WASHINGTON, Feb 15,  (V7N) - Former US president Barack Obama on Saturday sharply condemned the recent operations of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in Minnesota, likening their actions to behavior “seen in dictatorships.”

Thousands of federal agents, including ICE officers, carried out weeks of sweeping raids and arrests in what the Trump administration described as targeted missions against criminals. The operation, which included two fatal shootings, ended this week amid mounting protests and nationwide outrage.

In an interview with political commentator Brian Tyler Cohen, Obama said: “The rogue behavior of agents of the federal government is deeply concerning and dangerous. In the past we’ve seen this in authoritarian countries and we’ve seen it in dictatorships.”

Obama praised communities for resisting the crackdown through peaceful protests, filming operations, and organizing systematically. “That kind of heroic, sustained behavior in subzero weather by ordinary people is what should give us hope,” he said.

Trump’s immigration pointman Tom Homan announced Thursday the end of the Minnesota operation, which had triggered large demonstrations.

In the wide-ranging interview, Obama also criticized the erosion of shame and decorum in US political discourse, responding for the first time to a social media post by President Donald Trump that depicted him and former First Lady Michelle Obama as monkeys.

END/WD/RH/