Thousands of people have marched in Minneapolis to protest the fatal shooting of a woman by a federal immigration officer there and the shooting of two protesters in Portland, Oregon, as Minnesota leaders urge demonstrators to remain peaceful.

The Minneapolis gathering was one of hundreds of protests planned in towns and cities across the country over the weekend. 

It came in a city on edge since the killing of Renee Nicole Good on Wednesday by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer.

"We're all living in fear right now," said Meghan Moore, a mother of two from Minneapolis who joined the protest on Saturday. 

"ICE is creating an environment where nobody feels safe, and that's unacceptable."

On Friday night, a protest outside a Minneapolis hotel that attracted about 1,000 people turned violent as demonstrators threw ice, snow and rocks at officers, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said on Saturday. 

People place flowers for a memorial at the site where Renee Nicole Good was fatally shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis. (AP: Jen Golbeck)

One officer suffered minor injuries after being struck with a piece of ice, Chief O'Hara said. Twenty-nine people were cited and released, he said.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey stressed that while most protests had been peaceful, those who caused damage to property or put others in danger would be arrested. 

He faulted "agitators that are trying to rile up large crowds".

"This is what Donald Trump wants," Mr Frey said of the president, who has demanded massive immigration enforcement efforts in several US cities. "He wants us to take the bait."

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz echoed the call for peace.

"Trump sent thousands of armed federal officers into our state, and it took just one day for them to kill someone,"  Mr Walz posted on social media. 

"Now he wants nothing more than to see chaos distract from that horrific action. Don't give him what he wants."

Communities unite in frustration

The US Department of Homeland Security said its deployment of immigration officers in the Twin Cities was its largest-ever immigration enforcement operation. 

Mr Trump's administration said both shootings were acts of self-defence against drivers who "weaponised" their vehicles to attack officers.

Connor Maloney said he was attending the Minneapolis protest to support his community and because he was frustrated with the immigration crackdown.

"Almost daily, I see them harassing people," he said. 

"It's just sickening that it's happening in our community around us."

Demonstrators have marched outside the White House in Washington, DC to protest against ICE. (AP: Jose Luis Magana)

He was among thousands of protesters, including children, who braved sub-freezing temperatures and a light dusting of snow, carrying handmade signs saying, "De-ICE Minnesota!" and "ICE melts in Minnesota".

They marched down a street that is home to restaurants and stores where various nationalities and cultures are celebrated in colourful murals.

Steven Eubanks, 51, said he felt compelled to attend a protest in Durham, North Carolina, on Saturday because of the "horrifying" killing in Minneapolis.

"We can't allow it," Mr Eubanks said. "We have to stand up."

Indivisible, a social movement organisation that formed to resist the Trump administration, said hundreds of protests were scheduled in Texas, Kansas, New Mexico, Ohio, Florida and other states.

ICE activity across Minneapolis

In Minneapolis, a coalition of migrant rights groups organised the demonstration that began in a park near the residential neighbourhood where Ms Good was shot on Wednesday.

But the large protest apparently did not deter federal officers from operating in the city.

Just as the demonstration began, an Associated Press photographer witnessed heavily armed officers — at least one in Border Patrol uniform — approach a person who had been following them. Two of the agents had long guns out when they ordered the person to stop following them, telling him it was his "first and final warning".

The agents eventually drove onto the interstate without detaining the driver.

Federal agents are armed as protesters gather in Minneapolis. (AP: Adam Gray)

Protests held in the neighbourhood have been largely peaceful, and in general, there has been minimal law enforcement presence, in contrast to the violence that hit Minneapolis in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd in 2020.

Near the airport, some confrontations erupted on Thursday and Friday between smaller groups of protesters and officers guarding the federal building used as a base for the Twin Cities crackdown.

Chief O'Hara said city police officers had responded to calls about cars abandoned because their drivers had been apprehended by immigration enforcement. In one case, a car was left in park and a dog was left inside another.

He said immigration enforcement activities were happening "all over the city" and that 911 callers had been alerting authorities to ICE activity, arrests and abandoned vehicles.

The Trump administration has deployed thousands of federal officers to Minnesota under a sweeping new crackdown tied, in part, to allegations of fraud involving Somali residents. More than 2,000 officers were taking part.

Lawmakers snubbed

Three congresswomen from Minnesota attempted to tour the ICE facility in the Minneapolis federal building on Saturday morning and were initially allowed to enter, but then told they had to leave about 10 minutes later.

US Representatives Ilhan Omar, Kelly Morrison and Angie Craig accused ICE agents of obstructing members of Congress from fulfilling their duty to oversee operations there.

A federal judge last month temporarily blocked the Trump administration from enforcing policies that limit congressional visits to immigration facilities. 

The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by 12 members of Congress who sued in Washington, DC to challenge ICE's amended visitor policies after they were denied entry to detention facilities.

AP