After weeks of incendiary rhetoric, street clashes, large-scale disruptions of federal operations by organized leftist militia-style agitators, and the shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens at the hands of immigration enforcement personnel, Democratic leaders in Minnesota have finally spoken directly with the president of the United States.
Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), fresh off a rebuke from the Holocaust Museum for his appalling misappropriation of history, referred to his Monday phone call with President Donald Trump as “productive.” He mentioned a possible reduction of federal agents in his state and made a vague reference to working “in a more coordinated fashion on immigration enforcement regarding criminals.” If that’s an indication that Walz is open to scaling back his lawless and dangerous sanctuary policies, as I’ve proposed as a baseline of common-sense cooperation, that would be welcome news.
I remain skeptical. Walz’s base, including the activists who’ve been storming churches and stalking people they suspect of working for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, view any cooperation with the Trump administration, no matter how sensible or public safety minded, as an intolerable capitulation. Perhaps Walz’s recent, scandal-driven decision not to seek reelection will liberate him from these partisan shackles. Perhaps not.
Walz’s read-out from his call with Trump also included this disingenuous spin: “The Governor reminded President Trump that the Minnesota Department of Corrections already honors federal detainers by notifying Immigration and Customs Enforcement when a person committed to its custody isn’t a U.S. citizen. There is not a single documented case of the department’s releasing someone from state prison without offering to ensure a smooth transfer of custody.”
That passage is designed to leave casual readers with the impression that Minnesota already cooperates with ICE on detainer requests, suggesting that the “sanctuary” issue is a red herring. It is not — Walz is being deliberately misleading. He’s making a narrow point that sounds broader than it actually is.
Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin called the governor’s assertion “very misleading” in explaining the sleight of hand: “Yes, his prisons honor ICE detainers by transferring convicted criminal aliens after they serve their sentence, but his city and county jails do not. ICE wants criminal aliens arrested for crimes handed to them instead of being released [onto the] streets. Even California prisons honor ICE detainers. The sanctuary fights are over city and county jails.”
Precisely. The reason numerous convicted violent felon illegal immigrants have been walking free in Minneapolis is that ICE detainers are rejected and ignored as a matter of policy. The feds need access to jails, not just state prisons — and local and state officials need to honor those detainers. If there isn’t any meaningful movement on that front, any talk of coordination is hollow, and federal law enforcement personnel shouldn’t make any concessions on their end. This must be a substantive two-way street if a mutual climb-down is to be achieved.
For his part, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who is much younger than Walz and clearly has higher political ambitions within a pro-illegal immigration party, posted this message in response to his conversation with Trump: “Violent criminals should be held accountable based on the crimes they commit, not based on where they are from.”
Make no mistake, this is an apologia for illegal immigration. What Frey must understand is that part of the accountability for those who are in our country illegally and commit additional crimes here is to be removed from the U.S. They do not get to stay. This is not only the law — it enjoys overwhelming public support. Yet the emerging de facto Democratic position is to oppose this, rhetorically and in practice, which is why skepticism is warranted on the upbeat notes emerging from Monday’s communications.
Finally, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) floated the idea in a televised interview on Sunday that the Trump administration should consider withdrawing immigration enforcement forces from Minneapolis altogether. Absolutely not.
HOW TRUMP CAN FLIP THE SCRIPT IN THE ICE WARS
Absent real concessions on the sanctuary policies that are the root problem in all of this, the federal government cannot be seen turning tail and fleeing an American city, thus rewarding all the demagoguery, harassment, and illegal guerrilla tactics used against it. That cannot stand. If genuinely increased coordination in local jails and police stations obviates the need for riskier street operations, that’s another story — a much smaller footprint would be justified. But that agreement and compliance must come first. If the federal pullout is perceived as a unilateral surrender, it will incentivize a repeat of the same lawless playbook elsewhere.
Border czar Tom Homan has been newly empowered by the president as he arrives in Minnesota. This needed shake-up follows last weekend’s avoidable fatal incident and a flood of questionable-to-false statements from other federal officials. Trump seems to have accurately sensed that his administration has started to lose this public relations battle badly by eroding its own credibility. Homan is a serious person who understands the job. He has a chance to right the ship. Part of his task is to discuss and implement next steps with Minnesota Democrats. He’s been pushing this reasonable compromise from the sidelines for weeks. It would be a tragically belated win-win for Walz and Frey to finally take “yes” for an answer.