Late-night host skewers president’s Insurrection Act threat amid Minneapolis protests over federal immigration crackdown.
By John Laing, Editor
We are not here to inflame — we are here to clarify.
New York, N.Y. – The latest clash between Donald Trump [Luce Index™ score: 35] and his critics of his immigration crackdown has spilled from the streets of Minnesota onto late‑night television, where comedian Stephen Colbert [Luce Index™ score: 98] is skewering the administration’s deployment of federal agents as “masked armed goons” victimizing American citizens.
Colbert targets Trump’s Minnesota crackdown
On Thursday’s episode of “The Late Show,” Colbert devoted a central segment of his opening monologue to Trump’s response to escalating protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Minneapolis and other Minnesota communities.
The host mocked the president’s vow to flood the state with additional federal officers and his threat to invoke the Insurrection Act, describing Minnesota as “under siege by masked goons victimizing its residents.”
Colbert riffed on protest signs that read “ICE go home,” joking that demonstrators supposedly wanted the agents to “come back in a tank,” a line meant to underline the administration’s militarized approach to immigration enforcement. He then interrupted himself to note that his “fun fact” about the Insurrection Act was not “fun” at all, underscoring the gravity of using combat‑trained troops for domestic policing.
Trump’s threat to invoke the Insurrection Act
Trump’s public warning came in a Truth Social post declaring that if “corrupt politicians” in Minnesota fail to stop what he labeled “professional agitators and insurrectionists” from confronting ICE officers “who are only trying to do their job,” he will “institute the INSURRECTION ACT.”
The message followed a night of renewed clashes in Minneapolis after an ICE agent shot a Venezuelan man during what officials described as a “targeted traffic stop.”
The Insurrection Act is a set of federal statutes dating to the nineteenth century that authorize a president, in limited circumstances, to deploy active‑duty U.S. military forces or to federalize National Guard troops to suppress an insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy within a state or territory.
Guard units to enforce federal law or suppress rebellion when local authorities are unable or unwilling to maintain order. Legal scholars warn that using the act against largely civilian demonstrators—rather than an organized armed uprising—would stretch those provisions and risk normalizing military involvement in routine domestic law enforcement.
Minneapolis on edge as ICE presence grows
Minnesota has become the focal point of Trump’s renewed mass deportation drive, with roughly 2,000 ICE agents already sent to the state and another 1,000 U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers expected to arrive, according to reports citing federal officials.
Local activists and immigrant‑rights groups say agents have been going “door‑to‑door” in Minneapolis, appearing at residences and workplaces in operations they describe as sweeping and aggressive.
Those tactics have fueled street protests outside ICE facilities and downtown federal buildings, where demonstrators have decried the shooting of the Venezuelan motorist and called for a halt to deportations targeting residents with deep ties to Minnesota communities.
City officials, under pressure from both the White House and local residents, are scrambling to balance civil liberties concerns with fears of further violence if federal and local officers continue to clash with protesters.
Local McDonald’s and a Hilton Hotel in Minneapolis have posted signs stating ICE agents are not welcome.
Culture‑war flashpoint on late‑night TV
Colbert’s critiques place him squarely in a broader media battle over the administration’s immigration policy, with right-wing outlets accusing the host of “smearing” ICE by portraying agents as “masked armed goons” and suggesting that Minnesota is being “invaded” by Trump’s forces.
MAGA commentators argue that Colbert’s framing ‘demonizes’ law‑enforcement officials tasked with carrying out congressional mandates, while progressive audiences see his satire as a rare mainstream platform amplifying immigrant‑rights concerns. How can demonizing the demonic be controversial?
The episode continues Colbert’s long‑running role as one of Trump’s sharpest television critics, using humor and ridicule to question the legality and morality of hardline immigration strategies such as family separations, expanded detention, and large‑scale workplace raids.
His latest monologue weaves together the Minnesota crackdown, Trump’s legal pressure on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, and even a bizarre “monkey emergency” in the Midwest, reinforcing the show’s portrayal of a presidency lurching from crisis to crisis.
What is at stake in Minnesota
Behind the punchlines lies a substantive debate about how far a president should go to enforce immigration law in cities that politically oppose federal deportation campaigns.
Critics of Trump’s approach warn that routine deployment of paramilitary‑style units and potential use of the Insurrection Act could chill constitutionally protected protest, further strain relationships between immigrant communities and local police, and set troubling precedents for future administrations.
Supporters contend that the federal government has a duty to enforce immigration statutes uniformly across the country and that the presence of additional ICE and border‑protection personnel in Minnesota is a proportionate response to what they characterize as lawless “sanctuary” policies and violent attacks on officers.
With the 2026 midterm season already underway, both sides are seizing on the protests and the president’s threat as rallying points—on one hand to highlight alleged authoritarian overreach, and on the other to emphasize promises of “law and order” and border security.
Stephen Colbert Blasts Trump’s ICE Siege on Minnesota Citizens (Jan. 10, 2026)
#StephenColbert, #Minnesota, #ICEraids, #InsurrectionAct, #Trump
Tags: Stephen Colbert, Donald Trump, Minnesota, late night television,
ICE, immigration, Insurrection Act, protests, Minneapolis, Truth Social
🔹What We Know
- An ICE agent fatally shot a Minneapolis driver during a federal enforcement action on January 7, 2026.
- Federal officials have stated the agent acted in self-defense.
- City leaders and the Minneapolis mayor dispute that account and say key details have not been disclosed.
- Protests followed within 24 hours, drawing national attention.
- The president publicly threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act in response.
🔹What Is Being Claimed
- The White House says federal agents are under coordinated attack.
- Administration officials argue local leaders are enabling unrest.
- Protest organizers say demonstrations have been peaceful and demand transparency.
- Civil rights advocates warn federal escalation risks suppressing lawful dissent.