ICE official acknowledges state prison system is turning over 'worst of the worst'
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A top official with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Thursday acknowledged publicly for the first time since the Twin Cities immigration enforcement surge began that the state government is handing over people in state prisons wanted by ICE.
The comments from Marcos Charles, the head of ICE enforcement and removal operations, stand in contrast to the rhetoric ICE has used in recent weeks as it’s sought to blame state and local officials for not cooperating to remove what federal officials describe as the “worst of the worst” criminals.
“The Department of Corrections for Minnesota does honor our detainers. We pick up individuals from the state,” Charles told reporters when pressed about the issue Thursday. “When the state gets them and those detainers are lodged against the state, we get those bodies.
State officials have been pushing back on the comments of Department of Homeland Security officials implying that ICE’s street-level sweeps have netted criminals they call the “worst of the worst” — and that Minnesota has been protecting those people from capture.
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MPR News examined one of the lists shared by DHS officials on Monday, Jan. 12 and found that most of the people on the list had been immediately transferred to ICE custody at the end of time served in Minnesota prisons.
On Thursday, Charles blamed Minnesota counties — and not the state — saying counties were not honoring ICE’s requests. Asked which counties, he urged reporters to look through county records.
“The governor should talk to the counties and let them honor our detainers,” he said. “Many of these sheriffs want to help us.”
Separately Thursday, Minnesota Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell provided video footage to accompany a previously disclosed list of incarcerated people turned over to immigration agents prior to their release from custody.
“The information that is being put out certainly does not reflect the reality that people who have been issued a court-ordered sentence in our state serve out their time in custody,” Schnell said. “And when they're released from custody, they are turned over to ICE if they are, if they have a detainer, and if ICE elects to take custody of them. And then they do what they do and either deport or release them back into the community.”
Responding to Charles’ comments Thursday, Schnell said he pleased that ICE acknowledged the “reality” of state cooperation but said the governor has no control over county jails and that Minnesota sheriffs have been fully cooperative.
Bovino says no timeline for ending surge, rips Minneapolis police
Marcos Charles spoke Thursday alongside Gregory Bovino, a commander-at-large for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, who repeated his criticism of state and local leaders. Bovino said “violent protesters” and “anarchists” were stalking agents.
He declined to put a timeline for ending the surge of thousands of federal agents that’s gripped the Twin Cities for weeks.
Bovino continued his criticism of Minneapolis Mayor Frey and Gov. Tim Walz, but he also ripped the Minneapolis police for not responding to agents’ calls for assistance.
Two days ago, he said, off-duty agents were “descended on by a mob” while eating at a restaurant, that the restaurant locked them in and that a “tactical team” had to be called in to extract them. Bovino said Minneapolis police were called for help but didn’t come.
He said agents were in a “running battle” with “extremists” all day. “A lot of that would be called stalking,” he said, adding, “Hey folks, where was that Minneapolis Police Department during that eight-hour stalking event?”
He noted that agents were “met with significant resistance” while trying to use a gas station bathroom. He also defended the use of tear gas and pepper spray at a Minneapolis park Thursday.
He called it “unconscionable” that local law enforcement agencies were “missing in action.”
Bovino said the surge was ongoing with no date for it to stop. Asked about how many of those targeted by ICE would mark the end of the operation, he said, “There is a number, and it's called all of them.”
— MPR News reporters Peter Cox and Cait Kelley contributed to this report
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