Members of the Trump administration are making it clear that the tumult in Minneapolis is unlikely to end anytime soon. Criminal investigations, additional federal deployments, and other legal battles could dominate the coming days. 

The deployment to Minneapolis by ICE, Border Patrol, and other federal agencies is the most aggressive push yet in President Trump’s mass deportation campaign. Mr. Trump has gone so far as to put active duty troops in Alaska on alert to potentially deploy to the Twin Cities under the Insurrection Act.

The situation on the ground in Minnesota has become so tense that some hotels housing federal officers and other guests have opted to close their doors entirely because of what is being described as “heightened public safety concerns.” Reporters on the scene say the hotels expressed concern about the safety of employees being harassed by anti-ICE protesters. 

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has forcefully defended the actions of her agents over the last few weeks, including the killing of Renee Good. Protests have broken out across the city, with hundreds of anti-ICE demonstrators detained and thousands more migrants taken into custody, according to the agency. 

Ms. Noem has been especially defensive of agents who have been aggressively targeting protesters in recent days. Last week, a 6-month-old child had to be taken to the emergency room because federal agents deployed tear gas into a man’s car as he was trying to drive his kids home. 

“The family was caught up in that situation because of violent protesters that were impeding law enforcement operations,” Ms. Noem told “Meet the Press” on Sunday, standing by her agents. “That family never would have been in that situation if those protesters had been acting peacefully, if law enforcement was able to do their job without being threatened.”

“I hope it never happens again, but we need to remember that, because the mayor and the governor have allowed this kind of violence to be perpetuated across Minneapolis, that is why there are other innocent people that are impacted,” she said. 

Ms. Noem said Sunday that her agents will not leave the city until they have arrested “all the dangerous people” in the area, though she declined to offer a specific number. The total number of undocumented Minnesota residents is estimated to be around 100,000. 

Last week, a judge ordered that ICE agents must not retaliate against peaceful protesters, including by using chemical agents. Ms. Noem on Sunday called the order “a little ridiculous,” and said that chemical agents would still be used to establish “law and order.”

“We only use those chemical agents when there is violence,” she said, even though numerous videos have circulated on social media showing protesters being pepper sprayed indiscriminately by federal agents. 

The Justice Department has reportedly escalated the situation by opening a criminal investigation into both the mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, and Governor Tim Walz, both for obstruction of federal law enforcement officials. Attorney General Pam Bondi seemed to confirm the report, writing on X that “no one is above the law” shortly after the investigation was reported. 

She wrote a similar message on the platform shortly after it was reported that former FBI director James Comey had been indicted back in September. 

Deputy attorney general Todd Blanche also seemed to confirm that the investigation was taking place during an interview with “Fox News Sunday,” saying that the mayor and governor had to “stop” encouraging protesters to “impede ICE.”

“That is not allowed under our law,” Mr. Blanche said. 

The federal crackdown on Minneapolis has become a key issue now in Washington, D.C., where lawmakers are trying to write the annual budget for the Department of Homeland Security. Good’s death earlier this month immediately halted funding negotiations as Democrats began demanding real policy changes at ICE before they could agree to a budget deal. Democrats have the power to block any funding package in the Senate, where it takes 60 votes to advance legislation. 

“Right now, that department is full of unlawful activity,” Senator Chris Murphy — the top Democrat on the subcommittee which writes ICE’s budget — told reporters after Good’s death. “This would obviously be a very inopportune time to give the agency that is acting lawlessly a bunch more money.”