'Seen in dictatorships': Barack Obama slams ICE raids in Minnesota

Former US President Barack Obama criticised immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota, calling it "rogue behavior" typical of authoritarian regimes.

In an interview released Saturday with political commentator Brian Tyler Cohen, Obama said recent actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers were deeply troubling.

"The rogue behavior of agents of the federal government is deeply concerning and dangerous," he said, as quoted by AFP.




He added that such conduct resembled patterns historically associated with dictatorships.

"In the past we've seen in authoritarian countries and we've seen in dictatorships."

The remarks follow weeks of sweeping raids and arrests in Minnesota involving thousands of federal agents. The operations were described by the Trump administration as targeted missions against criminals before being halted earlier this week. The crackdown included two fatal shootings that intensified pressure on President Donald Trump.

Trump’s immigration adviser Tom Homan announced Thursday that the operation had ended following large protests and nationwide backlash.

Despite his criticism, Obama expressed optimism about public resistance to the raids, praising communities that mobilized against them.

"Not just randomly, but in a systematic, organized way, citizens saying, 'this is not the America we believe in,' and we're going to fight back, and we're going to push back with the truth and with cameras and with peaceful protests," he said.

"That kind of heroic, sustained behavior in subzero weather by ordinary people is what should give us hope. As long as we have folks doing that, I feel like we're going to get through this."

In the wide-ranging interview, Obama also reacted for the first time to a social media post by Trump that depicted him and former First Lady Michelle Obama as monkeys. Obama described it as a decline in shame and decorum in US political discourse.