Fmr. Obama ICE Director: ICE Couldn’t ‘Do Any Enforcement’ in ‘Crazy’ Environment that Existed in Minneapolis at the End

February 7, 2026
4:30 am

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John Sandweg, the acting ICE Director under Obama, dropped a bombshell on C-SPAN’s “Ceasefire” this Friday, admitting that Minneapolis during the 2020 riots devolved into such a “crazy” hellscape that ICE agents couldn’t perform basic enforcement. Picture this: federal officers rolling out for routine deportations, only to be tailed by mobs blowing whistles, doxxing their positions in real-time, and turning every operation into a potential ambush. Sandweg didn’t mince words—ICE was effectively neutered, forced to pull back as anarchists created no-go zones where law enforcement feared to tread. This wasn’t hyperbole; it was the George Floyd chaos in full bloom, with burning precincts, looted businesses, and a mayor who surrendered whole city blocks to the rioters. Dig deeper, and this revelation exposes the fragility of federal authority when local leaders defund and demoralize police while radical groups weaponize mob tactics. Sandweg, no Trump cheerleader, underscores how sanctuary city policies—pushed by the left—collided with street-level anarchy, leaving ICE paralyzed without backup. Fast-forward to today: Kamala Harris’s border czar tenure saw record migrant surges, many with criminal records slipping into cities like Minneapolis. Implications? When enforcement crumbles, crime spikes, and self-defense becomes the only reliable shield. That’s where the 2A community steps up—armed citizens aren’t waiting for feds who can’t even show up. For gun owners, this is a clarion call: the riots proved that government monopolies on force fail spectacularly under pressure, from Ferguson to Portland. Shall-issue permitting, concealed carry expansions, and training surges post-2020 weren’t coincidences; they were rational responses to proven vulnerabilities. As blue cities flirt with defunding again amid election-year posturing, expect more “crazy” environments where ICE—and local cops—go dark. Stock your mags, train hard, and vote for leaders who back the badge, because when whistles blow and agents bail, your AR-15 might be the thin blue line’s last stand. Stay vigilant, patriots—this is the new normal unless we fight back.

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Dig deeper, and this revelation exposes the fragility of federal authority when local leaders defund and demoralize police while radical groups weaponize mob tactics. Sandweg, no Trump cheerleader, underscores how sanctuary city policies—pushed by the left—collided with street-level anarchy, leaving ICE paralyzed without backup. Fast-forward to today: Kamala Harris’s border czar tenure saw record migrant surges, many with criminal records slipping into cities like Minneapolis. Implications? When enforcement crumbles, crime spikes, and self-defense becomes the only reliable shield. That’s where the 2A community steps up—armed citizens aren’t waiting for feds who can’t even show up.

For gun owners, this is a clarion call: the riots proved that government monopolies on force fail spectacularly under pressure, from Ferguson to Portland. Shall-issue permitting, concealed carry expansions, and training surges post-2020 weren’t coincidences; they were rational responses to proven vulnerabilities. As blue cities flirt with defunding again amid election-year posturing, expect more “crazy” environments where ICE—and local cops—go dark. Stock your mags, train hard, and vote for leaders who back the badge, because when whistles blow and agents bail, your AR-15 might be the thin blue line’s last stand. Stay vigilant, patriots—this is the new normal unless we fight back.

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