A Republican gubernatorial candidate in Minnesota has abandoned her campaign in direct response to the Trump administration’s approach to immigration enforcement.
On Monday morning, Republican candidates Chris Mader He announced his decision in a 10-minute video posted on X/Twitter. He explained that while he initially supported the Trump administration’s mission to remove violent criminals from the state’s communities, ICE’s recent actions show “retaliation” against American citizens.
I cannot support the vengeance claimed by national Republicans against the citizens of our state, nor can I consider myself a member of the party that does so. I support the original goals of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Operation Metro Surge, which is to identify the worst people and remove them from our state. I have seen numerous examples of ICE arresting non-U.S. citizens in Minnesota for serious crimes, including murder, rape, and child sexual assault. No sane person should wish these people here and I’m glad they’re gone.
But the scope of the subway surge goes far beyond its purported focus on real public safety threats. American citizens, especially people of color, live in fear. U.S. citizens bring documents to prove their citizenship. That’s wrong. ICE has authorized its agents to raid homes using civil search warrants, which only need to be signed by a Border Patrol agent. This is unconstitutional and wrong. Weaponizing criminal investigations against political opponents is unconstitutional no matter who is in power.
Mader also accused national Republicans of “making it nearly impossible for Republicans to win statewide elections in Minnesota” and called ICE’s operations in the state a “complete disaster.” His decision comes two days after ICE agents fatally shot a 37-year-old man Alex Pretty .
