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Mike has a few restaurant recommendations for Kristi Noem and the ICE team in town today!!
The federal Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday that Secretary Kristi Noem was in the Twin Cities, as a federal immigration crackdown continues.
The agency posted a video to social media on Tuesday morning, showing Noem accompanying federal agents as they detained a man.
The agency and Noem, in separate social media posts, labeled the video as being taken in Minneapolis — but it appeared to show the operation taking place at a building on Payne Avenue in St. Paul.
DHS said the man is from Ecuador and is in the U.S. illegally, and that he’s wanted for murder and sexual assault. Noem said that warrant is from Ecuador, and said he was also convicted of robbery and extortion. DHS and Noem did not provide further details on those cases.
It was not immediately clear how long Noem would be in the Twin Cities.
It’s now been more than a month since federal officials announced an immigration operation targeting the Twin Cities. The agency has previously said that it’s made hundreds of arrests.
Gov. Tim Walz, who ended his bid for a third term Monday, sharply criticized the federal enforcement effort, raising concerns about both the scale of the operation and the lack of coordination with state officials.
“We have a ridiculous surge of apparently 2,000 people not coordinating with us that are for a show of the cameras,” Walz said. “Why 2,000 folks? What are they coming to do? Do they want to coordinate with us?”
MPR News contacted both ICE and the Department of Homeland Security to confirm the number of agents being deployed to Minnesota. DHS responded with a statement from Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, saying, “While for the safety of our officers we do not get into law enforcement footprint, DHS has surged law enforcement and has already made more than 1,000 arrests of murderers, rapists, pedophiles, and gang members.”
Walz said the increased ICE presence is creating fear among immigrant communities, particularly communities of color.
“What he's [Trump] doing to the Somali community is absolutely unconscionable,” Walz said, adding, "If you want us to fix fraud, come and help us do that. They're not interested in that.”
Walz said he views the federal action as part of a broader political attack on Minnesota.
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