Gov. Tim Walz expects influx of ICE agents in Minnesota around holidays

MINNEAPOLIS — Gov. Tim Walz says President Donald Trump’s federal immigration enforcement is targeting people of color in Minnesota, including U.S. citizens, and he’s warning that there could be a surge of ICE agents in the state over the next two weeks.

“It’s pretty clear to all of us exactly what this president is doing. He’s targeting states and communities that he has a national political fight against and that he doesn’t agree with,” Walz said. “It’s also a distraction from his own personal crimes that are out there being investigated while he’s harassing others.”

Walz said the Trump administration is not sharing any information with the state about this month’s “Operation Metro Surge” but he said he was expecting an increase as early as Christmas Eve.

“I would not put it past this administration to target midnight Mass services,” Walz said. “It makes it especially cruel. It makes it especially mean-spirited. It makes it especially traumatizing for communities that wish to gather to celebrate in their faith.”

Walz joined faith and community leaders at Shiloh Temple in north Minneapolis on Dec. 23 to discuss the recent increase of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity in Minnesota.

The Department of Public Safety (DHS) said in a statement late on Dec. 23 that it has arrested citizens “who assault and obstruct law enforcement.”

“Obstructing law enforcement is not protesting, it is a crime. Instead of trying to spread misinformation Tim Walz should focus on protecting American lives and thanking the brave men and women of job DHS law enforcement who are risking their lives to make communities in his state safer,” Tricia McLaughlin, DHS assistant secretary for public affairs, said in the statement. “Our officers are facing a more than 1050% increase in assaults and a 8000% increase in death threats.”

On Sunday, an ICE agent fired shots in St. Paul after he was struck by a suspect attempting to flee in a vehicle, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The suspect, described as a Cuban national and not a citizen by the DHS, allegedly refused to comply with a vehicle stop and rammed ICE vehicles. No one was struck by gunfire, and the suspect was ultimately taken into ICE custody pending further charges, the agency said.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called the federal enforcement surge a tinder box.

“Minneapolis is ready to partner to keep people safe, but that is not the case with this federal administration right now,” Frey said. “I am increasingly concerned because of the chaos that is being caused by these ICE agents that somebody is going to get seriously injured or killed.”

St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter said a November raid at a St. Paul paper distribution company resulted in the arrest of 14 people on their way to work. A DHS statement said the 14 were arrested on immigration violations, one had past domestic abuse charges and another committed a felony by illegally re-entering the U.S. Carter noted that the DHS statement didn’t list any criminal convictions.

“Our biggest opponent is our own weaponized federal government, who says ‘Put America first’ but arrest American citizens, who says this is about ending violent crime, and goes and arrests workers on their way to work, who says that we care about you and we care for you, and then goes and separates families from their children,” Carter said.

On Dec. 9, immigration agents arrested a 20-year-old Somali American citizen in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis, held him at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building at Fort Snelling and let him go a couple of hours later after verifying his identity. Bystander video footage of ICE agents putting the man in a chokehold was widely criticized as racial profiling.

U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar said a similar encounter happened to her 20-year-old son, when federal immigration officers pulled him over on Lake Street and asked him to prove his citizenship. Omar said her son, who was born in the United States and always carries his passport out of fear, has had prior encounters with agents and accused ICE of racially profiling young Somali men.

DHS spokeswoman McLaughlin sharply pushed back on claims that their officers are racial profiling, saying that the allegations are “disgusting, reckless and categorically FALSE.”

“There are no ‘indiscriminate stops’ being made,” she said in her written statement. “DHS enforces federal immigration law without fear, favor, or prejudice.”

A network of legal observers and neighborhood groups have developed a coordinated response — including tracking agent vehicle license plates — to rush to scenes to document agents making arrests, and sometimes try to prevent the arrest from happening.

Walz said he believes federal agents have been swapping out their license plates to avoid detection. On Tuesday, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security complaining about the misuse of Minnesota license plates on unmarked DHS vehicles.

Asked whether he believes ICE agents have violated Minnesota law, Commissioner of Public Safety Bob Jacobson said he expects federal agents to meet standards of policing but that the state’s recourse is to make complaints of unconstitutional conduct to the federal agencies themselves.

Walz said he would rely on observers, regular people “expressing their First Amendment rights,” to keep a watch on ICE in the coming days.

At the local level, Frey said the city of Minneapolis is preparing pre-emptive lawsuits, coordinating with the American Civil Liberties Union, and making plans with police to monitor federal activity with their body cameras.

According to the DHS, immigration agents have arrested more than 670 people in Minnesota as part of “Operation Metro Surge” since Dec. 1. The Minnesota Star Tribune has not been able to independently verify that number.

-------------