Gov. Walz, other leaders decry "targeting" of citizens in federal immigration crackdown
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz called the federal immigration crackdown in the Twin Cities "political theater" by President Trump in a news conference with city and community leaders on Tuesday.
The Department of Homeland Security says its federal immigration agents have arrested hundreds of people since Operation Metro Surge began early this month.
The DHS says they are targeting individuals with deportation orders, but state and city leaders say U.S. citizens have also been caught up in the increased Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations. Walz previously issued a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, asking for a review of the operation.
In the news conference, Walz said the immigration enforcement tactics by the federal government are "putting people at risk."
"I think it's pretty clear to all of us what this president is doing," Walz said. "He's targeting states and communities that he has a national political fight against and that he doesn't agree with. It's all a distraction from his own personal crimes that are out there being investigated while he's harassing others."
Walz said "if I was a betting person" he'd expect an increased ICE presence over the holidays.
"It makes it especially traumatizing for communities that wish to gather and celebrate in their faith on these most important of high holidays in all of our faiths," Walz said.
Walz says the state is preparing for that expected increase of federal agents.
Operation Metro Surge was launched days after Mr. Trump took aim at Minnesota's Somali community, the country of Somalia and the diaspora at large, calling the community "garbage" and saying that he didn't "want them in our country."
Mr. Trump ordered all green card holders from Somalia and more than a dozen other countries to be reexamined and said he would end the temporary protected status for Somalis in Minnesota, claiming, without evidence, that "Somali gangs are terrorizing the people of that great state."
Over the weekend, thousands marched along Minneapolis' Lake Street corridor in a massive, coordinated anti-immigration enforcement protest.
On Sunday morning, a federal agent fired their weapon after being hit by a motorist in St. Paul. The suspect was not injured and was taken into custody, officials say.
This story will be updated.