Faced with growing logistical and accommodation problems
stemming from the massive deployment of immigration agents in Minnesota, the
federal government decided to resort to an exceptional solution: converting
Fort Snelling into a forward operating base for ICE forces operating in the
Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area.
The measure was authorized by the Secretary of Defense and,
according to official sources, responds to a practical rather than a political
necessity: there is insufficient civilian infrastructure to house, concentrate,
and coordinate hundreds of federal agents arriving from different parts of the
country. The former military complex will now serve as the nerve center of the
operation, with space for personnel, vehicles, aircraft, and specialized
equipment.
In addition to serving as temporary housing, Fort Snelling
will operate as a logistics and coordination platform, centralizing resources,
maintaining mobile units, and planning operations throughout the region. In
effect, the facility becomes an advanced headquarters from which the federal
presence in Minnesota is projected.
The decision underscores the scale of the ongoing
immigration operation and makes it clear that Washington is preparing for a
protracted campaign, not a brief intervention. At the same time, the use of a
military installation for this purpose reinforces the perception, among critics
and local authorities, that the conflict surrounding immigration policy has
entered a phase of open confrontation between the federal government and
regional governments—the latter, led by Democrats, eager to prevent the
departure of their constituents, even if they are not citizens.
Meanwhile, the deployment continues, and Fort Snelling is
transforming from a historical relic into, once again, a key component of the
national security apparatus, now at the heart of the American immigration
debate.