Trump&x27;s immigration operation leaves Minnesota divided: From the Politics Desk The Politics DeskThu, February 19, 2026 at 10:34 PM UTC 0 Cyclists ride to honor Alex Pretti ride past the memorial site where he was killed on Jan., 31, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Stephen Maturen / Getty Images) (Stephen Maturen) This is the online version of From the Politics Desk, a daily newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team's latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.
Trump's immigration operation leaves Minnesota divided: From the Politics Desk
The Politics DeskThu, February 19, 2026 at 10:34 PM UTC
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Cyclists ride to honor Alex Pretti ride past the memorial site where he was killed on Jan., 31, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Stephen Maturen / Getty Images) (Stephen Maturen)
This is the online version of From the Politics Desk, a daily newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team's latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.
In today's edition, Owen Auston-Babcock dives into the latest numbers from our NBC News Decision Desk polling. Plus, Jonathan Allen breaks down what Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez can take away from her first big global conference appearance.
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— Adam Wollner
Trump's immigration operation leaves Minnesota dividedBy Owen Auston-Babcock
President Donald Trump's immigration policies have divided Minnesotans even more sharply than Americans nationally, new polling shows.
After federal officers killed two U.S. citizens last month, self-identified Republicans in the state expressed stronger support for Trump's immigration agenda than Republicans nationwide, while Minnesota Democrats and independents pulled more strongly the other way than their national counterparts.
That's according to two NBC News Decision Desk polls powered by SurveyMonkey fielded nationwide and specifically in Minnesota in late January and early February. The polls were conducted after federal immigration officers shot and killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti, and before the Trump administration began to pull immigration officers out of Minneapolis.
The numbers suggest that what Trump administration officials dubbed Operation Metro Surge was a galvanizing — and polarizing — event. Across a range of questions, Minnesotans frequently had stronger feelings both for or against administration policies compared with all U.S. adults. Respondents from Minnesota were less likely to respond that they "somewhat" approved or disapproved, for example, of Trump's job on immigration and border security.
The pattern extended to Minnesotans' feelings about whether it was true that "regular, law-abiding citizens have nothing to fear" about U.S. immigration agents. Nationally, 31% of adults strongly agreed with that statement, compared with 34% in Minnesota. Meanwhile, 40% nationally strongly disagreed, compared with 46% of adult Minnesotans who strongly disagreed.
Republicans and GOP-leaning independents in Minnesota were also consistently likelier to support the actions of ICE than Republicans across the country.
But there was a notable geographical split in the data. Republicans living in Minneapolis, St. Paul and suburbs of the Twin Cities — the most Democratic-leaning part of the state — were at times warier of the Trump administration's crackdown than those in the rest of the state. Republicans in the Twin Cities area were three times likelier than Republicans in the rest of Minnesota to say ICE and Border Patrol tactics had gone too far.
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A key lesson from AOC's trip to MunichAnalysis by Jonathan Allen
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., sought out the global stage and the national spotlight when she chose last week's Munich Security Conference as the venue for her coming-out party as a potential presidential candidate.
It didn't go as well as she would have liked. Ocasio-Cortez called The New York Times after her appearance to insist that it had nothing to do with Oval Office ambitions.
But if she's not interested in running for president, there's little reason for Americans or Europeans to care much about what a back-bench congresswoman with a thin record on foreign policy thinks about global security. Besides, her team hyped her panel-style participation with the energy of a major address delivered by a candidate for the presidency.
The bad news for Ocasio-Cortez: Her performance was panned, not just by a legion of internet warrior conservatives but also by many mainstream observers. The focal point for her detractors was her stumble over the question of whether the U.S. should defend Taiwan militarily if China invades the island nation.
It took Ocasio-Cortez about 20 seconds of hemming and hawing before she found her footing and delivered an answer that is consistent with U.S. policy for more than a quarter of a century. She eventually said she hopes it doesn't happen — a version of the "strategic ambiguity" embraced by Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Joe Biden and Trump again.
Some of them have struggled at times to articulate it perfectly. In other words, such a moment is unlikely to keep her from the presidency.
The good news for Ocasio-Cortez is there are important lessons she can take away from the experience about her readiness for the role of presidential candidate, her team's ability to promote her and her ideas, and, not insignificantly, the infrastructure she has to build in order to be competitive.
Trump has his MAGA base. Bernie Sanders had his "bros." And Kamala Harris had her "KHive." When AOC slipped, there was no equivalent online army at the ready to defend her. Similarly, her colleagues in Congress didn't rush to cameras or flood reporters with phone calls to come to her rescue.
She told the Times that viral clips of her Taiwan miscue "distract from the substance of what I am saying."
If Ocasio-Cortez wants to be president — in 2029 or any subsequent year — she'll have to figure out how to keep her flank guarded and fight back when she's hit. A big part of that is organizing her supporters to get in the trenches for her.
🗞️ Today's other top stories -
💰 War and peace: At the first gathering of Trump's "Board of Peace," the president announced a $10 billion commitment from the U.S., a sum he said was small compared to the cost of war, and $7 billion from board members. Read more →
➡️ War and peace, cont.: The Defense Department is sending a large array of additional weaponry to the Middle East, including more warships, air defenses and submarines, in preparation for a possible military strike on Iran if Trump makes that decision. Read more →
🏛️Banner day: A large banner featuring an image of Trump was hung from the Department of Justice's headquarters in Washington. Read more →
✈️ Flying in style: An executive jet the Department of Homeland Security has told the White House it needs for immigrant deportation flights and Cabinet officials' travel features a bedroom with a queen bed, showers, a kitchen, four large flat-screen TVs and a bar. Read more →
🕺 Ballroom blitz: The Trump-picked Commission of Fine Arts approved design plans for a new White House ballroom and East Wing. Read more →
🎙️ Time for rebuttal: Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger will deliver the official Democratic response to Trump's State of the Union address next week, a high-profile speaking slot that has proved to be a mixed blessing in recent years. Read more →
📺 On air: Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton's first TV ad of her Democratic Senate campaign features a series of people saying "f--- Trump." Read more →
💸 Pay day: New Mexico has the country's only unsalaried Legislature. State lawmakers are hoping voters will change that this fall after approving a constitutional amendment. Read more →
That's all From the Politics Desk for now. Today's newsletter was compiled by Adam Wollner.
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Source: "AOL Breaking"
Source: Breaking
Published: February 20, 2026 at 12:54AM on Source: MARIO MAG
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