MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz said Tuesday he expects Minnesota’s federal immigration crackdown to end in “days, not weeks or months,” based on recent conversations he had with senior Trump administration officials.
The Democratic governor said at a news conference that he spoke with border czar Tom Homan on Monday and White House Chief of Staff Suzy Wiles on Tuesday morning. Homan took over the Minnesota operation in late January following a second fatal shooting by federal officers amid growing political backlash and questions about how the operation was being run.
“We’re very much in a trust-but-verify mode,” Walz said. He added that he expected to hear more from the government “in the next day or so” about the future of what he called an “occupation” and “revenge campaign” against the country.
While Walz said he’s hopeful for now because “every indication I’m getting is that this thing is ending,” he added that things could change.
“I would like Mr. Homan to go out and say by Friday that this is done and they’re going to take her down, they’re going to take her down within a few days,” Walz said. “That would be my expectation.”
Department of Homeland Security officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the governor’s remarks.
Walz said he had no reason not to believe Homan’s statement last week that 700 federal officers would leave Minnesota immediately, but the governor added that 2,300 officers remain on Minnesota streets. Homan said at the time that an “unprecedented increase in cooperation” resulted in Minnesota needing fewer federal officials, including help from prisons holding inmates at risk of deportation.
The governor also said he wanted the state to conduct a “joint investigation” into the shooting deaths of Renee Goode and Alex Pretty by federal officers, but gave no details. That has been a point of friction between federal authorities and state investigators, who complain that so far they have been frozen out of the cases and unable to obtain evidence.
Walz held the news conference primarily to denounce the economic impact of the surge in law enforcement. He was speaking at The Market food court in Malcolm Yards, where owner Patty Wall said the entire restaurant sector of the local economy had been “collateral damage” from the surge.
Matt Varilek, the governor’s employment and economic development commissioner, said Malcolm Yards, which is usually bustling, is struggling because employees and customers are afraid to come because of the crackdown.
“Certainly, it’s good news that the attitude at the federal level toward their activities in Minnesota appears to have changed,” Varilek said. “But, as the governor said, it’s a trust-but-verify situation. Frankly, I haven’t sown the fears that have been sown.”
While Walz expressed optimism that the crackdown would soon end, federal officers made a high-profile arrest in the lobby of the main county government building in downtown Minneapolis.
After a brief pursuit, ICE officers arrested a man who appeared in court charged with possession of more than 50 pounds of methamphetamine.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, the county’s top prosecutor, protested that the arrest was “disruptive and upsetting to many” and left staff in the building afraid to leave their offices for fear of being racially profiled.
Had the man been deported first, he might not have been punished on state drug charges.
“Utilizing local government courts for federal civil immigration enforcement interferes with the administration of justice, prevents witnesses from testifying, and deprives victims of the opportunity to seek justice,” Moriarty said in a statement. She also objected to ICE officers’ earlier arrests of people who appeared in court there.
