Barack Obama publicly states support for anti-ICE demonstrators in Minneapolis

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Guardian

Sat 14 Feb 2026 12.15 EST
Last modified on Sat 14 Feb 2026 12.20 EST


Barack Obama publicly gave his support to demonstrators in Minneapolis for standing up to the “unprecedented nature” of the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation in Minnesota.

Speaking in an interview with progressive YouTuber Brian Tyler Cohen on Saturday, the former president discussed the power that US citizens hold when standing up for the values they believe in and his hopes for the next generation of American leaders. “The reason I point out that I don’t think the majority of the American people approve of this is because ultimately, the answer is going to come from the American people,” he said. “We just saw this in Minnesota, in Minneapolis.”

“It is important for us to recognize the unprecedented nature of what ICE was doing in Minneapolis, St Paul, the way that federal agents, ICE agents were being deployed, without any clear guidelines, training, pulling people out of their homes, using five-year-olds to try to bait their parents, all the stuff that we saw, teargassing crowds simply who were standing there, not breaking any laws,” he added.

The Twin Cities area of Minnesota has been the site of ongoing anti-immigration enforcement protests. These demonstrations have grown in scope following the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti at the hands of federal agents.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/14/barack-obama-minneapolis-support

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[CTyankee]

3. Are you referring to President Obama?

[FredGarvin]

8. Yeah

And?

[johnnyplankton]

2. Maybe this will lead to other leaders speaking out...

The level of cowardice by our "leaders", political and otherwise, in the face of the biggest threat this country has faced since the Civil War, never ceases to astonish me...

[FredGarvin]

6. omg Are you referring to President Obama?

omg

[Esox Lucius]

4. waiting to see which way the wind

blows? Whatever, words of support are nice but not necessary. Minnesotans and other Americans are demostrating the power of the people. Politicians better get on the bandwagon.

[FredGarvin]

7. Are you referring to President Obama?

omg
we need to unite
omg

[Intractable]

5. Glad to have his support, but he's not really leading the parade.

He's a model of centrism.

[CTyankee]

9. This was a while ago. Things have dramatically changed since he said these words.

[Intractable]

10. If you are implying that Obama has changed, I can't agree.

He might now be lending his voice, but he's not leading the fight.

[CTyankee]

11. No. I mean the times have changed radically in ways that nobody, not even Obama, could envision.

[Intractable]

12. On that we can agree.

May you find your peace in our time.

[CTyankee]

13. And you, as well...

[bluestarone]

15. THESE are my words as well

Nobody figured our constitution would so easily be destroyed before our eyes. Hell, we are not sure what to do if ICE upsets our election in November.

[CTyankee]

16. Democracies are fragile, it would appear...

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

14. Obama compares 'rogue' ICE actions to authoritarian countries

Former President Barack Obama said in a Feb. 14 interview that the actions of some federal agents under the Trump administration are similar to behavior previously seen under dictatorships.

"The rogue behavior of agents of the federal government is deeply concerning and dangerous," Obama said in an interview with podcast host Brian Tyler Cohen.

Obama added that American citizens should be appreciated for engaging in "peaceful protests and shining a light on the sort of behavior that, in the past, we've seen in authoritarian countries and we’ve seen in dictatorships, but we have not seen in America."

Obama's remarks come after White House border czar Tom Homan announced Feb. 12 that the Trump administration would be drawing down the surge of federal immigration agents it sent into Minnesota. Two U.S. citizens, Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, were killed by federal agents in that state in incidents that sparked controversy and protest.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/obama-compares-rogue-ice-actions-190140707.html