The NBA announced that it is postponing the Timberwolves' clash with the Warriors, initially scheduled to take place on Saturday. The move comes hours after federal agents shot and killed a Minneapolis resident for the second time in three weeks.
Here's the latest on Minnesota's cancellation -- and the event that sparked it.
Why was Timberwolves-Warriors postponed?
The Timberwolves and Warriors were slated to meet on Saturday. However, the NBA opted to postpone the contest after federal agents killed a Minneapolis resident on Saturday morning.
The victim, whose name has not been released, was a 37-year-old whose only previous interaction with law enforcement was related to traffic tickets, according to Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara.
"We believe he is a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry," O'Hara said, per ABC News.
The incident is the latest in a string of clashes between protestors and law enforcement. On Jan. 7, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Good, an unarmed woman attempting to drive away from ICE agents.
Good's killing sparked widespread protests across the country as well as a call for a general strike in Minneapolis, which began on Jan. 23.
What is ICE?
ICE refers to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It is a federal law enforcement agency that claims to seek to "protect America through criminal investigations and enforcing immigration laws to preserve national security and public safety", according to its mission statement.
Created in 2003 as part of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 -- which was enacted following the September 11 attacks -- ICE is responsible for the federal government's mass deportation initiative. The entity has deported millions out of the country in the more than two decades since its establishment. More than 5 million people were apprehended and more than 3 million people were removed during Barack Obama's presidency, "far outpacing those of the Bush and Clinton administrations", according to the Migration Policy Institute.
The agency continues to churn out deportations under Donald Trump's administration, with the New York Times reporting that ICE has deported 230,000 people arrested inside the country and another 270,000 arrested at the border since he returned to office. That figure is largely made up of people with no past violent conviction, including children -- a recent study by The Marshall Project found that at least 3,800 children were rounded into family detention centers since Trump took office, including 20 infants. More than 1,300 of those children were held in detention for longer than 20 days.
“This place definitely feels like a jail,” one mother said in a court declaration about the facility in Dilley, according to The Marshall Project. “There is no other way to describe it; it’s a jail for children.”
“It’s just such clear evidence that the goal of this administration is to create as much pain as possible to the most vulnerable people in the hopes that that will mean they can more easily carry out whatever their deportation goals are,” said Becky Wolozin, an attorney at the National Center for Youth Law.
Has Timberwolves-Warriors been rescheduled?
The league intends to reschedule Minnesota and Golden State's contest for Sunday, Jan. 25 at 5:30 p.m. ET. The two sides are set to meet once more in downtown Minneapolis on Monday night.
NBA statement on decision to cancel Timberwolves-Warriors
The NBA released the following statement regarding its decision to postpone the Timberwolves-Warriors' game until Sunday night:
"The National Basketball Association game scheduled for today between the Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center has been postponed. The decision was made to prioritize the safety and security of the Minneapolis community.
The game has been rescheduled for tomorrow (Jan. 25) at 5:30 p.m. ET at Target Center."