At the peak of the crackdown, carloads of masked immigration officers were a common sight in the streets of Minneapolis, while thousands of people were being arrested every week in Texas, Florida and California.

In December, arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents peaked at nearly 40,000 nationwide and were nearly as high the next month, according to data provided to UC Berkeley’s Deportation Data Project and analyzed by the Associated Press.

In late January, the killings in Minneapolis of two American citizens by immigration officers and growing concerns over the government’s heavy-handed tactics led to a shake-up of top immigration officials. In the weeks that followed, ICE arrests across the country dropped on average by nearly 12%.

Polling has found the general public felt the immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota went too far, a factor that may have contributed to the abrupt firing of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in early March.

An AP analysis of ICE arrest records show the department averaged 7,369 weekly arrests nationwide in the five weeks after Homan’s drawdown announcement, , the most recent period for which data is available, down from 8,347 per week in the previous five weeks. Those arrest numbers were still higher on average than during much of the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term, and were dramatically higher than during the Biden administration.

ICE arrests rose significantly in Kentucky, Indiana, North Carolina and Florida during those five weeks, in some cases hitting their highest weekly count since the start of Trump’s second term.. In Kentucky alone, weekly arrests more than doubled, reaching 86 by early March.

Those increases were offset by steep drops in a handful of large states, including Minnesota and Texas.

Nationally, some 46% of the people ICE arrested in the five weeks before Feb. 4 had no criminal charges or convictions, dropping to 41% in the five weeks that followed.

Yet that’s still above the 35% weekly average for the time since Trump returned to office. And in a number of states, even after Feb. 4, the share of noncriminals being arrested went up, not down.

Across the country, thousands of federal court filings offer an imperfect window into how the Trump administration’s deportation tactics remain in high gear, even if activity has waned.

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow with the research and advocacy group the American Immigration Council, says he sees signs of change in lower arrest and detention numbers but warns it’s too early to know if those shifts are permanent.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – A Minneapolis city audit is raising new questions about how police responded when Davis Moturi was shot in the neck by his neighbor in 2024.

Audit findings raise concerns about police response

What we know:

The audit found Minneapolis police officers appeared to misunderstand whether they could legally enter the home of Moturi’s neighbor, John Sawchak, after the shooting. Some officers argued “the risk to officer safety was too great” to justify going inside for what they believed was a misdemeanor offense.

It took police five days to arrest Sawchak, who was later deemed mentally ill in court. The audit also noted that many of its recommendations are already being addressed by the department, and it specifically recognized the police for their situational awareness, empathy and professionalism with victims.

Moturi, who was shot in the neck, told FOX 9, “If they’re too scared to do anything, how does how do they think I feel? How do they think I’m supposed to exist? Or what about the rest of the community, if they can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen. That’s why we hired you to risk your life, to go in and put yourself in front of the citizens. What happened to serve and protect?”

The audit also pointed out that Police Chief Brian O’Hara initially appeared to blame Moturi in part for the shooting, using language the auditor described as harmful.

Moturi said, “I’m glad they highlighted the chief victim-blaming, and I know he claimed he received the wrong information. That begs the question, OK, well, where’s the information coming from?”

Chief O’Hara’s response and department changes

What they’re saying:

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara addressed the audit’s findings, saying, “Escalating neighbor disputes can leave people feeling trapped in their own homes, living with ongoing fear and uncertainty. No matter the circumstance, those who reach out for help deserve the very best from the City of Minneapolis and our police department.”

O’Hara later said in October 2024 that police failed Moturi and has since apologized publicly.

However, Moturi told FOX 9 he has not received a direct apology from the chief.

The audit has led to ongoing changes within the Minneapolis Police Department, with leadership expressing support for its recommendations and after-action review.

The audit’s findings have sparked a broader conversation about police protocols and how officers respond to dangerous situations in the community.