Why Trump's border czar wants an ICE deal with Minnesota jails
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Federal immigration agents were still active in Minneapolis on Thursday as top Trump administration officials said they were seeking compromise. Photo: Stephen Maturen/Getty Images
Top Trump administration official Tom Homan took the podium Thursday to propose a deal: If Minnesota's jails cooperate with ICE, federal agents can start going home.
The big picture: With congressional critics pressing the Trump administration and many Minnesotans outraged over its operations, federal officials are looking for an off-ramp.
- But Minnesota jails' coordination with immigration enforcement may not be easy.
What they're saying: "It's not always as simple as it looks," Minnesota Sheriffs' Association CEO James Stuart told Axios. "It's going to take some rolling up our sleeves."
The latest: Homan — Trump's "border czar" — told reporters that he's looking for "commonsense cooperation" from Minnesota before sending some of the estimated 3,000 federal agents home.
- Homan acknowledged state prisons have long honored ICE detainers — which ask law enforcement to hold a person suspected of being in the country illegally — walking back the administration's prior claims.
- Homan indicated his focus now is on securing similar cooperation from jails: "More agents in the jail means less agents on the street," he said.
Reality check: Minnesota's prisons have an easier time than county-run jails handing immigration suspects over to ICE for two key reasons:
- Logistics: Prison release dates are set long in advance, so it's easy to tell ICE when to show up. Minnesota jails churn through 69,000 bookings a year — and some inmates walk free within hours.
- Legalities: Under Minnesota law, jails can't hold a person longer than they otherwise would solely because of an ICE detainer — which doesn't have the force of a judicial warrant or a court order. Anoka and Nobles counties have been successfully sued for failing to comply.
Friction point: Jails in the state's 87 counties each handle ICE holds differently, with policies often shaped by the county's political leanings.
- Under a 2021 policy, Hennepin County's jail — the state's largest — does not inform ICE when it releases someone under an immigration detainer.
- Dakota County does inform immigration officials of inmate releases, but "sometimes [ICE] doesn't make it," Sheriff Joe Leko told Fox9.
- Sheriffs' departments in eight more-conservative counties have signed active cooperation agreements with ICE — including Sherburne County, which includes some metro exurbs.
Zoom in: A case in rural western Minnesota illustrated the complexity. The Cottonwood County jail recently released a man with an ICE detainer who had been arrested on sex crimes because he posted bail.
- Sheriff Jason Purrington said ICE agents were too busy in the Twin Cities and couldn't pick up the accused. Legally, the jail had to let him go.
What we're watching: Stuart, a former three-term Anoka County Sheriff, told Axios that the sheriffs' association has been working behind the scenes with local, state and federal officials to help "broker a peace."
- "There's many ways that we can all cooperate, pursue safer communities without compromising anyone's rights," he said.
- Stuart didn't want to share too many specifics, but "I'll just plant the word 'contract.' If more jails had detention contracts with DHS, that would … improve cooperation without crossing those other lines."