The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to avoid interacting with protesters, Reuters reported Thursday.
An email sent by a senior ICE official reportedly warns agents to not communicate or engage with “agitators,” which only serves to “inflame the situation,” according to the outlet. The internal guidance directs ICE agents to instead focus on immigrants with “criminal charges or convictions.”
“DO NOT COMMUNICATE OR ENGAGE WITH AGITATORS,” the email read, Reuters reported. “It serves no purpose other than inflaming the situation. No one is going to convince the other. The only communication should be the officers issuing commands.”
Agents will also receive megaphones and are directed to “verbalize every step of the arrest process,” although the internal guidance does not mention what agents should do if commands are ignored, according to Reuters.
Anti-ICE protesters have clashed with federal law enforcement following the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Rioters have attacked agents at several businesses, including hotels and restaurants.
President Donald Trump has recently touted a pair of what he called “very good” phone calls with Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.
The Trump administration’s DHS has made several operational changes to ICE after the shooting. The DHS demoted Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Greg Bovino was demoted and removed from the state while the president directed border czar Tom Homan to manage ICE operations in Minnesota on Monday.
DHS and ICE did not immediately respond to requests for comment by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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