Democratic leaders moderate their tone on ICE after fueling anti-agent rhetoric

Several Democratic leaders began to moderate their tone after fueling harsh rhetoric against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The most recent and high-profile case is Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who, in the face of escalating protests in the city, called for calm and peace this week.

The position is a radical change in tone after demanding days earlier that ICE agents leave the city.

During a news conference following an operation in Minneapolis in which a suspected Venezuelan immigrant was shot in the leg who authorities said had ambushed the agent with a shovel, the mayor stressed his commitment to do everything possible to preserve the peace and prevent the situation from escalating.

"I’m calling for peace," Frey told reporters. "Everybody has a role in achieving that peace, and we’re going to try and do everything we can to keep it."

In that regard, he explained that "currently, we have residents asking the very limited number of police officers to fight ICE agents on the street."

"We cannot be at a place right now in America where we have two governmental entities that are literally fighting one another," he added.

He further noted that, in his view, there are protesters who are not helping the situation to calm down. However, he insisted on holding President Donald Trump's administration responsible for the tension in the city. "You are not helping the undocumented immigrants in our city. You are not helping the people that call this place home"

But Frey isn't the only Democrat to step up. California Gov. Gavin Newsom also appeared to nuance his speech during an interview with conservative commentator Ben Shapiro.

Shapiro criticized the language the Newsom administration has used to refer to the fatal shooting of Renae Good by an ICE officer in Minneapolis. Primarily, he questioned his labeling of the event as "state-sponsored terrorism."

“Your press office tweeted out that it was state-sponsored terrorism. Our ICE officers obviously are not terrorists,” Shapiro said in the interview reviewed by The New York Post.

“Yeah, I think that’s fair,” Newsom agreed. The governor also said he “disagreed” that ICE should be abolished.

Meanwhile, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz also asked protesters not to descend into violence as he pointed to President Trump: I know you’re angry. I’m angry. What Donald Trump wants is violence in the streets. But Minnesota will remain an island of decency, of justice, of community, and of peace."