Congressional hearing examines ICE presence in Minnesota

Just as White House border adviser Tom Homan was announcing the conclusion of a federal immigration operation in Minnesota, a congressional hearing on the ICE presence and how it has played out in the state was getting under way. 

The U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs heard from House Majority Whip Tom Emmer and Minnesota State Representative Harry Niska, who sat alongside Democratic Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Paul Schnell, the head of the state's prison system.

Their physical proximity did little to cool a sharp partisan and philosophical divide over the 10-week long operation in Minnesota.

"The unrest that we all watched unfold in Minneapolis over recent weeks was unnerving,” Emmer said. “It was heartbreaking, and any loss of life is tragic, but make no mistake, it was all a direct result of radical sanctuary state and city policies in Minnesota."

Attorney General Ellison had a much different take.

"This war on Minnesota is retribution, to be sure — our policies, our values and how we vote,” Ellison said, quoting a social media post from President Trump. “And it comes at a great cost, senators. It comes at a cost of the lives of two US citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti."

While the questioning from U.S. senators broke down mostly along political lines, that wasn't always the case. Committee Chair Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, aired concerns over actions of federal law enforcement during the surge and the resistance to it.

"In a free society, filming government officials in public is a constitutional right. It's not an act of aggression,” he said. “Americans are led to believe that exercising the right, the right of being there and protesting, shouldn't place them at the risk of lethal force. If it does, public trust collapses." 

But he also questioned the lack of cooperation between state and federal law enforcement.

"We must acknowledge, when federal agents are placed in chaotic crowd control situations, that the risk of tragedy increases,” he said. “At the same time state and local decisions that limit cooperation affect how and where federal enforcement is carried out, escalatory statements from any level of government only make it worse."

Minnesota Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell stressed that state prisons do cooperate with ICE, despite what federal officials have said. Senators commended that work. But they scrutinized the lack of coordination on immigration by some local jurisdictions, including how much access Hennepin County provides ICE to its jail. 

Niska, a top state House Republican, says that lack of cooperation led to issues in the operation.

"In Hennepin County, our largest jurisdiction, featuring Minneapolis, the sheriff's office complied with only eight percent of ICE detainer requests over a two year period,” he said. “This obstruction has a cost. When jails refuse to honor detainers, they don't stop enforcement. They displace it."

As the hearing got going in Washington, Tom Homan was in Minneapolis to detail the forthcoming agent drawdown. The news was welcomed by several senators, but New Jersey Democrat Sen. Andy Kim said the fallout in Minnesota deserves additional scrutiny.

"Damage has been done. There is also no admission of wrongdoing of tactics by this administration,” Kim said. “It bodes questions about what comes next, not just from Minnesota, but where else are these agents going to go next?"

This story is part of our live coverage. Go to live updates.

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