Rep. Donalds calls Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey a 'fool' amid immigration unrest

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Rep. Donalds calls out Minnesota leaders after anti-ICE agitators storm church

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., joins ‘Fox & Friends’ to react to anti-ICE agitators storming a Minnesota church as the Pentagon readies 1,500 troops amid tension around immigration enforcement.

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Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., accused Minnesota Democrats of deliberately stoking unrest against immigration enforcement as federal agents face escalating confrontations in and around Minneapolis.

Donalds called Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey "a fool and a clown," arguing that if state leaders wanted to uphold the rule of law, they would enroll in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) 287(g) program.

The initiative allows state and local law enforcement agencies to enforce certain aspects of immigration law, expanding their authority to identify, process and detain removable noncitizens under ICE supervision, according to ICE’s website.

Rep. Byron Donalds, who is running for Florida governor in the 2026 election, speaks during the CPAC Latino conference in Hollywood, Florida, on June 28, 2025. (Al Diaz/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service/Getty Images)

"But he doesn't want to do that. You see, Mayor Frey and Gov. Walz, they want the crazy," Donalds said Monday on "Fox & Friends."

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"That's what they're looking for. They want the AstroTurf protesters... They're trying to stand up to President Trump, because their party has no ideas, and they choose this route."

Donalds believes the protesters were paid to cause a "mess" and accused them of hypocrisy over free speech in the wake of an anti-ICE protest at a St. Paul church on Sunday. Protesters interrupted a worship service, believing a pastor inside was affiliated with ICE. 

Mayor Jacob Frey speaks at a news conference at City Hall in Minneapolis on Jan. 9, 2026. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

"These are the people who will say they have a First Amendment right to speak, but they just trampled on the First Amendment right of that church to be able to worship," Donalds said.

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Tensions between ICE agents and protesters have reached a boiling point in Minnesota, fueled by the ICE-involved killing of Renee Good. In response to the unrest, President Donald Trump has ordered 1,500 soldiers to prepare for potential deployment to the state.

Speaking on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Donalds invoked the civil rights leader's legacy to encourage peaceful protest.

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