The Minnesota Department of Corrections is disputing a claim made by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that the state is not honoring ICE arrest detainers, calling that "categorically false."

The Department of Homeland Security has repeatedly called on Gov. Tim Walz and the Minneapolis mayor to honor ICE arrest detainers, and on Thursday, ICE responded to Walz's request to "turn down the temperature" by demanding he and the state "honor our immigration detainers."

DHS retainer requests are ICE requests for local officials to hold noncitizens who are set to be released from local custody until federal immigration agents can come and arrest them.

The Minnesota Department of Corrections responded to DHS claims, saying it honors all federal detainers, including those from ICE. However, a number of sanctuary jurisdictions don't honor most ICE detainers or any at all. That is the case in cities like New York, states like California and counties like Hennepin County.

The corrections department vehemently disputed DHS claims that "1,360 aliens, including violent criminals, are in the state's custody" and that Minnesota "has released nearly 470 criminal illegal aliens back onto the streets of Minnesota since President Trump took office," calling such claims "unsupported by facts, and deeply irresponsible."

The state's corrections department has also disputed the number of detainer suspects currently in state custody, saying there are currently 207 suspects that fall under that category, whereas the DHS claims that figure to be 1,360.

The Minnesota Department of Corrections does not have jurisdiction over county jails.

"Many individuals cited by DHS were never in DOC custody and were instead held in county jails, under ICE-only custody, or in other states' correctional systems," the agency said Thursday. "DHS continues to conflate local jail custody, ICE custody, and state prison custody, misleading the public about the role and authority of the Minnesota Department of Corrections."

ICE has long argued that the lack of cooperation from so-called sanctuary jurisdictions forces the agency to deploy agents into communities to find the individuals released from local custody who were not turned over by local officials. 

The detainers concern noncitizens arrested, charged or convicted of local or state crimes and who are deportable because they're here illegally or their criminal offenses made them subject to deportation. However, local jurisdictions say they lack the legal authority to retain custody of noncitizens who have been ordered released, for the purposes of letting ICE come and get them.

Sanctuary jurisdictions more broadly argue that cooperation with ICE creates distrust in the community, blurring the line between local police and federal immigration agents and scaring immigrants from reporting crimes.

Last year, Minnesota Attorney General released a formal opinion that argued, "Minnesota law prohibits law enforcement from holding someone on an immigration detainer if the person would otherwise be released from custody."