VP JD Vance to discuss "restoring law and order in Minnesota" in Thursday's visit
Vice President JD Vance will be in Minneapolis on Thursday for a roundtable with local leaders and community members amid the federal government's immigration crackdown in the state.
According to the White House, after the roundtable, Vance will "deliver remarks focused on restoring law and order in Minnesota."
Vance is the federal government's latest envoy to the state amid multiple Department of Justice investigations and the ongoing presence of overwhelming numbers of immigration agents.
Here's the latest on the ICE surge in Minnesota
- A federal appeals court on Wednesday temporarily paused a judge's ruling that restricted the force federal agents can use on peaceful protesters in Minneapolis.
- A top Minnesota law enforcement official is rejecting repeated accusations by the Department of Homeland Security that state authorities have been releasing hundreds of dangerous criminals into the streets, rather than turning them over to federal immigration agents.
- Two men detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement appeared in federal court hearings Wednesday, including the Venezuelan national who was shot in the leg by ICE agents last week in north Minneapolis. Both were granted conditional release, but the decision has been stayed until noon Thursday. They do have ICE detainers, so they will likely end up in ICE custody again.
- Faith leaders held a news conference Tuesday in the Twin Cities to announce the participation of "hundreds of Minnesota places of worship" in A Day of Truth and Freedom — which calls for people to not work, shop or go to school this Friday.
JD Vance says message to MN will be: "Stop fighting immigration enforcement ... it's not that hard"
The White House says Vice President JD Vance has left and is now en route to Minnesota, where he plans to meet with ICE agents and defend their immigration operations.
Vance shared a preview of his message ahead of his travel.
"We're gonna talk with some of our ICE agents, talk with local officials about how we can turn down the chaos, and my simple piece of advice to them is gonna be, 'Look, if you want to turn down the chaos in Minneapolis, stop fighting immigration enforcement and accept that we have to have a border in this country.' It's not that hard," Vance said.
Vance's visit comes days after the Justice Department subpoenaed several Minnesota officials as part of an investigation into whether state and local leaders have obstructed federal immigration enforcement efforts.
"We're going to get illegal criminals out of our country and we're not going to let a few left-wing radicals stop us," Vance added.
AG Pam Bondi announces arrests in church protest
Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday announced that two people have been arrested in connection with the disruption of services at a church where a local official with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement serves as a pastor.
Bondi announced the arrests of Nekima Levy Armstrong and Chauntyll Louisa Allen on social media.
The incident happened on Sunday, as a group joined services at the Cities Church in St. Paul before chanting "ICE out" and "Justice for Renee Good." One of the church's pastors, David Easterwood, leads the local ICE field office, and one of the leaders of the protest and prominent local activist Armstrong said she's also an ordained pastor.
ICE takes 5-year-old boy and his father after using boy to get father to answer front door, school district says
School district officials in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, say their sense of security is shaken and their hearts shattered after four students from the district were recently taken by officers with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
An immigration lawyer has been working around the clock since ICE detentions began
Operation Metro Surge started in the Twin Cities metro area nearly two months ago. The Trump administration says they've arrested at least 3,000 immigrants in Minnesota. But federal officials have released only limited information about those who have been detained.
When WCCO looked at cases online, most filed recently are habeas corpus, which an attorney clarifies means someone is in federal custody who maybe shouldn't be.
"Not a single one of my clients detained has a criminal record and all of them were in a process of some kind," said immigration lawyer Carrie Peltier.
Peltier says she's been working nonstop for the past year.
