(The Center Square) – Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and the Trump administration remain at odds as Border Czar Tom Homan reiterated President Donald Trump’s commitment to removing criminals from the street.
While Homan and Frey described their initial meeting Tuesday as productive, the two leaders aren’t in agreement over Operation Metro Surge, as Frey underscored his desire for the operation “to end as quickly as possible.”
In a social media post Tuesday night, Frey reiterated the city’s commitment to sanctuary policies, indicating his unwillingness to cooperate with federal immigration officials.
“I also made it clear that Minneapolis does not and will not enforce federal immigration laws, and that we will remain focused on keeping our neighbors and streets safe,” Frey posted on X.
However, he concluded his post by leaving the door open, saying that he and city leaders “will continue to stay in conversation” with Homan.
Meanwhile, Homan took a more diplomatic approach in his response to meetings with Minnesota and Minneapolis officials, saying they all agreed on supporting law enforcement while “getting criminals off the street.”
“While we don’t agree on everything, these meetings were a productive starting point and I look forward to more conversations with key stakeholders in the days ahead. President Trump has been clear: he wants American cities to be safe and secure for law-abiding residents – and they will be,” Homan posted on X.
After the meetings, the Department of Homeland Security appears not to be backing down from Operation Metro Surge, posting a message saying they are “putting Minnesotans FIRST and getting violent criminals” out of communities.
DHS included a series of social media posts highlighting criminal aliens recently arrested in Minnesota.
The talks come amid rising tensions between the Trump administration and Democratic leaders in the state following the recent deaths of two demonstrators involving immigration officials.
While the White House appears to want to tone down the temperature by engaging Minnesota Democratic leaders, it is not backing down from the demands it has made clear to Gov. Tim Walz and Frey.
While House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt made it clear during a White House briefing on Monday that the administration has set a list of demands for the Democratic leaders to “turn over all criminal illegal aliens currently incarcerated in their prisons and jails,” in addition to “any illegal aliens with active warrants or known criminal history of immediate deportation.”
The second demand is that local and state law enforcement “must agree to turn over all illegal aliens who are arrested by local police.” The third calls on local law enforcement to assist federal authorities in “apprehending and detaining illegal aliens who are wanted for crimes.”
“If Governor [Tim] Walz and Mayor Frey implement these commonsense cooperative measures that I would add have already been implemented in nearly every single other state across the country, Customs and Border Patrol will not be needed to support ICE on the ground in Minnesota. Ice and local law enforcement can peacefully work together, as they are effectively doing in so many other states and jurisdictions,” Leavitt said during the briefing.
