Federal authorities are quietly escalating their contingency planning as unrest tied to immigration enforcement continues to roil Minnesota. According to U.S. officials cited by Reuters, the Pentagon has placed approximately 1,500 active-duty soldiers in Alaska on prepare-to-deploy orders, signaling that the federal government is weighing military options should protests and confrontations in the state intensify further. While no deployment has yet been ordered, the move reflects growing concern in Washington over the stability of the situation on the ground.
The troops identified for potential deployment are assigned to two U.S. Army infantry battalions under the 11th Airborne Division, a unit based in Alaska that specializes in cold-weather operations.
Officials said the prepare-to-deploy status is precautionary, intended to give the administration flexibility if violence escalates beyond the capacity of local and state authorities. The order was first reported by ABC News, with neither the Pentagon nor the White House offering immediate public comment.
The development comes after President Donald Trump warned last week that he could invoke the Insurrection Act if Minnesota officials fail to stop protesters from targeting Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel. Trump has argued that ICE agents are being obstructed and attacked while carrying out lawful federal duties, and he has framed the unrest as a breakdown of basic law and order. On his Truth Social platform, the president warned that continued inaction by state leaders would leave him no choice but to act unilaterally.
Even without invoking the Insurrection Act, the administration retains limited authority to deploy active-duty forces domestically for specific purposes, such as protecting federal buildings and personnel. Trump previously relied on that justification when deploying Marines to Los Angeles last year. In addition to the Alaska-based troops, the Pentagon could also draw on newly formed National Guard rapid-response units designed to address civil disturbances.
The backdrop to the military planning is a rapidly deteriorating security environment in Minneapolis and neighboring St. Paul. Confrontations between protesters and federal officers have intensified following the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE agent, an incident that has become a rallying point for anti-ICE activism.
Since early last week, the administration has sent nearly 3,000 federal agents from ICE and Border Patrol into the Twin Cities as part of a broader enforcement surge, primarily targeting jurisdictions led by Democratic officials.
Local leaders, including Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, have accused the president of exaggerating isolated incidents to justify federal intervention. Walz, who is now the subject of a Justice Department criminal investigation, has mobilized the Minnesota National Guard to support law enforcement and emergency management, a move state officials describe as sufficient to maintain order.
Trump, however, has repeatedly cited corruption scandals involving federal welfare funds and failures in immigration enforcement as justification for a stronger response, often singling out Minnesota’s Somali immigrant community in the process.
