounds from 2020 and turned Minneapolis into a test case for how our cities and federal authorities must work together to maintain order. Citizens deserve a full, transparent accounting and swift justice where wrongdoing is found.

At a press conference days earlier the mayor angrily told ICE to “get the f—k out of Minneapolis,” and dismissed the Department of Homeland Security’s claim of self-defense as garbage, a statement that echoed across cable news and social feeds. Demanding federal agents leave a city in the middle of an active investigation is reckless political grandstanding, not leadership. When officials weaponize grief for partisan points, real safety takes a back seat.

Let’s be clear: conservatives are not blind to abuses. Any officer, state or federal, who uses excessive force should be held accountable under the law. But the reflexive cancel-culture call to defund or expel law enforcement from our communities rewards lawlessness and discourages good cops from doing hard jobs. We need accountability, not chaos dressed up as compassion.

Federal and state investigators, including the FBI and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, are involved in the probe into the shooting, which is precisely why political leaders should not be shouting orders to federal agencies in public instead of letting due process play out. The rule of law requires investigations to proceed without interference, not a mayor’s Twitter-fueled witch hunt. Communities want safety, not political theater.

Frey’s recent track record shows a pattern: he’s positioned Minneapolis as a sanctuary city, issued executive limits on using city property for immigration operations, and yet now he stages public confrontations with federal agents when politics demands it. That kind of flip-flopping hypocrisy endangers residents and undermines cooperation that keeps neighborhoods secure. If you want fewer violent encounters, undermine neither law enforcement nor the institutions charged with enforcing immigration law.

Conservatives should demand two things at once: accountability where mistakes and crimes occur, and support for the men and women who do dangerous jobs to protect our communities. Allowing elected officials to post outrage and then call for the removal of federal law enforcement sets a dangerous precedent that rewards violence and punishes order. We will not accept a city where political posturing replaces practical public safety.

Hardworking Americans deserve leaders who put people first, not headlines. We should insist on a full, impartial investigation, defend the constitutional role of federal law enforcement, and vote out the politicians who would rather grandstand than govern. The safety of our neighborhoods and the integrity of our country depend on it.