Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote to Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) on Saturday outlining how to “bring an end to the chaos” amid the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota, including demands for access to voter rolls and an end to the state’s sanctuary city policies.
The conditions Bondi demanded on Saturday are likely nonstarters and highly unlikely to be accepted by the state’s Democratic administration. The attorney general laid out three primary demands: sharing Minnesota’s records on Medicaid and other welfare programs, a repeal of the “sanctuary policies” and cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and access to Minnesota’s voter rolls.
“Unfortunately, you and other Minnesota officials have refused to support the men and women
risking their lives to protect Americans and uphold the rule of law. Because Minnesota,
Minneapolis, and St. Paul have chosen to ignore federal immigration law by enacting sanctuary
laws and policies, the federal agents led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have operated alone,” Bondi wrote, decrying incendiary comments by officials within the state, such as comparisons of federal authorities with the Nazis and Gestapo.
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The immigration enforcement operation targeting Minneapolis and St. Paul was largely triggered by allegations of fraud from Somali daycares, which explains one of Bondi’s demands, the sharing of Minnesota’s records on Medicaid and Food and Nutrition Service programs.
“Allowing the federal government to efficiently investigate fraud will save Minnesota taxpayers’
money and ensure that Minnesota’s welfare funds are being used to help those in need, not enrich
fraudsters,” she wrote.
Bondi’s second demand, to end Minnesota’s sanctuary policies, likely refers to Minneapolis and St. Paul being sanctuary cities, forbidding cooperation with immigration authorities. The attorney general outlined the different cooperation measures that must be taken with ICE.
“All detention facilities in your state should cooperate fully with ICE, honor immigration detainers, and permit ICE to interview detainees in custody to determine immigration status. I urge you to reach an agreement with ICE that allows them to remove illegal aliens in custody of Minnesota’s prisons and jails and avoids pushing these interactions into your streets,” she wrote.
The final demand, to give the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ access to Minnesota’s voter rolls, would allow the Trump administration to “confirm that Minnesota’s voter registration practices comply with federal law as authorized by the Civil Rights Act of 1960.”
“Fulfilling this common sense request will better guarantee free and fair elections and boost confidence in the rule of law,” Bondi wrote.
Walz hasn’t shown any signs of accepting the terms. He hasn’t directly addressed the letter publicly but reiterated his demand for ICE agents to leave Minneapolis and St. Paul on Sunday.
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“They think they can provoke us into abandoning our values. They are wrong. We will keep the peace. We will secure justice for our neighbors. And we will see this occupation end,” he wrote on X.
The whole state is on edge after the second fatal shooting of a protester by federal authorities on Saturday, triggering further large-scale protests.