Vance's Minnesota trip to show "unwavering support" for ICE
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Vice President Vance leaves the U.S. Capitol after a Senate vote on Jan. 14. Photo: Heather Diehl/Getty Images
Vice President Vance is heading to Minnesota on Thursday, and he's not planning any peace offerings to Twin Cities officials and protesters opposed to the Trump administration's aggressive immigration enforcement tactics.
Why it matters: Vance's planned events and speech underscore how the administration isn't backing down from its controversial raids and stops that resulted in the fatal shooting of protester Renee Good and damaged President Trump's poll numbers.
- "JD took Minnesota on as an issue where he's going to lead. He wants a strong response," an adviser said. "He doesn't want to back down. Neither does the president."
Zoom in: Vance plans to hold a roundtable with community leaders, give an exclusive interview to the conservative outlet Newsmax and then conduct a news conference where he'll be flanked by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
- Vance "will point out how Minneapolis' sanctuary city policies have degraded public safety and endangered ICE officers. He will also celebrate the essential work ICE agents have done to take dangerous, criminal illegal aliens off of America's streets," a White House official said.
- Vance also is expected to emphasize the creation of a new Justice Department assistant attorney general position to oversee prosecuting large-scale fraud and abuse of taxpayer-funded programs.
Zoom out: The ostensible theme of Vance's visit is to emphasize the administration's "unwavering support" for ICE, but Trump advisers inside and outside the White House hope to continue shifting focus away from the unpopular enforcement actions and more toward prosecuting fraud.
- For six years, the Minneapolis and St. Paul have been gripped by sprawling fraud cases, many surrounding the Somalian community.
- Federal prosecutors and nonpartisan watchdogs warned for years that "inadequate" state oversight left several programs vulnerable to "industrial scale" waste and abuse.
- After recent reports about fraud in his state, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz decided not to seek reelection.
Meanwhile, a grand jury investigating whether state officials have unlawfully interfered with ICE sent subpoenas Tuesday to the offices of Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her and officials in Ramsey and Hennepin counties.
- DOJ is also investigating the anti-ICE protestors who stormed a church while it was in service over the weekend.
- DOJ blocked local police from investigating the ICE agent who shot Good but is investigating her widow, which prompted the protest resignations of six federal prosecutors who'd been handling the fraud cases.
Minnesota is ground zero for aggressive ICE law enforcement, replete with masked agents stopping people, asking for proof of citizenship and raiding homes.
- "The mayor has been pursuing all channels with the goal of reducing tensions and violence in his community," a spokesman for Frey said.
Behind the scenes: Despite the escalations publicly, Trump's team has been in private communication with officials in Walz's government and major state-based businesses.
- On Jan. 8, the day after Good was killed, Vance held a White House press briefing, defended the shooting as justified, tried to shame the news media for its coverage, announced a task force to investigate Somalian immigrant fraud and called on Walz to resign.
- Vance and Walz have had a hostile relationship since 2024: They faced off at the vice presidential debate in 2024, when Walz was then-Vice President Harris' running mate.
Friction point: So far, the two sides can't find common ground because of their differences on immigration enforcement.
- Trump administration officials want local police to help accompany them on immigration raids, which the federal government says are targeted.
- State and local officials are opposed to Trump's mass deportations. They've decried ICE's tactics since the surge, pointing to reports of racial profiling and lawful residents being detained by federal agents.
- Many local jurisdictions in the Twin Cities have policies prohibiting law enforcement from cooperating with ICE, but Walz's Department of Corrections says it notifies the agency of noncitizens in its custody and coordinates with ICE on their release.
- An attorney representing the Minnesota Sheriffs' Association told the Star Tribune that limited resources and the threat of lawsuits add practical barriers for local law enforcement who might otherwise cooperate with ICE.
